Teaching thinking skills in science to learners with special needs : an evaluation study

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Effective use of thinking skills and processes affects every aspect of our lives. This studyinvestigates the nexus between an alternative approach to science teaching with anemphasis on teaching thinking skills, and the special needs of learners in two SouthAfrican classrooms.Two cycles of intervention programmes with an emphasis on thinking skills wereintroduced to learners with special needs and evaluated. The aims of this study are tocritically explore whether and to what extent teaching science to learners with specialneeds using selected Instrumental Enrichment instruments can:• Contribute to the development of basic and science thinking skills and the transfer ofthese thinking skills and processes to other disciplines;• Provide learners with special needs with an interactive science programme that issuitable for their special needs; and• Increase student engagement in the science classroom as well as positively influencethe classroom learning environment.The study was conducted using action research as a method for teachers-researchers toinvestigate the teaching-learning situation in situ for the purpose of improvement andchange of practice as well as for the benefit of the learners who participate in theintervention. Cross-referencing triangulation was used, in which different perspectivesobtained from different sources - the teacher's, the observer's and the learners' -werecombined as a way to increase the validity, credibility and dependability of the findings.This research report offers insights into science instruction, the acquisition of sciencecontent knowledge and the improvement of thinking skills in learners with special needs.The research also deals with the transfer of thinking skills taught in one discipline intoanother, and raises questions about the assumptions regarding this issue in Curriculum2005. It also throws light on the inclusive approach, underpinning the South Africaneducational policy of inclusive education and its suitability for learners with specialneeds.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University