Development of Special Competencies in Hearing Impaired Students in Conditions of Inclusive Environment of Technical University

Abstract

The paper addresses the main problems of students with hearing disabilities when studying natural sciences at a technical university of a general type in the inclusive conditions. They are associated both with a low level of the school chemistry course knowledge and with their peculiarities of perception of educational materials in chemistry in connection with a defect. To overcome the difficulties, we have set a task to develop special competencies in students with hearing impairments, which contribute to their mastery of the university’s chemistry course at the level meeting the requirements of independently established university educational standards (IEES). The authors have developed and introduced in the educational process at BMSTU technological, organizational, and pedagogical decisions that contribute to forming these competencies in students with hearing impairments. The adaptive course “Cognitive technologies of supporting the discipline “Chemistry” is being implemented in parallel with the basic discipline “Chemistry” and on its material. This course is being taught at BMSTU in an accessible environment of multimedia laboratories providing special educational conditions for such students. The offered cognitive information and communication technologies contribute developing of special competencies (SC) in students with hearing disabilities. SC are compensatory and at the same time personally adaptational, they are included in the matrix of BMSTU competencies which are necessary for mastering by this category of students within inclusive programs. SC contribute to getting by students professional competencies defined by the IEES. The adaptive course showed a positive effect on performance indicators in chemistry of hearing impaired students. This is achieved by creating conditions that equalize the level of training of hearing impaired students in the educational process with the level of training of ordinary students.These technologies can be effectively used in the process of forming special competences in students with hearing disabilities when teaching them general technical and special disciplines at various levels of higher education. They can be applied to students with other disabilities within inclusive education environment as well.

Keywords

• technical university
• inclusive education
• students with hearing disabilities
• accessible environment
• special education conditions
• cognitive technologies
• special competences