Science education should be inclusive and accessible to all learners. This topic explores strategies to break down barriers in science classrooms, from addressing biases to adapting physical spaces. It emphasizes the importance of differentiated instruction to meet diverse needs.

The section provides practical tips for creating welcoming environments, using assistive technology, and offering accommodations. These strategies help ensure every student can engage fully in science learning, regardless of their background or abilities.

Barriers to Inclusion in Science

Attitudinal, Curricular, and Pedagogical Barriers

• Attitudinal barriers involve stereotypes, prejudices or misconceptions about students with disabilities or from diverse backgrounds that limit their participation in science
  • Promote awareness of implicit biases and their impact on expectations and interactions
  • Actively challenge stereotypes and focus on learners' strengths, interests, and funds of knowledge
  • Engage in reflective practices to examine and address one's own biases
• Curricular barriers occur when lessons, materials or assessments are not designed to be accessible or engaging for all learners
  • Apply Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles to proactively design curricula that provide multiple means of representation (visual, auditory, tactile), action and expression (writing, speaking, creating), and engagement (choice, relevance, self-regulation)
  • Embed supports such as glossaries, prompts, and exemplars directly into curricula
  • Ensure assessments are aligned with UDL and allow for differentiated products
• Pedagogical barriers result from teaching methods that are not responsive to learner variability
  • Implement active learning strategies that engage students in sense-making and problem-solving (predictions, experiments, argumentation)
  • Use inquiry-based approaches that build on students' questions and experiences (problem-based learning, project-based learning, citizen science)
  • Facilitate cooperative learning with structured roles and protocols for equitable participation (jigsaw, reciprocal teaching)
  • Practice culturally responsive teaching that validates and integrates students' identities, languages, and ways of knowing

Physical and Social Barriers

• Physical barriers relate to the classroom setup, equipment, or materials that limit accessibility for some learners
  • Ensure physical spaces and furniture are navigable for students with mobility aids (wide aisles, adjustable tables, accessible storage)
  • Provide adaptive equipment for fine motor tasks (grip aids, large beakers, talking balances)
  • Offer digital and physical materials in accessible formats (text-to-speech compatibility, braille, large print)
  • Conduct a physical inventory of the science classroom using accessibility checklists
• Social barriers involve classroom dynamics, relationships, or inadequate support that impact some learners' sense of belonging and participation
  • Foster an inclusive community through icebreakers, team-building, and celebrations of progress
  • Structure positive interdependence in cooperative learning tasks and heterogeneous grouping
  • Assign peer buddies for academic and social support
  • Invite diverse STEM professionals to serve as mentors and share their journeys

Differentiated Instruction for Diverse Learners

Assessment and Responsive Instruction

• Use pre-assessments and formative assessments to identify learners' prior knowledge, skills, interests and learning profiles in order to inform differentiation
  • Administer interest surveys, multiple intelligence questionnaires, and learning style inventories
  • Assess understanding and skills using KWL charts, anticipation guides, concept maps, and entrance/exit tickets
  • Analyze student work samples to determine strengths, needs and progress
• Differentiate content by using multiple levels of text, materials or resources on the same topic, compacting curriculum for students who master it quickly, or providing extension activities
  • Provide leveled readings, websites, and videos on key science concepts
  • Use curriculum compacting to offer accelerated learners enrichment projects based on their interests
  • Develop extension centers with inquiry tasks for early finishers
• Differentiate process by varying the complexity of tasks, amount of scaffolding, grouping arrangements, or time allotted based on student readiness or learning preferences
  • Tier lab activities at different levels of open-endedness (cookbook, structured, guided, open)
  • Provide graphic organizers, sentence frames and checklists to scaffold sense-making and writing for students who need more support
  • Offer flexible seating, fidgets, and noise-canceling headphones for students with attention or sensory needs

Differentiated Products and Grouping

• Differentiate product by providing multiple ways for students to demonstrate their learning, such as written, oral, visual or kinesthetic formats, based on their strengths
  • Allow students to write lab reports, create podcasts, make models, or perform skits to explain science concepts
  • Provide choice boards with 9 different product options (write, speak, build) at different levels of complexity (summary, analysis, evaluation)
  • Use digital platforms (blogs, slides, screencasts) for students to share their learning
• Implement flexible grouping by varying group sizes, composition and tasks over time based on learning goals, activities and student needs
  • Use whole group for initial exposure, modeling and some direct instruction
  • Have mixed-readiness groups for cooperative learning and jigsaw reading
  • Provide small-group instruction for guided practice, reteaching or extension
  • Allow interest-based groups for projects and literature circles
  • Offer solo time for independent work, reflection and self-pacing
• Use tiered assignments that address the same learning goals but at different levels of complexity or open-ended tasks that allow multiple entry points and solution paths
  • Develop tiered question sets (factual, conceptual, debatable) for scientific phenomena
  • Create tiered cause-effect tasks (match, explain, predict) for science processes
  • Offer open-ended design challenges (egg drop, bridge building) that allow students to attempt different approaches based on their readiness and creativity

