One of the most important steps the "regular classroom teacher" can take regarding education in school science for the exceptional student is the willingness to find out about interventions and programs that will help exceptional students in the science classroom. In this inquiry activity you will join a team of peers who will investigate one or more areas of exceptional students and make a presentation to your class. An estimated 22 million Americans of working age have some physical disability, yet only 7.2 million of these are employed. The National Science Foundation found only 94,000 disabled scientists and engineers working in the late in 1980s. This activity will also focus on helping you become aware of ways to encourage students in science with disabilities.

Materials

List of exemplary programs/resources for exceptional students (Figure 1)

Procedures

1. Your team is to select an exceptionality from the list below and imagine that you have one or more students in your classes having this exceptionality.

• Hearing impaired

• Visually impaired

• Orthopedically/health impaired

• Learning disabled

• Mentally retarded

• Behaviorally disorded

• Gifted/talented

2. Your team's role is prepare a set of recommendations to the class that include the following elements:

a. What are the characteristics of students who have this exceptionality?

b. What is the cause of the exceptionality?

c. What teaching strategies should be used with students having this exceptionality?

d. What changes/modifications should be made to the physical arrangement of the classroom?

Minds On Strategies

1. What are some general principles concerning how the science teacher can facilitate learning for exceptional students in the regular classroom?

2. In what ways do you think exceptional students and the teacher's implementation of mitigating strategies can benefit the "normal" student in the regular classroom?

Programs Association of Science-Technology Centers 1413 K Street, N.W. 10 th Floor Washington, DC 20005 El Ingeniero Montgomery County Hispanic Coalition Silver Spring, MD 20092 Science Activities for the Visually Impaired (SAVI) Lawrence Hall of Science University of California Berkeley, CA 94720 Science Enrichment for Learners with Physical Handicaps (SELPH) Lawrence Hall of Science University of California Berkeley, CA 94720 Organizations/Resources Accent on Living (quarterly publication focusing on the needs of people with handicaps) P.O. Box 700 Bloomington, IL 61702 Accommodating the Disabled Student (book by James Mueller illustrating how facilities can be designed/adapted to accommodate disabled students) Rehabilitation Center George Washington University 2300 Eye Street, NW, Suite 714 Washington, DC 20037 American Association for the Advancement of Science 1333 H Street NW, 10th Floor Washington, DC 20005 Project on Science, Technology and Disability. Project resources include: • Resource Director of Scientists with Disabilities • Scientific and Engineering Societies: Resources for Career Planning American Chemical Society 1155 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 Resource book: Teaching Chemistry to Physically Handicapped Students Foundation for Science and the Handicapped 154 Juliet Court Clarendon Hills, IL 60514 This organization of handicapped scientists has published profiles of handicapped scientists, and functions as a resource and advocacy group for the handicapped in science. Gallaudet College Press Distribution Office 7th Street & Florida Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 (Resources on/for the deaf student)

American Foundation for the Blind 15 West 16th Street New York, NY 10011 American Printing House for the Blind, Inc. 1839 Frankfort Ave. P.O. Box 6085 Louisville, KY 40206 Committee on Personal Computers and the Handicapped (COPH-2) 2030 Irving Park Road Chicago, IL 60618 Information Center for Individuals with Disabilities 20 Park Plaza Boston, MA 02116 National Association for Hearing and Speech Action 10801 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852 National Association for Visually Handicapped 305 East 24th Street, 17-C New York, NY 10010 National Eye Institute National Institute of Health Bethesda, MD 20205 The National Braille Association 1290 University Avenue Rochester, NY 14607 National Federation for the Blind 1800 Johnson Street Baltimore, MD 21230 National Rehabilitation Information Center 4407 8th Street, NE Catholic University of America Washington, DC 20017 National Science Teachers Association 1742 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20009 Sourcebook: Science Education and the Physically Handicapped by H.H. Hofman, & K. S. Ricker. Organization: Science for the Handicapped Association (SHA) National Technical Institute for the Deaf Rochester Institute of Technology 1 Lomb Memorial Drive Rochester, NY 14623 Recording for the Blind, Inc. 20 Roszel Road Princeton, NJ 08540 Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America (RESNA) Suite 402, 4405 East-West Highway Bethesda, MD 20814