Determining the Effectiveness of an Adaptive
Science Curriculum for Students who are Visually
Impaired
Heather Browne, Student, Kutztown University
hbrow808@live.kutztown.edu
When working in the education field, the chief concern of any educator
is to ensure the unlimited access to the world of learning. This becomes a
delicate task when working with students who are blind or visually impaired,
as vision is one of the primary channels of learning. In the classroom,
especially elementary education, the use of visual skills is heavily relied on to
learn basic concepts. Thinking back to the beginning of our educational
careers, we will think of the alphabet borders, anchor charts, lessons on the
board, and many other learning techniques. Well, it can be said that these
elements of a classroom have not changed over the years. Even with the
introduction
of technology in classrooms, we still see a heavy reliance on
visual skills. Along with visual skills needed to learn, we have also seen a
push for continuous growth of kinesthetic learning. Though what does that
mean for students who are blind or visually impaired in the general education
classrooms? Does this mean that they should just take a back seat with little
participation in the classroom? What are they able to do in group projects?
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