Division on Visual Impairments

DVI Quarterly Volume 59(3)

A quarterly newsletter from the Council for Exceptional Children's Division on Visual Impairments containing practitioner tips for Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments, Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialists, and other professionals.

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; Lorem Ipsum Dolor Spring 2016 17 Successful Graphics Users with VI: Strategies and Implications for Instruction and Assessment Presentation at CEC 2014 Kim T. Zebehazy University of British Columbia, Assistant Professor Kim.zebehazy@ubc.ca Graphics are an integral part of education. Textbooks are filled with graphical representations meant to help students to better understand key concepts. In fact, evidence suggests that graphics paired with text promote greater cognitive processing and utilization of learning strategies that, in turn, improves retention (LeWalter, 2003; Sung & Mayer, 2012). The impact that graphics can provide to solidify understanding in the educational context cannot be overlooked for any population of students, including students with visual impairments (VI). For students with VI, successful use of graphics and access to graphics may need particular attention to ensure they are serving their intended purpose. For sighted learners, graphics are often used to provide a "big picture" view against which learners can anchor details. But for students with VI who access graphics non-visually, tactile graphics require learners to piece together parts to understand the whole (Morash, Connell Pensky, Alfaro, & McKerracher, 2012). Students with low vision who are accessing graphics visually may also perceive graphics differently from peers. Having a better understanding of how students with VI access graphics and the strategies that they use can help guide practitioners in how best to teach students to engage with graphical materials efficiently and effectively. 44

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