A methodology for developingscience teaching materials for

pupils with learning difficultiesJILL BANCROFT

Introduction

Given the diversity of individual needs represented in thefield of special education, and the limited availability ofsuitable published science teaching materials, teachershave met the needs of their pupils by supplementing thesein the following ways:

• Using or adapting published primary resources. Care isneeded over the age appropriateness of the contexts andany illustrations that are used and the possibility ofrepetition if the activity has already been used duringearlier key stages.

• Using or adapting published secondary resources. This routeprovides age-appropriate contexts but the concepts,literacy and numeracy demands may create barriers tolearning.

• Developing their own resources. Some teachers confidentin the use of appropriate teaching strategies for theirpupils may be diffident about developing sciencematerials as a result of their limited experience orknowledge of the subject.

This article examines two case studies illustrating thedevelopment of science teaching and learning materials at

The Science Curriculum Centre, part of The University ofYork Science Education Group, to support special schoolsin the DfES Key Stage 3 Strategy Pilot.

The first case study illustrates the process of adaptingexisting mainstream teaching materials and the second casestudy follows the development of original materialsspecifically tailored to the needs of pupils with severelearning difficulties.

The final section summarises the general underlyingprinciples that need to be addressed when developingclassroom materials for use by pupils with learningdifficulties.

Identifying pupil capabilities

To enable appropriate access, teaching materials must becarefully designed to meet, as far as possible, the needs ofthe intended audience.

Tilstone (1992) suggested that severe learning difficultiesoften result from neurological dysfunction or brain damage:

The consequent altered processes may affect the rate oflearning, but do not result in a general incapacity tolearn. Such altered processes result in a delay, in someor all of the main areas of general development, andsensory and physical impairment which are causedeither by the direct result of neurological damage orthrough the way in which those in contact with the childrestrict his or her experiences.

(p. 62)

In the development of these materials a range of pupilstrengths, in terms of the QCA P-scales in Supporting thetarget setting process. Guidance for effective target settingfor pupils with special educational needs (DfEE/QCA,2001b), and up to Level 1 in The National Curriculum for

The question of whether, and how, to adapt existingteaching materials or create new ones to meet theneeds of their pupils has always exercised theminds of teachers. Jill Bancroft, from the ScienceCurriculum Centre in York, uses two case studies toillustrate the sensitivity and understanding requiredto undertake these tasks. The methodologicalframework outlined here is likely to provide auseful checklist for busy teachers.

Science teaching materials

168 Support for Learning Vol. 17 No. 4 (2002)© NASEN 2002.

England (DfEE/QCA, 1999), informed the choice ofactivities, design of equipment and format of pupil resourcesheets. Identifying broad areas which create barriers tolearning for these pupils helped to identify pupil strengthsand increase access to the subject matter. These areaswere:

1. Communication methods2. Literacy skills3. Numeracy skills4. Reasoning ability5. Memory.

Opportunities to develop skills in promoting self-awareness,working with others, decision-making, choosing and takingon responsibility were incorporated wherever possible intothe planning of the activities.

Underpinning all aspects of the development of the materialswas the issue of age appropriateness. Bancroft (2002)considers the effect of the presentation of teaching materialson the pupils’ perception of their own worth:

Low self esteem permeates most areas of special needand tends to reinforce under achievement when thesestudents rarely achieve success. In addition, the changesthat accompany approaching adolescence heighten theindividuals’ awareness of themselves and how theyperceive others see them. It is essential that the teachingmaterials they are expected to work with complementthose of their mainstream contemporaries in terms oftheir maturity, interest and presentation. Only then will thestudents feel good about themselves and be emotionallyprepared for learning.

(p. 21)

Context setting

Constructing a realistic context through an interestingstoryline, involving the individual on a personal level, actslike a springboard, engaging and taking the pupil forwardwith enthusiasm and motivation.

When the storyline is explored through role play, andevents are experienced in a physical way, children developtheir knowledge and intelligence. McSharry and Jones(2000) explain why role play can help to make sciencerelevant to many children:

The desire to play, and therefore to learn, is a fundamentalpart of human psychology and is a potentially powerfulresource residing in the children themselves.

