Geologic Hazards Meet the Special Education Classroom

Mainstream classrooms have difficulty accommodating students with special learning needs and helping them achieve state-mandated standards in reading, writing, math, and science. These students are subsequently grouped into special education classrooms where they receive specialized instruction. Few lesson plans and teaching activities exist to help special education teachers guide their students toward meeting the state-mandated academic standards. This is especially true for science curricula. The goal of this project is to develop a set of science-themed lesson plans for special education students using geologic hazards as a prototype theme. The dynamic nature of geologic hazards provides an excellent opportunity to stimulate the natural curiosity students have about the world around them. We designed and implemented lesson plans for elementary-level students with learning and cognitive disabilities revolving around earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, etc. The lesson plans used tactile and interactive learning activities to teach Earth science and science inquiry concepts outlined in the Arizona Department of Education curriculum standards. All lesson plans were administered by a special education teacher to a class of 8-10 students over the course of three weeks. Student responses were coded semi-quantitatively to assess the effectiveness of the lesson plans. Pre- and post-assessments of each student's state of knowledge showed increased retention of geologic concepts after implementing our new lesson plans. This project demonstrated that real-world science concepts like natural hazards are both engaging to special education students and effective in meeting otherwise elusive state-mandated science curricula. Future efforts will concentrate on making effective, prepackaged lesson plans available to special education teachers on a grab-and-go basis.