Inclusive Classroom Environments for Science

Norms, Routines and Relationships

• Establish norms and expectations in collaboration with students that foster mutual respect, appreciation for diversity, and support for each other's learning
  • Co-create a class contract or constitution with guidelines for respectful interactions, equitable participation, and growth mindset
  • Post and refer to the norms regularly, especially when addressing challenging issues in science or society
  • Revisit and revise norms as the community develops to maintain relevance and buy-in
• Use inclusive language and represent diverse identities and perspectives in examples, analogies, visuals, and discussion to help all students see themselves as capable science learners
  • Use gender-neutral terms (scientists, firefighters) and pronouns (they)
  • Showcase scientists from diverse racial, cultural, and gender groups when discussing science concepts and careers
  • Analyze and challenge biases in STEM representation in textbooks and media
• Learn about students' individual experiences, cultural backgrounds, interests and aspirations and incorporate them into science learning to build relevance and relationships
  • Conduct student and family surveys and interviews to gather information about their science funds of knowledge from home and community practices
  • Engage students in sharing artifacts and stories related to science topics
  • Design lessons that connect science concepts to students' lives and leverage their expertise (environmental justice, health equity)

Student Agency and Equitable Participation

• Provide opportunities for student voice and choice in their learning to promote autonomy, engagement and self-efficacy in science
  • Elicit students' questions and ideas to inform the direction of lessons and units
  • Offer choice in topics, resources, grouping, and products to enable students to capitalize on their strengths and interests
  • Involve students in setting goals, monitoring progress, and reflecting on growth to develop ownership of learning
• Ensure equitable participation by using random calling, wait time, multiple ways to respond, and protocols for collaborative work so all students are heard
  • Use popsicle sticks, spinners, or online tools to randomly call on students
  • Provide adequate wait time for students to process questions and formulate responses
  • Allow multiple ways to respond (hand signals, response cards, tech tools) to lower barriers for participation
  • Teach and reinforce discussion protocols (round robin, talking chips) for equitable airtime in small groups
• Address microaggressions, stereotyping or exclusionary behavior in a timely manner to maintain an identity-safe environment for all learners
  • Intervene promptly when biased language or behavior occurs, whether intentional or not
  • Engage in restorative conversations to understand impact, repair harm, and prevent recurrence
  • Revisit classroom norms and recommit to upholding them as a community
• Communicate high expectations and growth mindset messages to convey belief in students' abilities to succeed in science with effort and support
  • Use affirmative language that focuses on progress and effort (not yet, keep going)
  • Share stories of scientists and students who overcame challenges through perseverance
  • Provide specific feedback that guides students toward improvement and resources for support

Assistive Technology and Accommodations in Science

Tools for Accessible Input and Output

• Provide text-to-speech tools that read aloud digital text for students with reading difficulties or preferences for auditory input
  • Enable built-in read aloud features in digital textbooks, websites, and documents
  • Offer text-to-speech extensions (Read&Write, Snap&Read) for web-based reading
  • Utilize audiobooks and podcasts as alternatives to print materials
• Use speech-to-text tools that convert spoken words to digital text for students with writing difficulties or preferences for verbal expression
  • Enable dictation features built into devices and apps for writing
  • Provide speech-to-text software (Dragon) for longer writing tasks
  • Allow students to record verbal responses and explanations
• Employ visual supports such as interactive simulations, videos, diagrams, graphic organizers, color coding, and manipulatives to aid understanding of science concepts and processes
  • Use PhET simulations to visualize and interact with science phenomena
  • Provide video clips and animations to illustrate abstract concepts and micro/macro scale processes
  • Create graphic organizers to show relationships between concepts (Venn diagrams, flowcharts)
  • Implement color coding for steps in a process or parts of a system
  • Offer hands-on manipulatives for kinesthetic representation of science ideas (molecular models, electric circuits)

Accommodations for Sensory, Physical and Attention Needs

• Ensure compatibility of digital materials and tools with screen readers and other assistive technologies used by students with visual impairments
  • Check for and remediate accessibility issues in digital documents (headings, alt text, tables)
  • Caption images and add alternative text to convey essential visual information
  • Provide oral descriptions of demonstrations, videos, and visual aids
  • Partner with vision specialists to procure assistive devices (talking calculators, tactile graphics)
• Enable closed captioning and transcripts for videos to support students with auditory processing needs or hearing impairments
  • Turn on closed captions for YouTube videos and other platforms
  • Provide transcripts for audio content (podcasts, recorded lectures)
  • Use FM systems or assistive listening devices for teacher and peer communication
• Provide note-taking accommodations such as sharing teacher notes, allowing photos of board notes, or using smart pens to support students with processing or physical difficulties
  • Share skeleton notes, slides, or outlines in advance of lessons
  • Allow students to take photos of notes and diagrams on the board
  • Provide copies of lab instructions and data tables
  • Offer smart pens that record audio while taking notes for later review
• Offer extended time, frequent breaks, and reduced workload to support students with attention, stamina or processing speed challenges
  • Provide 1.5 or 2x the allotted time for assessments and larger tasks
  • Break labs and projects into manageable chunks with clear deliverables
  • Allow movement breaks or alternative seating to maximize focus
  • Reduce the number of items or allow students to choose a subset to complete