(p. 73)

Role play gives children a feeling of ownership of theireducation. McSharry and Jones (2000) describe ownership‘as the way a child facilitates their own learning by creatingtheir own role-plays through either scripted or improvisedwork…’ (p. 74).

Teaching approaches

A variety of multi-sensory teaching approaches usingthree-dimensional objects, colour photographs andillustrations, sound, smells and tactile materials, allappropriate in the context of science learning, willmaximise the use of the available channels for sensorystimuli. This all-round experience gives the pupil anopportunity to use their preferred representational system.In addition, any limitations of any particular sense inreceiving information will be minimised if a multi-sensoryapproach is utilised.

Science investigations provide opportunities for practicalwork with apparatus and materials. Watson (2001)describes teaching approaches involving direct physicalinvolvement that are particularly helpful to pupils whoexperience difficulties:

Even expertly presented, interesting information mayhave little meaning for pupils who lack the basicgeneral knowledge to which it could have been linked.Teachers have somehow to create the conditions forbuilding up appropriate conceptual foundations forsubsequent learning. Direct physical interaction withmaterials is often effective in enhancing pupils’thinking, especially as many do not spontaneously useverbalisation. Handling physical materials extends theirsensory experience, is relaxing and satisfying, and mayfacilitate mental reasoning.

(p. 141)

CASE STUDY 1: adapting existing mainstream materials

The first case study describes how a mainstream activity,developed for mainstream KS3 pupils and entitled Hotchocolate (Hilton, 1993), was adapted for pupils withsevere learning difficulties.

The investigation Hot chocolate was developed at theChemical Industry Education Centre, part of TheUniversity of York Science Education Group. Hot chocolateinvestigates the effect of different coloured surfaces on heatabsorption by radiation. The industrially linked contextaddresses the real-life problem faced by a chocolatemanufacturer when the chocolate in their lorries melted onhot days. The mainstream resource describes, in text linkedto pictures, what happened on hot days to chocolate beingtransported in the company lorries painted purple, and inwhite lorries which were subsequently hired. Finally thereis a suggestion that painting the purple lorries gold (yellow)or in keeping with the company colours could make adifference.

The pupils then plan an investigation to see the effectdifferent paint colours have on the temperature inside smallcans. One suggested arrangement of apparatus and theexpected results using four paint colours, as they appear inthe teacher notes, are shown in Figure 1.

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ii. understand place valueiii.sequence numbers to 100iv. read small intervals on a scale.

• The temperature is measured at five-minute intervalsusing a stop clock. Pupils may not understand standardunits of time and the small scale measuring five minuteson an analogue stopclock. Furthermore, the alternativeof a digital stopclock will have no meaning to the pupilwho does not understand place value and decimalplaces.

• The results are recorded in a table and plotted to createa linear graph. Pupils may not be able to draw a table orrecord their results in the appropriate cells and willnot be able to create or understand linear graphicalrepresentation of the data.

Adapting the material

The initial assessment of barriers to learning and anunderstanding of the pupils’ many strengths and capabilitiesinform the changes that can be made to facilitate access tothe science ideas.

Renaming the activity Travelling in the minibus focusesattention on a new and more familiar context for theactivity. The story line follows events when two pupilstravel in different coloured minibuses at the onset of acamping holiday. The chocolate covering on their biscuitsmelts in the purple minibus but not in the white minibus.

Setting a multi-sensory context not only maximises thecapabilities of the pupil but gives them time to considerthe problem, a prerequisite to making the investigationmeaningful.

Teachers choose the method which best uses the student’savailable senses to construct the context for the investigation.Some examples follow:

• The script and role play opportunity (Figure 2) bring tolife a midday break in the journey and the students’surprise that the chocolate has melted on biscuits in thepurple minibus but not in the white minibus. Pupilsshare the reading or act out the parts of the students,introducing a personal element to setting the scene andthe problem to be investigated.

