RETRACTED: Building an online educational platform to promote creative and affective thinking in special education

Abstract

Abstract Digital technologies offer many positive social and behavioural opportunities for students with special needs and allow the development of educational programs in accordance with children's characteristics, age, and health. Children with special educational needs, such as those with autism spectrum disorders, often have significant deficits in social reciprocity and communication, but they respond favourably to technology. This study aims to assess the potential of an online learning platform designed to enhance affective thinking and social skills. The sample includes 50 children with a mean age of 12.5 years. The online learning platform and assessment activities were developed with the involvement of 4 medical specialists in ASD and 3 experts in the field of creative and affective thinking assessment. The training lasted 15 weeks. Assignments designed to develop affective thinking revolve around real-life situations a child may encounter in the classroom, on public playgrounds, in foodservice establishments, etc. Data processing was carried out using the SPSS package. The pretest-posttest comparison was carried out via paired t-tests. Social adaptation and affective thinking abilities were evaluated with the help of these tests: NEPSY-II, Ekman 60, and Triangles. The results suggest that the proposed online platform has the potential to be a promising tool for improving social skills. Paired t-tests revealed a significant improvement in the affect recognition abilities, social attribution abilities, and analytical reasoning skills. The present findings results can be relevant to researchers in the field of special education in an online learning environment, instructional staff, and special education teachers.