Effective Teaching Strategies and Student Engagement: Students with Learning Disabilities
Demirdag, S.
Abstract:
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) are federal laws in the United States (US), which state that schools are accountable for the success of students with special needs. They also state that school responsibilities must be demonstrated through Individualized Education Program (IEP), which outlines specific instructional accommodations, modifications, and effective evaluations. Historically, students with learning disabilities (SLD) received services either in a resource room, a self-contained special education classroom, or inclusive settings where they received special education services within the general education classroom. Even though federal laws shifted the focus on how to effectively educate SLD, it appears that these students continue to fall behind their non-disabled peers in regular education classrooms in many subjects, including science. Teaching science to SLD in inclusive classrooms is a challenging task for science teachers as the numbers of SLD has increased. However, collaboration among teachers, setting high learning goals, effective teaching strategies, and providing some basic modifications can help SLD be more engaged and succeed in science classes.
Keywords: Student engagement, special education, teaching strategies, learning goals, modifications.
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APA citation
- Demirdag, S. (2014). Effective Teaching Strategies and Student Engagement: Students with Learning Disabilities. International Journal of Teaching and Education, 2(3), 168-175.