• The three-dimensional models (Figure 3) of schoolminibuses and chocolate biscuits. Appropriatequestioning forms the link between the colour of theminibus and the temperature inside. The models can befelt, seen from all sides, and remain throughout thelesson as objects of reference, bringing pupils back ontask as their concentration wanes. They provide afocus for generating questions to elicit ideas aboutcolour and heat absorption and to initiate the investigativeprocess.

• Illustrations supporting text present the story and theproblem with the purple minibus. The pupil colours eachof the minibus outlines to reinforce their understanding.

Figure 1: Measuring the increase in temperature of airinside painted aluminium cans

Identification of potential barriers to learning

The ‘everyday’ context for this activity is appealing tothe pupil with severe learning difficulties as it is novel,motivating (using chocolate!) and an age-appropriate wayof introducing or revisiting the concept of heat absorptionby radiation. There are however potential barriers to learningin this mainstream version of the activity which need to beovercome if pupils are going to access the science ideas.

• The title of the activity, Hot chocolate, although aclever play on words appealing to those with a secureknowledge of the vocabulary, may lead the pupil to thinkthe activity has something to do with making hot drinks.

• Some pupils may struggle to make the connectionbetween the colour of packaging of goods beingtransported and the company colour of the lorry.

• The lamp, as a heat source, is positioned at the side ofthe vertical can. This arrangement of apparatus does notmodel the real life context and will prevent the pupilmaking the crucial connection that the lamp bulbrepresents the sun above the lorry and the can representsa lorry below.

• Two colours are tested at the same time. The slowerworker will struggle to record temperature readingssimultaneously and allocate them independently to atable of results.

• Some pupils will not make the connection betweenchanges in air (gas) temperature and the melting of thechocolate (solid).

• The lamp bulb is positioned 5 cm from the can. Pupilsmay not understand standard units of distance and howto use a ruler.

• For those pupils who do not understand the numericalscale but are beginning to understand that the thermometerliquid rises with increased temperature, inverting thethermometer will cause confusion as the temperature riseis accompanied by an apparent fall in the thermometerliquid.

• In addition, the thermometer will have limited use by thepupil who does not:i. coordinate hand and eye to manoeuvre the glass

casing so that the coloured line of thermometer liquidcan be seen

CanTemperature °C

start

Black

Purple

Gold

White

Hints:Small cans use less paint.Aluminium cans are better than steel cans.Cans must be dry inside.Use Blu-Tack to fix the can onto thethermometer.Clamp the thermometer not the can.Cans with fitted thermometers are unstablein the upright position.Test two cans at once, as shown below.

150 mlaluminiumdrinks can(painted)

Blu-Tack

20.0

19.5

20.5

19.5

after 5 mins increase

30.0

28.0

26.5

23.5

10.0

8.5

6.0

4.0

Thermometer20-40°C rangemust be visible

Clamp

Desk lamp

Air

5 cm

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Figure 2: Setting the context using scripted role play

Figure 3: The apparatus models the real-life context

Apparatus modelling the context

Positioning a single painted can horizontally to representthe minibus, with the lamp representing the sun verticallyabove it models the real life context. Direct questioning isimportant to help the student make the connection betweenthe real context and the apparatus used to model it.

Understanding of fair testing when setting up the apparatusis aided by providing a choice of illustrations depictingpossible variations in the choice and arrangement ofcomponents (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Pictorial support for pupils demonstrating theirknowledge of fair testing

Strategies to support numeracy

The P-scales and level descriptions in the NationalCurriculum Mathematics document highlight thedevelopment of knowledge, skills and understanding inusing and applying mathematics, number and algebra,shape, space and measures and handling data. Thesedescriptions informed planning of the materials.

• A spacer, measuring 5 cm, is used by the student toensure the bulb, used as a heat source, is the correctdistance from the can.

• The time taken for a piece of chocolate to melt as itbecomes warmer, instead of a thermometer, provides anindication of the temperature inside the can.

