Space Science IS Accessible to Students with Exceptional Needs: Results from Exceptional Needs Workshops

The majority of students with disabilities in the US are required to achieve the same academic levels as their non-impaired peers. Unfortunately, there are few specialized materials to help these exceptional students. To assist students in meeting their goals, SERCH, a NASA Office of Space Science Broker/Facilitator, has been working with NASA education product developers and educators from informal and formal settings to identify what kinds of materials they need and what mediums will work best. As a result of both direct classrooms observations and hands-on workshops we have begun generating adaptive lessons plans that meet the national standards for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. During the workshops, participants simulate various disabilities (e.g., hearing, vision, orthopedic impairments, learning difficulties) while working through Space Science activities and discuss necessary adaptations/modifications in real-time. For example, we modified the Solar System Distance activity first designed by ASU to include the use of larger beads or pom-poms instead of the suggested small plastic beads. This simple adaptation permits students with orthopedic impairments to more readily take part in the lesson and to actively "observe" the distance between the planets. Examples of this activity and more will be illustrated. In addition to making modifications and suggestions for adaptations, workshop participants shared many simple recommendations that can help ALL learners participate more readily in classroom activities and discussions. Among these are: (1) Use simple, sans-serif fonts and high contrast presentation media (e.g., white text on black is most effective); (2) Repetition and use of multiple presentation modes is very helpful. (3) Actively involve the learner, and (4) Keep things simple to begin with, then work toward the more complex - think of the audience, the ultimate user.