The Study

During the last decade, studies have documented how little students know or understand about social studies concepts and content. Students with disabilities have traditionally been excluded from social studies instruction and consequently tend to perform worse than their peers. In this article, MSU Professor Cynthia Okolo, and University of Delaware professors Ralph Ferretti and Charles MacArthur report on the implementation of a unit designed to help learners with and without mild disabilities better learn historical content and understand the processes of historical thinking.

The Findings

Three Delaware fifth-grade students participated in this eight-week investigation about the 19^th Century westward expansion in the United States. Based on the curriculum model of strategy-supported project-based learning (SSPBL), students were asked to investigate the experience of one of three emigrant groups: miners, farmers or Mormons. They were charged with answering the question: Should these emigrants have gone west? Students worked together in heterogeneous groups (that included students with disabilities) to read and interpret evidence that would help them answer this question. They designed a multimedia presentation, which they showed to their peers and parents at the end of the unit. Data for the study were collected through individual interviews, observations, field notes and knowledge tests. Students experienced gains in knowledge about the historical period, improvements in their understanding of historical content and historical inquiry, and a greater sense of their self-efficacy as learners. Their contributions to the projects were not limited to writing, which opened other avenues of participation (e.g., locating illustrations of major ideas) for students with disabilities. Students experienced some difficulty working with historical sources and understanding how different life is today compared to the past. They often lacked background information needed to understand the significance of items they were analyzing. Teachers used classroom conversations to monitor student understanding and to immediately clarify misunderstandings. Regardless to the challenges, students did show considerable gains by engaging in this unit. Although students with disabilities did not seem to learn as much about the period or understand the content as well as their nondisabled peers, the data presented by the researchers demonstrates that students with disabilities can successfully engage in historical inquiry and meet the demands of rigorous curricula.

What It Means to You

Do teachers in your district provide challenging academic coursework for students with disabilities? Okolo and her colleagues provide a case of a historical investigation in which students with and without disabilities were able to engage in authentic learning as part of a rigorous curriculum. Are there opportunities in your district for all students to do the same?

For More Information

Ferretti, R. P., MacArthur, C. D., & Okolo, C. M. (2001). Teaching for historical understanding in inclusive classrooms. Learning Disability Quarterly, 24 (1), 59-71.

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