• One piece of chocolate inserted into the can opening isprodded with a lolly stick at regular intervals until itmelts. Moulded chocolate bars break easily into single,identical ‘fair testing sized pieces’, removing the need tomeasure the mass or volume of the chocolate.

• Two-minute time intervals are measured using a sandtimer in standard or non-standard units depending onpupil capabilities.

• One method of presenting the results as they arecollected and omitting the need for a table is for thepupil to collect a coloured cube, the same colour as thecan, every two minutes until the chocolate melts. Thesecubes are assembled to form the first column of a threedimensional block graph.

Travelling in the minibus

The whole class is going camping so two minibuses areneeded. There’s only one seat left in the new minibus.

Sarah I want to go in the new minibus.

Tom Why? It’s the same as the old one.

Sarah No it isn’t. The old minibus is white.The new one is purple.

Tom That is the only difference. I don’tmind going in the old, white minibus.Take your share of the biscuits toeat on the journey.

Sarah Ooh, chocolate biscuits.My favourites! I’ll see you when westop for a break.

It is a hot day. The buses stop for a break after 2 hours.

Tom Let’s eat our biscuits.

Sarah Oh no! Mine have melted.

Tom Mine are alright. I wonder why yourshave melted?

How did you make your test fair?Tick the fair tests

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• Pupils can colour in boxes to record results, creating thecolumns of a block graph (Figure 5).

• Once the procedure has been modelled and carried outby the pupil, it can be repeated using another can of adifferent colour to make a comparison.

Figure 5: Colouring boxes creates the columns of a blockgraph

Strategies to support literacy

P-scales and level descriptions in the National CurriculumEnglish document highlight the development of knowledge,skills and understanding in speaking, listening, reading andwriting. These descriptions informed planning of thematerials.

In the presentation of written text the amount the student isexpected to read, and its appropriateness for their readingage, is considered. The use of a large and simple letter stylecomplementing a page format that is straightforward withno indents or distracting areas is used. New vocabulary isused consistently and a small number of key words, oncards, are introduced as they arise.

The actual apparatus or realistic drawings are used inplace of conventional scientific diagrams to illustrate theapparatus (Figure 4). Those who struggle with making theconnection between symbols and sound (letters in text)will also struggle to identify the symbols used in sciencediagrams.

Pictorial support using illustrations is used to help establishthe meaning of unfamiliar words. Colouring of outlines ofa minibus records, without text, what has been found out(Figure 5).

This investigation produces an obvious pattern in theresults to help the student conclude that the purple canabsorbs more heat than the white or yellow cans. Fromthis knowledge, students can be encouraged to makegeneralisations about how other colours used for minibuseswould absorb heat.

The use of appropriate questioning helps the student tosequence their thoughts logically. Communication andreasoning are supported with the use of sentence openersfollowed by wide lines indicating clearly the expectation ofan achievable quantity of writing or symbols. The versatilityprovided by an electronic version of the resource allows theteacher to alter text to suit individual needs.

CASE STUDY 2: developing original materials

The second case study follows the development of originalmaterials about the science of evaporation for pupils withsevere learning difficulties. The principles mirror thoseused in adapting mainstream resources.

Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupilswith learning difficulties (DfEE/QCA, 2001a) at Key Stage3 recommends that students exploring and investigatingevaporation may:

observe changes in puddles in the playground, forexample, by chalking round the edge, or changes inwater left in an open dish, with the level marked, orconsider clothes and hair being washed and dried andobserve what happens to the water.

(p. 24)

Creating a suitable context

To make the science concepts meaningful, a familiar,age-appropriate context that pupils could relate to wasidentified. The context needed to be the platform forpresenting a problem concerning evaporation that could beturned into a question to be investigated with a definite outcome.

The most usual and familiar context for evaporation, thatmost pupils are likely to have experienced, is the coolingeffect of water evaporating from their skin, either as a resultof washing or after immersion in water following swimming.As swimming is usually associated with recreation, possiblyholidays and enjoyment, this was the context that wasselected as it would engage and motivate the student. Theinvestigation Swimming and Paddling was consequentlydeveloped with the aim of enabling students to observe thechanges, including temperature of the surroundings, thatoccur when water evaporates.

