Instructional Design That Accommodates Special Learning Needs in Science (National Center to Improve the Tools of Educators ‪)‬

For the past dozen years, the National Center to Improve the Tools of Educators (NCITE) has been identifying features of instructional design that accommodate the needs of students who are academically behind in school. These students may be behind for various reasons. They may be unable to learn as quickly as others due to learning or behavioral disabilities or they may have started school with a different background (for example, children from impoverished backgrounds or children with limited English), or they may have a disability that has slowed their learning processes. The central purpose of the six instructional design features identified by NCITE is to facilitate more learning in less time for the diverse learners who may be academically delayed, regardless of the cause for the delay. Below is a brief description of how each of these principles accommodates a special learning need. (For a more complete description of these features see Kameenui & Carnine, 1998.)