Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) education promotes critical thinking skills (Wilson et al., 2021) and drives competition in the global economy (Kennedy & Odell, 2014). Across K-12 and postsecondary programs, STEAM learning has become increasingly important (Kennedy & Odell, 2014). While some literature exists on teaching science to deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students (see Clark et al., 2021; Marchut & Gormally, 2019; Pagano et al., 2015 as a few examples), to date, few studies focus on teaching deaf students with disabilities (Guardino & Cannon, 2015; Hyte, 2017), particularly in STEM or STEAM subjects. Although deaf students with disabilities (DWD) comprise 40%-50% of DHH students (Guardino & Cannon, 2022a), more research on teaching STEAM subjects to DWD learners is critically needed.
In this article, we review the extant literature on deaf and DWD learners in science, describe the development of tailored instructional strategies, and highlight some pedagogical approaches for this population. As science educators, we focus on strategies for teaching science courses specifically, explaining how we developed and implemented these strategies at one postsecondary institution. These strategies represent an initial step towards disseminating effective science teaching practices to DWD learners. We conclude with a call for more studies to evaluate the efficacy and applicability of these strategies across STEAM educational settings.