;
Lorem Ipsum Dolor Spring 2016
24
tactile and audio-enabled measurement devices such as scales,
thermometers, and voltmeters. These items are well within the budget of
most schools.
The findings of this research show that students with visual impairment
are willing and able to participate in inquiry-based
science in a prepared
environment. The environment needs to include opportunities for students to
ask questions, define problems and then to act upon them. Those actions
might include making a model or planning and conducting an investigation
with variables. Whichever students select
the supportive adults need to
understand the value of allowing students to make and correct their own
mistakes. In the course of their inquiry, students need to include
mathematical thinking when they analyze and interpret their data. They need
to utilize literacy skills such as constructing explanations and engaging in
argument from evidence. Throughout the entire process students need to be
encouraged to research what others before them have done and
communicate their findings in light of what is already known. All of these
things mean that the students with visual impairment need to be full
participants in the classroom and not relegated to passive roles by their
51