20

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

minutes

1. Prod the chocolate every 2 minutes.

2. Colour a box if the chocolate is solid.

3. Stop colouring when it melts.

purple white

The best minibus colour

172 Support for Learning Vol. 17 No. 4 (2002)© NASEN 2002.

Setting a multi-sensory context involves the teacherchoosing the method which best suits their pupils’strengths.

• A large, colourful poster and picture cards of peoplesupported by word cards and photographs provides theseaside location for the story about two young people onholiday.

• The script and role play opportunity accompanied bythe sound effect of seawash, bring to life a girl feelingcold after swimming when she does not change out ofher wet swimsuit. Pupils share the reading or act outthe parts of the boy and girl, introducing a personalelement to setting the scene and the problem to beinvestigated.

• The three dimensional model (Figure 6) made from aplastic bottle with the top of the neck removed and adoll’s head positioned at the top of the bottle models thegirl’s body. A colourful lycra band (the ‘swimsuit’) isplaced around the bottle. The model can be felt, seenfrom all sides, and remains throughout the lesson as anobject of reference, bringing pupils back on task as theirconcentration wanes. It provides a focus for generatingquestions to elicit ideas about what happens when theswimsuit is wet and initiates the investigative process.Allowing students to assemble the model gives them asense of ownership of the activity, which in turn increasesmotivation.

Figure 6: The apparatus models a warm body wearing aswimsuit

Apparatus modelling the context

Positioning two bottles vertically, each with a doll’s head atthe top, represents identical models of the girl. A wetlycra band around one bottle and a dry lycra band aroundthe other represent the wet and dry swimsuits. The warmwater at 40° C in each of the two bottles makes themodels feel the same temperature as the human body.Direct questioning is important to help the pupil make theconnection between the real context and the apparatus usedto model it.

Strategies to support literacy and numeracy

A pictorial equipment list, which is supported by text,enables the student to collect their apparatus independently(Figure 7).

Figure 7: The pictorial equipment list is supported by text

A ‘me’ thermometer, which uses words to describe a broadtemperature range with a scale of five intervals relating totemperatures equivalent to, greater than and less than bodytemperature, is supplemented by individual pictures on apictorial scale. Each picture matches a text description onthe thermometer (Figure 8) to assist those students who donot read text to work independently.

Figure 8: Pictures enable non-readers to use the temperaturescale independently

Swimming and paddling

Why does Sarah feel cold?

You will need

2 plastic bottleswith the tops cut off

What do you think will happen to the warm body in the wet swimsuit?

______________________________________________________

What do you think will happen to the warm body in the dry swimsuit?

______________________________________________________

2 ‘me’thermometers 2 ‘swimsuits’ sand timer

colder cooler me warmer hotter

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Swimming and paddling

Which swimsuit cooled the body most? __________________________________________________

dry swimsuit

wet swimsuit

time inminutes

start = 0 5 10 15 20 25

Figure 9: Temperature is recorded pictorially to create a pictograph

Table 1: A methodology for developing appropriate resources.

Stage Checklist

1. Assess pupil capabilities • P-scale or National Curriculum level in English and Maths• Preferred/available representational system• Communication methods• Memory• Reasoning ability• Mobility• Other

2. Search for activities • Explore age-related key stage to identify opportunities for progression• Match conceptual and practical demands to student ability• Ensure clear-cut results that offer a solution to the science problem• Ensure it is possible to reach a satisfactory endpoint in the time available

3. Identify a suitable context • Age appropriate• Motivating and engaging• Related to familiar experience or interest

4. Identify multi-sensory opportunities • Visual (pictures and models)• Auditory (discussion, sound effects, scripted role play)• Kinaesthetic (practical hands-on experience)

5. Design practical apparatus to model • Support in making the linkreal-life context

6. Structure discussion and direct questioning • Appropriate methods of communication to support reasoning

7. Identify strategies to support literacy needs • Pictorial support for text• Word cards• Simple font• Phrases or short sentences

