The Next Generation Science Standards framework outlines scientific and engineering practices as a key element of student development. Educators are just beginning to discover effective and meaningful ways to teach science content to students with intellectual disability; however, the literature on teaching science practices is still limited and engineering practices nonexistent. This study utilized a quasi-experimental group design to investigate the impact of universally designed engineering curriculum on 43 students with intellectual disability and autism display of engineering habits of mind (e.g., persist and learn from failure) during ongoing Engineering is Elementary design challenges. A statistically significant difference between the control and treatment groups was found. Findings suggest engineering instruction may support student development of problem-solving skills.

在下一代科学标准框架概述科学和工程实践为学生发展的一个关键因素。教育工作者才刚刚开始发现有效和有意义的方式，向智障学生教授科学知识；但是，有关教学科学实践的文献仍然有限，并且不存在工程实践。这项研究利用准实验小组设计来研究通用设计的工程课程对43名智力障碍和自闭症学生在进行中的工程学基本过程中表现出的工程思维习惯（例如，坚持不懈和从失败中学习）的影响设计挑战。发现对照组和治疗组之间的统计学显着性差异。研究结果表明，工程指导可以帮助学生发展解决问题的能力。