Teaching to Standards: SCIENCE

Two years of classroom research at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte have shown Teaching to Standards: Science to be highly effective in teaching science vocabulary and engaging students in inquiry-based lessons. Students participate in a hands-on experiments during each lesson and use the Student Response Guide to engage in the inquiry process. The curriculum is designed for students with moderate-to-severe developmental disabilities, including autism.

Their own student book, ScienceWork, provides students with extension activities that connect the science concepts to the world around them. Teachers follow scripted lessons that provide clear direction for individual student accommodations. A set of experiment materials included in the Classroom Kit makes it easy to prepare for class. An electronic Image Library can be used to create communication overlays and additional homework assignments.

Details

Teaching to Standards: SCIENCE is a research-based science curriculum for middle and high school students (ages 12-21) who have moderate-to-severe developmental disabilities including intellectual disabilities and autism. The curriculum objectives align with state and national standards based on those established by the National Science Education Standards.

The curriculum includes four units of study which address science standards using an inquiry-based approach: Earth (Earth’s history), Biology (including microbiology), Waters (Earth’s waters), and Chemistry. Lessons are based on the principles of systematic instruction and provide scripts and suggestions for adaptations to accommodate students who are nonverbal, have visual or hearing impairments, or have special physical needs. All students learn actual scientific vocabulary like pollution, precipitation and condensation.

Evidence-based practices for teaching science to this population were gleaned from a comprehensive literature review and form the basis for the curriculum. Suggestions for extending skills or for creating more learning opportunities in the everyday lives of the students are provided as stories in the ScienceWork book. The program can be used as a full-year curriculum or as a model for selecting content that matches specific state standards.

Extra ScienceWork student books and the Experiment Materials are available separately.

By Ginevra Courtade, PhD, Bree Jimenez, MEd, Katherine Trela, PhD, and Diane Browder, PhD. ScienceWork, full-color, spiralbound, 104 pages; Implementation Guide, full-color, spiralbound; Student Response Guide, full-color, spiralbound, 121 pages, 2008.

Alignments to State Standards are available for California, Florida, Missouri, Georgia, Texas and South Carolina.