The Virtual History Museum Learning U.S. History in Diverse Eighth Grade Classrooms

• Published in: Remedial and special education Vol. 32; no. 5; pp. 417 - 428
• Main Authors: Okolo, Cynthia M., Englert, Carol Sue, Bouck, Emily C., Heutsche, Anne, Wang, Hequn
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.09.2011; SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Ability Grouping; American history; Classroom management; Classrooms; Computer based; Disabled students; Educational Environment; Educational Technology; Grade 8; History; History Instruction; Individualized Instruction; Internet; Knowledge; Learning; Learning Disabilities; Michigan; Mild Disabilities; Museums; Pilot Projects; Pilot studies; Pretests Posttests; Regular and Special Education Relationship; Secondary school students; Special Education; Special Education Teachers; Textbooks; United States; United States History; Web Based Instruction; United States; Michigan; middle school; special education; differentiated instruction; learning disabilities; content-area instruction; general education; exceptionalities; universal design; technology; curriculum
• ISSN: 0741-9325; 1538-4756
• DOI: 10.1177/0741932510362241

History is an important but often overlooked content area for all students in this current era of accountability. Yet instruction in history can help students become problem solvers and learn to make interpretations from multiple perspectives. This article reports the results of a pilot study examining history learning across three groups of students (i.e., students with disabilities, students without disabilities, and students enrolled in an honors class) as they studied history (a unit on Andrew Jackson) through a Web-based history learning environment—the Virtual History Museum. The results indicate students in all three ability groups made gains from pretest to posttest in factual knowledge and reasoning about key concepts of the unit. The results provide preliminary support that a Web-based learning environment that includes features to assist students with mild disabilities can improve learning for all students at about the same rate.