Classrooms today aren’t just a desk and chair with the teacher right upfront. They are truly turning out to be the learning institutions they were always intended to be, thanks to STEAM education.
It’s an approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking.
Students are channelising their skills and talent to become little engineers, mathematicians, scientists and so much more. They are applying practical knowledge learnt from books and that’s just the right way to ensure the next generation adapts quickly to the rapidly evolving world.
In the midst of all this, we need to consider the special education students who also need the same STEAM learning activities to help them grow and nurture. The need of the hour is to develop STEM activities for special education students that they can enjoy at length without stressing out.
And to facilitate this, educators are working around connecting and building activities related to STEAM learning activities for special education students.
To make this simpler, we’ve listed five STEM activities for special education students that you can try at home.
5 STEAM Activities For Special Education Students
1. Challenge model
In order to encourage special education students to work on STEAM activities, you need to prepare and create challenges for them to participate and overcome.
Students can participate in a variety of projects including building and flying paper planes, designed contraptions to protect an egg from breaking when dropped from a certain height; making bath bombs to learn about chemical reactions, and using mirror and marbles to create a kaleidoscope.
The idea is for students to learn using the resources available readily. Students can also collaborate and work on building or assembling a model kit together that requires teamwork.
You can start by dividing them into smaller groups and then get them together to work cohesively towards one large project.
2. Self selection method
Instead of offering a fixed approach towards completing a task, give students the freedom to choose their own end product. Let them take the route of their choosing to get there and see how creative they can actually be.
This approach helps students have an open and creative when it comes to solving problems and gaining professional freedom later in life. It keeps them engaged mentally and physically and helps to build an out-of-the-box thought process.
3. Communication platform
Creating STEM activities for special education students is also an opportunity to help students learn about communication. This is particularly necessary when working in a team. Encourage students to communicate their ideas with other students as well as question the decisions of their partner.
Special education students may also need a little more time than usual to productively complete the tasks at hand. At the same time, avoid stepping in to help them out and let them overcome the obstacle on their own.
What you can do is provide additional wait time for students to cope up. You can always discuss with your class later about the challenges they faced and how they chose to overcome the same.
4. Abstract language development
Students with autism may find it difficult to understand figurative language. This can get difficult to comprehend when learning languages or art that may denote things in an abstract format.
So, instead of letting students get confused with abstract language, it's advisable to preview abstract concepts beforehand with the students.
5. Building thinking maps
Thinking maps or a mind palace is great to organise thoughts and compartmentalise them to help derive the bigger picture. This is particularly helpful for students who have a difficult time with inferential reasoning.
With thinking maps, students can overcome this limitation, which will help them plan and reorganise their thoughts to have a better flow of things.
It's also a great way for students to learn about organising things and can use a diary or a project book to collate their thoughts on different topics.
The idea of STEAM activities for special education students is to also help them achieve their individualised education plan (IEP). Different students have different goals in math, foundational skills, reading comprehension, languages, self-management, and social/emotional management.
STEAM activities are fun and can really help students cope up different subjects without having to be too stressed out about them. More importantly, they understand concepts rather than mugging up the books and that's a learning for life.
Benefits Of STEAM Activities For Special Education Students
Some of the benefits of STEM activities for special education students include:
- Learning math and science via hands-on applications
- Valuable life skills like cooperation, collaboration, and perseverance
- Learning teamwork and sportsmanship
- Developing fine motor skills
- Learning organisation and problem-solving
- Using household items to complete STEAM activities
STEAM activities for special education students can be quite beneficial. Academically, they learn hands-on application of subjects they study in class. Developmentally, it helps them learn life skills such as collaboration, perseverance, and cooperation.
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