Abstract
Ocean education and ocean-based experiences need to be more inclusive, not only for underrepresented minority students but also for students with special needs. To increase the accessibility of marine science to students in special education, the Young Scientists Program (YSP) hosted an interactive marine science workshop for students in special education classes. During the workshop, students were able to learn the fundamental principles of engineering and engage with the engineering design process by building underwater robots and testing them in an inflatable pool. They were also able to see buoyancy acting on a Cartesian diver while learning about the inverse relationship between the volume and pressure of a gas. The success of this workshop not only demonstrates the positive impact engaging learning experiences have on students in special education but also argues for the inclusion of students with special needs in STEM programs.
Highlights
The study of ocean science has long been an exciting field with numerous research and professional opportunities that fall under the STEM umbrella
Alicia Gibbs, a Norwood Street Elementary School special education teacher, had the following to say about the workshop: “I appreciate the effort that Young Scientists Program (YSP) took to reach every student that attended...YSP and its staff made sure to connect with [students’] background knowledge and offered opportunities for the students to use nonlinguistic representations in the form of sketching to create their ideas for their robot
With positive feedback from the teachers and students involved, it is clear that having an opportunity to engage in a hands-on learning experience made ocean education more accessible to students with special needs
Summary
The study of ocean science has long been an exciting field with numerous research and professional opportunities that fall under the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) umbrella. The following case study will report on a marine science workshop designed for students in special education. Studies have shown that students in special education classes learn science most effectively through hands-on experiments (Scruggs & Mastropieri, 2007).
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