Yes, students with special needs can decide what to learn and how to learn
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In many mainstream schools, students have the experience of going through Project Work, where students collaborate to apply their collective knowledge to solve real-life problems.
Providing a similar yet different experience, MINDS’ Special Education schools rolled out Project Work with a service-learning component. Working with their peers, students take the lead to propose projects they wish to work on while teachers take on the role of facilitators.
In 2021, Fernvale Gardens School embarked on a pilot of project-based learning through Project TeamUp!. Through Project TeamUp!, students learned through experiences and hands-on activities while gaining skills such as ideation and collaboration. The students worked together to create learning resources for their peers.
Teacher Assistant Nur Aina Fitriah Binte Mohd Ali was part of the pioneering batch of this exciting new initiative. To start, her team brought together both junior and senior students to encourage greater interaction.
Leveraging on ICT tools such Jamboard, students responded to question prompts about their interests and shared experiences. On the iPad, they learnt how to use search engines, drag and drop images, and draw with the tools to collate their ideas and findings.
“They were very excited to share their own thoughts during the activities…We believe the students have their ways of seeing things and they demonstrated these through their responses,” says Aina.
After brainstorming, one group of students recognised that not all of their school-mates might know how to use the school’s vending machines and decided to create a step-by-step guide to help them. Over subsequent Project TeamUp! sessions, the group buzzed around the school to practise taking videos and photos, and act in their videos.
Project TeamUp! demonstrated how students were able to pursue their interests and work in teams. “Given the opportunity, they would love to explore doing new things beyond classroom-based activities,” says Aina.
In the final stages of this project, students learned to use video-editing software to create the teaching video and tried their hand at online tools like Canva for poster designing, where they had fun exercising their creative flair.
The students’ creations left Aina with a deep sense of pride.
“I was proud of the students for learning so well and exploring at their own pace. Being given this opportunity to experience Project TeamUP! with the students really opened my eyes and heart to the potential our students have,” she says.
Today, Project TeamUP! is being implemented in MINDS Special Education Schools.
Some of the other interesting ideas students have come up with include creating an obstacle course using sports equipment during their physical education class, their own digital storybook and many more.
Teachers like Aina have also noticed that their students were also more motivated and engaged in learning when they had the chance to work in teams to pursue their interests and create a learning resource for their peers and the community.
Students were motivated to communicate with their peers. For instance, Aina saw her students greeting each other more with pleasant ‘hello’s, ‘bye’s and ‘how are you’s’.
“Giving the students control and independence for learning teaches us teachers that they are more than capable to go beyond the classroom,” she says.
Giving the students the control and independence for learning teaches us teachers that they are more than capable to go beyond the classroom.
At MINDS, we believe in the gifts and abilities of our students with special needs, and are committed to developing engaging programmes to help them reach their fullest potential.
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