VIDBE-Q Volume 69 Issue 2
Recommendations by participants for accessible TPPs were focused on
proactive approaches to the instructional materials' accessibility (e.g. digital book
chapters, lecture slides), classroom discussions, and fieldwork placement. To
support these learners and improve TPPs, participants recommend that programs
take a proactive approach to determining field placement and the accessibility of
courses including strategies to accommodate and facilitate students' learning in
required classes outside their special education department. Participants saw their
lived experiences as a valuable enrichment to programs and suggested availing
opportunities to share these perspectives in a safe space within the classrooms for
the betterment of all involved. This latter point speaks to the need for faculty and
administrators in higher education to consider students with VI as the experts in
their accommodations and accessibility needs rather than dismissing their input or
assuming to know the support students need.
College success for students with VI seeking careers as educators begins
with their collective narratives. This is mostly due to the great heterogenicity found
in vision loss and the way this translates into life activities including participation
and performance in education. As such, there is a need to understand teaching and
learning from their point of view. Additionally, while it is true that having a visual
impairment means different things for different people, proactive accessibility
practices such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL; CAST, 2018) can help
