Argumentative Writing for Students With Disabilities in Inclusive Science Classes: A Pilot Study

As larger numbers of students with disabilities (SWDs) are being included in general education or inclusive science classes, many of them experience difficulties with scientific reasoning and argumentation. In inclusive science classes, there are greater demands to learn more complex concepts and use scientific practices, such as argumentative writing with evidence. In addition, SWDs struggle with writing tasks, compounding their difficulties, particularly when asked to incorporate science content into their writing. To address these writing difficulties, an argumentative intervention was developed that was comprised of an argumentative strategy and graphic organizer that assessed students' writing performance on an argumentative essay. The results of this pilot study found that experimental students improved their argumentative writing from pre to post writing tasks and experimental students in the argumentative intervention group outperformed control students. In addition, SWDs who used the intervention outperformed control group students that included both SWDs and students without disabilities. Limitations of the study are discussed, as well as implications for teachers