Working With Special Needs Populations

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Working With Special Needs Populations Chris
Carter, Assistant Director, VSGC Nick Koltun,
Educational Programs Specialist, VSGC Mark
Riccobono, Director of Education Jernigan
Institute National Federation of the Blind Gail
Henrich, Vision Teacher, Norfolk Public Schools
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Disability Groups under the
Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act

• Orthopedic Impairments
• Autism
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Other Health Impairments, Multiple Disabilities,
  Deaf-blindness, Specific Learning Disabilities,
  and Developmental Delay

• Hearing Impairments Including Deafness
• Visual Impairments Including Blindness
• Speech or Language Impairments
• Mental Retardation
• Emotional Disturbance

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Scope of Need

• Children and youth served under IDEA by age group
  in the 50 States (2004)
• Ages 3 21
• 6,718,619
• Ages 5 18 (school age children and youth)
• 5,716,119

Source  U.S. Department of Education, Office of S
pecial Education Programs, Data Analysis System
"Report of children with d
isabilities receiving special education under Part
 B of the Individualswith Disabilities Education 
Act," 2004.  Data updated as of July 30, 2005.
https//www.ideadata.org/tables28th/ar_1-1.htm
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Inclusion of Students With Disabilities in
Regular Classrooms
  Percentage of Day in Regular Education Classroom Percentage of Day in Regular Education Classroom Percentage of Day in Regular Education Classroom Percentage of Day in Regular Education Classroom  
School year 80 percentor more 40-79percent Less than40 percent Less than40 percent Not in aregular school

199495 44.5 28.7 22.4 4.3 4.3
199596 45.3 28.7 21.6 4.4 4.4
199697 45.8 28.5 21.4 4.3 4.3
199798 46.4 29.0 20.4 4.1 4.1
199899 46.1 29.8 20.1 4.1 4.1
19992000 46.0 29.7 20.3 4.1 4.1
200001 46.5 29.8 19.5 4.2 4.2
200102 48.4 28.3 19.2 4.0 4.0
200203 48.2 28.7 19.0 4.0 4.0
200304 49.9 27.7 18.5 3.9 3.9
SOURCE U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. (2003). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Data from tables AB8 and AB10, unpublished tabulations. Retrieved February 7, 2005, from http//www.ideadata.org/arc_toc5.asppartbLRE. SOURCE U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. (2003). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Data from tables AB8 and AB10, unpublished tabulations. Retrieved February 7, 2005, from http//www.ideadata.org/arc_toc5.asppartbLRE. SOURCE U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. (2003). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Data from tables AB8 and AB10, unpublished tabulations. Retrieved February 7, 2005, from http//www.ideadata.org/arc_toc5.asppartbLRE. SOURCE U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. (2003). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Data from tables AB8 and AB10, unpublished tabulations. Retrieved February 7, 2005, from http//www.ideadata.org/arc_toc5.asppartbLRE. SOURCE U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. (2003). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Data from tables AB8 and AB10, unpublished tabulations. Retrieved February 7, 2005, from http//www.ideadata.org/arc_toc5.asppartbLRE. SOURCE U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. (2003). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Data from tables AB8 and AB10, unpublished tabulations. Retrieved February 7, 2005, from http//www.ideadata.org/arc_toc5.asppartbLRE.
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Diverse Learners in Classrooms
Students with Special Needs English Language
Learners Auditory Learners Visual
Learners Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners Struggling
Readers Gifted Multiple Intelligences
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Universal Design
The GOAL of UNIVERSAL DESIGN is to create
flexible goals, methods, materials, and
assessments that accommodate learner differences.
Close captioning assists beginning readers,
struggling readers, English language learners and
the deaf

