Research-Based Strategies for Teaching Content to Students with Intellectual Disabilities: Adapted Videos

Abstract

Teachers are always seeking any visual and/or auditory supports to facilitate students’ comprehension and acquisition of difficult concepts associated with academic content. Such supports are even more important for students with intellectual disabilities who, regardless of their abilities and needs, are required to have access and active participation in subject-based general education curriculum. This article describes an arsenal of research-based best practices that suggest enhancing existing video clips featuring academic content with such adaptations as video “chunking,” alternative narration, interactive video searching features, various types of closed captioning (e.g., highlighted text and picture symbol-based), visual and verbal cues that support content comprehension and retention by students with special needs. Corroborating research and practical recommendations for classroom implementation are provided for each of the adapted features described.