Carnegie Mellon University
Madison Williamson

Madison Williamson

Advisor: Anna Fisher
Majors: Psychology; Social and Political History

The Effect of COVID-19 on Special-Needs Children Education 

Through the Dietrich College Honors Fellowship Program, I hope to conduct a study on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting closure of K-12 schools on the education of special-needs classroom students, particularly the effects on their social and emotional skills. Many children who learn in special-needs environments are able to learn life skills, social interactions, and emotion regulation in school, but much of this learning relies on the ability to interact with peers and instructors. Knowing how the pandemic has changed how these skills are taught and learning would provide valuable information to how special-needs curriculum should be adapted to fit hybrid or virtual environments, as well as providing insight as to what future education needs to look like to fill in any gaps in the education. My study would use an observational design to interview and observe special-needs classrooms in the Pittsburgh area, collecting data from administration, teachers, parents, and students. I plan to work with Dr. Anna Fisher as my faculty mentor in order to complete this project over the summer and in the coming academic year.

Bio

After spending the first two years at CMU as undecided in her major, Williamson finally chose a field in something that she was really passionate about: working with children with special needs. Within psychology, she has been able to discover how children learn and how a variety of developmental disorders can affect that learning. Her time working with special-needs children in theatre and classroom settings have given her invaluable experiences that she has been able to incorporate into her studies.