Science Learning with Hero Elementary: Blended Learning Resources to Reach Students with Disabilities

Hero Elementary is a transmedia educational initiative aimed at improving the school readiness and academic achievement in science and literacy of children grades K-2. With an emphasis on Latinx communities, English Language Learners, youth with disabilities, and children from low-income households, Hero Elementary celebrates kids and encourages them to make a difference in their own backyards and beyond by actively doing science and using their Superpowers of Science. The content is aligned with NGSS and CCSS-ELA for K–2.

This report presents findings from a case study with an afterschool program that provides individualized learning opportunities for students with disabilities across a large metropolitan area in the Southeastern United States. We examined the use of Hero Elementary resources with students with disabilities, asking: 1) Do the design features of Hero Elementary support access to science learning for K–2 students with moderate cognitive disabilities? 2) What adaptations do educators make to Hero Elementary resources to provide greater access to the content for their students with moderate cognitive disabilities?

All of the students participating in the program had a developmental, learning, and/or physical disability, such as autism, Down syndrome, or cerebral palsy. While Hero Elementary’s target age group is 5–8, this program also implemented Hero Elementary with older children who functioned developmentally at the target age level. Data collection included administrator and educator interviews, written communication with educators, and observations of educator planning meetings. Qualitative analytic methods were used to analyze the data. The analyses included data reduction and peer debriefing. Findings highlight how the design features of Hero Elementary served students with disabilities and the variety of ways that educators modified and adapted Hero Elementary to support their students' specific needs. Educators agreed that the flexible design of Hero Elementary and the professional development they received allowed them to easily adapt the activities during instruction and that the activities fostered student learning. The findings suggest that Hero Elementary can be used successfully to engage students with moderate cognitive disabilities.