Scripted and Unscripted Science Lessons for Children with Autism and Intellectual Disability

Victoria F. Knight, Belva Collins, Amy D. Spriggs, Emily Sartini, Margaret Janey MacDonald

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Both scripted lessons and unscripted task analyzed lessons have been used effectively to teach science content to students with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder. This study evaluated the efficacy, efficiency, and teacher preference of scripted and unscripted task analyzed lesson plans from an elementary science curriculum designed for students with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder by evaluating both lesson formats for (a) student outcomes on a science comprehension assessment, (b) sessions to criterion, and (c) average duration of lessons. Findings propose both lesson types were equally effective, but unscripted task analyzed versions may be more efficient and were preferred by teachers to scripted lessons. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2542-2557
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Volume48
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Keywords

  • Access to the general education
  • Autism spectrum disorder
  • Intellectual disability
  • Science education
  • Scripted lesson plans
  • Task analysis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology

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