Examining the impact of science writing heuristic (SWH) approach on development of critical thinking, science and language skills of students with and without disabilities

Generative learning environments are beneficial for student learning. This study examined the effects of the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) approach, a generative learning environment, on middle school Individualized Education Program (IEP) students' and non-IEP students' critical thinking skills (CTS), science conceptual understanding (SCU) and language skills (LS). A longitudinal design was implemented utilizing the Cornell Critical Thinking Test (CCTT) and the Iowa Assessment Test (IAT) across four time points. Latent growth curve models were estimated to examine growth in these skills for these two groups of students. The results support that there are two important components for improving IEP students' opportunities for learning within science classrooms: time and the building of a relationship between the areas of critical thinking, science, and language. IEP and non-IEP students had the same rate of change over years in this particular environment, and years of exposure to a generative learning environment was positively related to growth on skills assessed. We discussed the reasons why IEP students require more exposure time to decrease the academic performance gap with their non-IEP peers.