8. Identify strategies to support numeracy needs • Number and algebra, e.g. replace the numerical temperature scale with pictures• Appropriate measures, e.g. use non-standard units of time• Handling data, e.g. omit table and display results immediately in a pictograph

or block graph

9. Pilot the activity and revise as appropriate

174 Support for Learning Vol. 17 No. 4 (2002)© NASEN 2002.

The temperature is measured at five-minute time intervalsusing a sand timer in standard or non-standard unitsdepending on student capabilities. At the same time thestudent feels the dry and wet lycra bands to experience thegradual drying of the wet ‘swimsuit’.

The results are presented as they are collected, omitting theneed for a table. The pupil collects a copy of the picturerepresenting the temperature on the pictorial scale andsticks it on a time line to make a pictograph (Figure 9).

The results show an obvious difference between thetemperatures of the water ‘bodies’ surrounded by the wetand dry ‘swimsuits’ to help the student conclude that thewet swimsuit cools the body more than the dry swimsuit.From this knowledge students can be encouraged togeneralise, and consider what they should do when they getwet to prevent them getting cold.

Conclusion

To enable appropriate access, teaching materials must becarefully designed to meet, as far as possible, the needs ofthe intended audience. In this article, I have summarisedtwo different approaches taken to develop science teachingand learning materials for pupils with learning difficulties.The methodology summarised in Table 1 can be used as aguide through the various stages, from the identification ofpupil strengths to the selection of age-appropriate activitiesutilising multi-sensory teaching approaches and strategiesto assist independent working. As a means of establishingaccess to science for pupils with learning difficulties thismethodology is by no means exclusive, and represents amethodology for the development of materials in othercurriculum subjects.

At the Science Curriculum Centre, the Special NeedsProgramme exists to develop and provide training in theuse of exemplary curriculum materials not only for pupilswith diverse learning needs but also as pointers to goodpractice for all abilities. The programme also supportsother curriculum projects to ensure the resulting materialsdemonstrate an inclusive approach.

In providing a methodology as a framework for writingtheir own science materials, the hope is that teachers will:

• become more confident in their teaching of scienceinvestigations to pupils with diverse learning needs

• employ an improved knowledge of appropriate strategiesto access their pupils to the appealing, practical ‘hands-on’and sensory opportunities that the subject offers

• ensure that activities are matched to the pupils’ literacyand numeracy capabilities

• appreciate, as will their pupils, the benefits of andenjoyment derived from their efforts to create relevantand fun contexts for teaching and learning.

References

BANCROFT, J. (2002) Developing science materials for pupils withspecial educational needs for the Key Stage 3 Strategy. School ScienceReview, 83, 305, 19–27.

DfEE/QCA (1999) The National Curriculum for England. London: TheStationery Office.

DfEE/QCA (2001a) Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum forpupils with learning difficulties. London: QCA.

DfEE/QCA (2001b) Supporting the target setting process. Guidance foreffective target setting for pupils with special educational needs.London: QCA.

HILTON, T. (1993) Hot Chocolate. York: Chemical Industry EducationCentre.

McSHARRY, G. and JONES, S. (2000) Role-play in science teaching andlearning. School Science Review, 82, 298, 73–82.

TILSTONE, C. (1992) Severe Learning Difficulties. In R. Gulliford andG. Upton (eds) Special Educational Needs. London: Routledge.

WATSON, J. (2001) Social constructivism in the classroom. Support forLearning, 16, 3, 140–147.

Acknowledgements

My thanks and appreciation go to Professor JohnHolman, Director of The Science Curriculum Centre, TheUniversity of York, for his guidance and constructivecomments.

CorrespondenceJill BancroftSpecial Needs Programme ManagerScience Curriculum CentreDepartment of ChemistryUniversity of YorkYorkYO10 5DDEmail: jwb4@york.ac.uk

Support for Learning Vol. 17 No. 4 (2002) 175© NASEN 2002.