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VIDBE-Q Volume 63 Issue 3
In August 2017, after two years of hard work by many individuals, the TVI
Consortium became a reality and began with its first cohort of students. The TVI
program is a licensure only program and all accepted students must be previously
licensed teachers. The students in the program complete 22 graduate credit hours in an
8 course sequence. Courses cover content including braille instruction, curricular
accommodations/adaptations, assessment, eye anatomy and eye disorders, the
expanded core curriculum, low vision and educating students who are Deafblind and
those with multiple disabilities. All graduate coursework is delivered online, both
synchronously and asynchronously over a one-year academic period. Once students
complete the program, they must pass the Ohio Educator Assessment in the area of
Visual Impairment, in order to obtain the Intervention Specialist: Visual Impairments
license to serve as a teacher of the visually impaired.
In addition to online coursework, students participate in embedded field
experiences throughout the program year and a summer practicum with students with
visual impairments. Each student is paired with a TVI mentor who assists in providing
opportunities for field experiences and acts as an
important professional resource for the student.
We are pleased to have some phenomenal
mentors who volunteer to share their time and
expertise to work with the prospective licensure
students in the TVI program. The summer
practicum offers the TVI Consortium students the
opportunity to work with a wide variety of students
Figure 2. TVI Consortium Partners:
Shawnee State University,
Youngstown State University,
Bowling Green State University, and
Mount Vernon Nazarene University.