Access is the key
Visual learners learn best with demonstrations
and reading
Science lectures and dialogues help the auditory
learner and the learners with vision problems
Tactile learners perform best taking notes,
hands-on projects
Kinesthetic learners learn best being actively
involved
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• SERCH serves as a broker and facilitator of
  services between the region's educational
  community and researchers involved in SMD
  missions.
• Purpose is to promote space science awareness and
  enhance interest in science, math, and technology
  through the use of NASA's mission data,
  information, and educational products
• SERCH works with 14 Space Grant consortia (AL,
  AR, DC, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, PR, SC, TN,
  and VA)

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• Exceptional Needs Workshops (ENWS)
• 6 workshops
• Outcomes of ENWS
• Special Needs Resource Group (SNRG)
• Exceptional Needs Working Group (ENWG)
• Tactile and Technology Focus Group (TTFG)

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ENWG-Outcomes
Identified need to adapt existing educational
materials and to encourage NASA product
developers to provide educational
methods/products that will involve the exception
student population.
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Special educators
Science educators
Product developers
Parents
NASA Space Grant
Web developers
Teaming
Scientists
Administrators
Technology Specialists
Assistive Technology Specialists
Community
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VSGC Work in Special Needs

• One regional and two statewide conferences
• For teachers of science to blind, visually
  impaired, deaf and hard of hearing students
• Mission Space Science The Tactile Frontier
• Regional Conference
• One-day
• Held at VSGC offices
• 30 teachers and educators

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Space Science the Special Way(With a Twist from
Assistive Technology)

• Seed Funding from SERCH
• Additional funding from NASA LaRC, VA DOE,
  Department of Blind/Visually Impaired and
  Department of Deaf/Hard of Hearing
• Statewide Conference held in February 2004 at
  Science Museum of Virginia
• 131 participants
• Response was overwhelmingly positive!

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Evaluation Summary

• 97 of participants agreed, or strongly
  agreed with statements related to
• gained new information
• changed the way I feel about assistive technology
• motivated to share this with others
• accommodations and agenda met my needs and
  expectations
• The energy, enthusiasm, and knowledge were
  wonderful! Great conference!
• I am so very impressed with the efforts and
  connections of the team!

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Teaching Earth and Space Science the Special Way

• Seed funding from SERCH
• Additional funding from NIA/NASA Center for
  Distance Learning, VDOE, Department of
  Blind/Visually Impaired, Department of Deaf/Hard
  of Hearing, Canon
• Conference held at VSGC in November 2005
• For teachers of science to students who are
  blind, visually impaired, deaf and hard of
  hearing

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Teaching Earth and Space Science the Special Way

• Attended by 108 attendees
• The conference was inspiring as well as
  informative. The best practices and hands-on
  technology workshops were helpful.
• Thank you for your effort to put together an
  informative, interesting, and engaging
  conference.
• I was impressed with the diversity of the people
  attendinginformation will be shared across the
  city with teachers! This was a wonderful
  conference for finding others with similar
  interest.

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Partnerships Developed/Outcomes

• Proposal to NOAAs Environmental Literacy
• Weather and Climate Education for the Blind
• Sonification and tactile graphics
• Proposal to NEC, Inc. STEM Education Program
• Adapting Visual Science News for Blind Students

• National Federation of the Blind (NFB)
• NASA Langley
• NASA Johnson
• TERC
• Braille Authority of North America

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Partnerships Developed/Outcomes

• SERCH and partners awarded NSF Planning Grant
• College of Charleston
• South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia,
  Maryland, and Pennsylvania Space Grants
• SMILE (Science and Mathematics Integrated in
  Lifelong-Learning Experiences)
• Broaden the Special Needs Initiative from the
  K-12 to higher education.
• Strengthen and expand network of educators,
  scientists, and resource developers working to
  make STEM accessible to students with special
  needs.

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Virginia Students Attending SCIVIS

• Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired
  Students (SCIVIS).
• A week long camp at the US Space and Rocket
  Center in Huntsville coordinated by teachers of
  the visually impaired.
• All materials and equipment are made accessible
  to allow students to fully participate.
• 3,200 contributed over 3 years to fund travel
  for 12 students