The proposed project is a collaboration across two centers at Education Development Center, Inc.: the Center for Family, School, and Community (FSC), which has a long history of meeting the needs of students with disabilities, and the Center for Science Education (CSE), which has a long history of creating secondary school science course materials. The proposal is to develop and test a literacy intervention designed to improve access to 9th and 10th grade biology for students with learning disabilities who struggle with reading and writing. At the core of the intervention is a set of scientifically-based literacy strategies, supported by the software program, Draft:Builder. A powerful assistive technology tool, Draft:Builder was developed in FSC with funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. The goal is to help students organize information through outlining; extract information from reading by taking notes; elaborate ideas for writing; and synthesize information by creating a draft of text. By improving their literacy skills, students will better understand the biology concepts. Over three years, EDC will develop, test, and refine the literacy intervention to be used with Insights in Biology, a curriculum developed at CSE with funding from the National Science Foundation. The intervention includes various instructional materials: lesson plans focusing on reading and writing, templates to expand the use of Draft:Builder, and assessment tools.
