Abstract:

Introduction:
The transition from secondary school to Year 1 of the university is both an exciting and stressful experience. Students with special educational needs (SENs) without proper adjustment during the freshman year could affect their whole-person well-being development in their senior years. The situation could be worsened during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this pilot study had 3 project aims to examine students’ academic needs arising from blended learning during the pandemic:
(1) the types of assistive technologies used for blended learning;
(2) how assistive technologies facilitated blended learning; and
(3) types of accommodations should be provided in the university for blended learning.

Methods:
The present study adopted a mixed method design. Three scales were revised based on the context of blended learning from quantitative studies to address the 3 project aims [1-2]. The survey was distributed online to the students with SENs. A preliminary analysis provided descriptive details using SPSS 27 to investigate the reliability of the 3 scales. The reliability of the 3 scales were analyzed by applying Cronbach’s alpha.

Results:
Thirteen undergraduate students who were diagnosed with SEN at the Chinese University of Hong Kong responded to the questionnaires. Of the total number, 28.6% were male and 64.3% were female. Their mean of age range was 18-21 (64.3%). The participants indicated the types of SENs that they had interacted with, mainly the students with learning and developmental disabilities (43%) ; psychiatric needs (28.6%) ; and multiple disabilities (14.2%).

The coefficient alpha of the 3 scales were α = 0.87, α = 0.95 and α = 0.97 respectively indicating a high degree of internal consistency. For project aim 1: 35.7% of the students indicated that assistive software (captioning) was used, and additional time on tests and exams and additional rest breaks during tests or exams were taken in the blended learning environment. There was 64.3% of the students indicated that permission to record the lectures was significant but not yet applied. The mean of this scale ranged from (M = 1.92, SD = 0.86) to (M = 2.54 SD = 0.78). For project aim 2: 64.3% of the students indicated that assistive technologies facilitated their learning in reading, note-taking, and writing assignments in a better way. Blended learning also promoted more opportunities for peer interactions and improved their academic performance. The mean of this scale ranged from (M = 2.00, SD = 1.22) to (M = 2.46 SD = 1.27). For project aim 3, 78% of the students agreed that advanced access to Professors’ lecture or notes or a study guide before lectures was essential for blended learning classes. The mean of this scale ranged from (M = 1.85, SD = 1.14) to (M = 2.62 SD = 1.19).

Conclusion:
The present study provided a general view of the implementation of the academic accommodations to the university students with SENs in the blended learning environment during COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong.

References:
[1] R.Weis, E. L. Dean, & K. J.Osborne, “Accommodation decision making for postsecondary students with learning disabilities: Individually tailored or one size fits all?” Journal of learning disabilities, vol. 49, no.5, pp. 484-498, 2016.
[2] E. Z. Zavaraki & D. Schneider, “Blended Learning Approach for Students with Special Educational Needs: A Systematic Review” Journal of Education & Social Policy, vol 6, no, 3, pp. 75-86, 2019.

Keywords:

Blended learning, COVID-19 pandemics, Special educational needs, Diversity and inclusion.