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VIDBE-Q Volume 64 Issue 2
When designing the inquiry study, Erin used a reading group that
contained three students with visual and cognitive impairments that met
four times per week for 30-minutes. The same book was used for four
sessions before moving on to a new book. Due to student absences,
students got an average of 3.4 exposures to each book. Signs of
engagement for each student were listed and tracked by having an
additional adult present to use a chart and tally the observed signs. Video
was used and analyzed later when no additional adult was available to
collect live data. The charts below show the difference for each student in
time of alert engagement as well as signs of engagement when using a
standard text compared with text paired with tactile experiences (See Table
1 and 2).
In addition, other anecdotal data came to light as well. After repeated
exposures, the students began to exhibit signs of engagement upon
hearing a word read aloud, even before being presented with an object.
For example, when the sentence "there is candy in the basket" was read,
students began moving mouths and licking lips, anticipating the taste of
candy. They had learned the words! Even more significant, when watching
the videos to record data, Erin noticed that as students were transitioning to
the group, she always said "Are you ready to read?" By the third week of
