An Evaluation of a Hybrid STEM-Robotics Programme for Students with Special Needs in Guyana

Abstract

Students with disabilities stand a higher chance of dropping out of school before completing their primary or secondary education. As a result, their full integration into society may be hindered. Globally, there is a movement towards addressing this issue through targeted interventions. For example, the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities (GCOPD), has been operating at a national level to develop educational programmes (e.g., STEM-Robotics), which expose youngsters with disabilities to skills that are needed for the twenty-first-century. During the 2020/2021 iteration of the STEM-Robotics programme, the GCOPD leveraged the support of 7 mentors from the University of Guyana’s Robotics Club and Department of Computer Science to design, develop, adapt, and execute the curriculum for 48 special needs students within the age range of 11 to 27 years old. The curriculum was delivered using a hybrid approach for approximately 12 weekly sessions. Feedback in the form of observations and experiences was collected from the mentors. Overall, the mentors observed positive improvements in the students’ critical thinking, problem-solving, environmental awareness and presentation skills. Notably, the majority of the participants managed to complete class activities and graduated from the programme. The lessons learned from our study may prove useful for future related programmes.