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Lorem Ipsum Dolor Spring 2016
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Study Methodology
At the time of the presentation, data from 13 high school student participants were
available for analysis. Eleven of the participants were tactile graphics users and two were print
graphics users. In this think aloud study, students were asked to talk out loud about what they
were thinking and doing while working through five multiple choice test items that had
graphics: a bar graph, Venn diagram, shape rotation, geometry area problem, and a map. The
students were also video recorded so that movements through the materials (e.g. hand
movements for tactile graphics users) could be analyzed. After each assessment item, students
were asked to rate the difficulty of each task and were asked what they would do to redesign the
item. Each student's TSVI filled out a demographic form on the student, which included rating
the student on frequency of engagement with graphics, problem-solving abilities, and
independence with graphics in the classroom.
Preliminary Results of Study
Time to complete the different graphics tasks. Table 1 shows the amount of time the
participants took to complete each task. The two large print users are shown for comparison, but
it should be noted that the sample is small, so results should be considered accordingly. In
general, the tactile graphics users took more time on each task, but the range of total time varied
from 18.2 to 62.2 minutes to complete all five items. A moderate correlation (Pearson
correlation, -5.77, p<.05) was found between students who engaged with graphics more
frequently and needing less time to complete the tasks.
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