ENHANCING SEN STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN THE CLASSROOM WITH THE LEARNING STATION ACTIVITIES

Noorizan Mohammed, Nik Zatul-Iffah N Mohd Nabil
Ayer Lanas Secondary School, Malaysia

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research is to determine whether Learning Station Activities (LSA) can increase Special Education Needs (SEN) student engagement in the classroom, thereby increasing the levels of numeracy, literacy and student attendance. Two SEN classes in Ayer Lanas Primary School, Jeli (sixteen students) and three SEN classes (thirteen students) in Ayer Lanas Secondary School, Jeli were chosen as the sample of my research. All the students involved are Slow Learners. Community Professional Development (CPD) and Professional Learning Community (PLC) were carried out with the teachers of both schools to discuss the progress of the LSA, to share their best practices and also to discuss any challenges that they faced during the implementation of the LSA. The research was carried out for six months. Data was gathered through observation, survey, assessment (pre- and post-tests) and student attendance collection. Research findings showed that the LSA were able to increase SEN student engagement in the classroom. SEN students (as Slow Learners) were more engaged in their lesson when they are involved in play-based learning activities. Data also showed that the numeracy level, literacy level and student attendance increased after doing the LSA. Therefore this research will help SEN teachers to plan a more structured Learning Station module to enable students to carry out the LSA from lower level (according to their level of achievement) until they achieve the higher levels with more challenging tasks. LSA can also be done with low-performing students (in the mainstream) in the primary school and in the lower form of secondary school as their intervention programme.

KEYWORDS

LSA, SEN students, Slow Learners, numeracy level, literacy level, CPD, PLC