Forums

What schools are participating in STEM for students with moderate to severe disabilities? Were they able to secure funding through federal or private grant sources to participate?

Ann, I'm not sure if this is what you are asking about, but currently our school is conducting a STEM activity that is allowing every student in the school to participate. In conjunction with Hawaii Energy, our school is lending out Belkin Energy Meters in a kit to be taken home by the students to perform a home energy usage lab. We as a science department wrote the lab to conform to our standardized lab report rubric, and we are handing out the kits through our science classes to all students. Students who are in alternative settings for moderate to severe disabilities are also participating. We go to the classes and explain to the students and their skills trainers (if they are assigned one) what the purpose of the project is and how to perform the lab. Instructions are also sent home in communication notebooks as family participation is encouraged. As some of our more severe students may not actually be able to perform the lab independently, they are still able to participate through their parents and siblings. The lab is very simple to complete, and gives the students a good understanding of both the scientific process and the importance of home energy monitoring usage. Energy monitoring meters may be obtained through grants or from local energy companies. It was exciting for us to find a way to allow all our students participate equally in a project no matter their disability. I am attaching a copy of the lab report if you are interested.

Attachments

Belkin_Energy_Meter_Lab.doc (0.03 Mb)

Data_Collection_Sheet_-_new.doc (0.06 Mb)

Ann - I am wondering in the time that has passed since your post here - did you find any grant sources? Have you come up with projects that meet your population's needs?

One of my goals is to have more awareness of the resources for special needs students. Science is a high interest topic. Janice

Hi Ann, I know your post is from January, but I thought I would reply. My school has been conducting STEM training during school hours three times a semester. All science and math teachers take a subday to attend these trainings. Although, 40 to 60% of the information offered through our resource teachers in useful, my classroom turns into a circus. I support the move towards increasing emphasis on math and especially science. However, without increase resources, many of the experiments proposed and demonstrated in the training would come out of the teachers' pocket. At least in Hawaii, STEM needs to also provide "turn key" lessons. I mean a box of equipments, a lesson plan, student activities and rubrics that a teacher simply borrows and can easily implement. Most of the science teacher at my school do not have backgrounds in science, including myself. I enjoy these NSTA scipacks because they provide me with content knowledge on topics I have not studied since high school. I think STEM needs to incorporate not only teacher education, but also resources.

Dear Colleagues: STEM for special education is a rare thing as it requires significant investment in hands-on tools, testing, teacher training and support, and modification of existing STEM offerings. You can contact the STEMgeo team at stemgeo.com for information on this unique, though widespread need in our country. HOpe this helps. Cheers...

I am looking for grant opportunities to get Stem materials for students with a wide range of learning and physical disabilities for my urban school.

Thank you for the post- I have trouble coming up with hands on activities for my special needs students-

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is a set of fields that use science and technology to solve problems. In education, STEM is used to describe subjects such as computer science, engineering, and mathematics with the accessible online tools provided here for students' help. Special education is the field of study that focuses on helping students with disabilities learn in ways that are different from their peers.

Science is so important to every learner. I wish there were more resources available for students with disabilities.