Search

Introduction: Many students with adventitious vision loss or progressive vision loss need to transition from print to braille as a primary literacy medium. It is important that this transition is handled efficiently so that the student can have continued access to a literacy medium and make progress in the core curriculum. For this study, we used constant time delay to teach literary braille contractions and Nemeth Code for Mathematics and Science Notation (hereafter, Nemeth Code) braille symbols to learners with visual impairments who were making the transition from print to braille. Methods: A single-subject, multiple-probe research design was used to test the effectiveness and efficiency of constant time delay to teach literary braille or Nemeth Code. Three female students, aged 13 to 15 years, participated at a specialized school for students with visual impairments. The students' braille and math instructor delivered interventions in the classroom. Procedural fidelity and interobserver agreement data were collected. Results: Two students each learned 40 short-form literary braille contractions, and one student learned 28 Nemeth Code symbols throughout the study. Students appeared to generalize learning after instruction with the first word set to identify similar contractions. Students maintained learning throughout the study at high levels. Visual analysis of the data suggests a functional relationship between constant time delay and contraction identification. Discussion: This study replicated previous work (Hooper, Ivy, & Hatton, 2014) to expand understanding of the scope of the usefulness of time delay in braille education. Implications for practitioners: For students making the transition from print to braille, constant time delay may be an efficient method to help students acquire braille. The efficiency itself may increase students' confidence and motivation to learn braille. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This longitudinal study examined reading development, academic achievement and support in school for six students with blindness or severe visual impairments in inclusive educational settings. Methods: School grades and results from reading observations and decoding skills tests were collected, and interviews were conducted with students, parents, and teachers. Results: The results show that the outcome of these students’ schooling varied a great deal regarding both levels of academic achievement and reading development, as well as in the support needed and received. Students with additional disabilities had less positive experiences in school, and the parents of these students were more critical of the support provided by the schools. Discussion: Important aspects of the outcomes concerned the attitudes held by school management and teachers and the competence of teachers. In some cases, teachers lacked sufficient knowledge about braille and teaching methods for students with visual impairments. Implications for practitioners: The findings imply that the support system for students with visual impairments in Sweden needs to be more systematized in order to secure equal educational opportunities for all students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study analyzed the accuracy of 107 mathematics worksheets prepared for tactile learners. The mean number of errors was calculated, and we examined whether there was a significant difference in the level of accuracy based on National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) certification or job role of participants. Methods: The authors selected five work sheets representative of mathematics materials transcribed for K-12 students. After completing an online demographic survey, participants prepared at least one of the worksheets and completed an online transcription survey about how they prepared each worksheet. Results: The majority of the 59 participants spent less than 30 minutes transcribing each worksheet, and the predominant method for production was the use of braille translation software. Overall, participants had a high level of accuracy on the literary braille portions of the worksheets. There was variability in the accuracy of the Nemeth elements, formatting, and tactile graphic labels across the transcriptions. Significant differences existed between the means of errors in formatting and literary braille according to NLS certification status and, to a lesser extent, job role. There was not a significant difference in the accuracy of Nemeth elements in the majority of the worksheets according to certification status or job role. There were no significant differences in the preparation of the worksheets based on primary production method. Discussion: There was variability in how materials were prepared for tactile readers and in the quality of the transcriptions. Implications for practitioners: Variation in how materials are presented to tactile readers, including the formatting of headings and directions, can affect the ease of scanning and reading of materials. Inconsistencies, omissions, and errors have the potential to impact the ability of readers to understand and access information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The study presented here investigated the ways in which students who read braille were able to complete geometric tasks and how they constructed mental representations of the shapes of objects. Methods: Data were collected in an educational experiment conducted as a geometry course for students who read braille. A case study approach was used to study two students, aged 10 and 11, who were competent in mathematics. Results: The two students complemented their multiple manual explorations with body movements and postures that corresponded to characteristic features of the shapes of objects. They typically rotated small three-dimensional objects and experimented with the objects' point of balance. Another important result is that they continually measured geometric properties, such as length, area, and volume, as part of their way of "seeing" the shapes of objects. Discussion: The two students "played with" the physical characteristics of environments. Each used his whole body as an explorative instrument. Thus, the study makes a powerful claim for the idea of embodied mathematics. Implications for practitioners: What seems to be important for students aged 10-11 who read braille is to offer a diversity of objects and geometric figures, not only prototypes. Teachers should challenge students to talk about the dimensions of objects in everyday language and in natural situations as a prerequisite to the transition to studying standard units in numerical measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The study presented here estimated the occurrence of braille-reading students in Norway who were educated according to their grade-level progression in mathematics from 1967 to 2007. It also analyzed the association among these students' progression in mathematics and the causes of visual impairment, the age at which the diagnosis was established, the students' gender, and the students' use of reading media (braille as the sole, primary, or secondary literacy medium). Methods: A retrospective, population-based study design was used. All the students who had received braille education in the past four decades prior to the study were included. The following data were abstracted from each student's records: birth year, country of birth, gender, year diagnosed, diagnosis, type of reading media, and whether the student's education had followed their grade-level progression. Results: In total, 248 braille-reading students were identified. Of these students, 141 (57%) had been taught mathematics at grade level. In 19 of the 45 principal eye diagnoses that were registered, all the students were educated according to the normative grade progress in mathematics. There were no statistically significant associations between gender and the abstracted variables or between mathematics education and reading media. Discussion: During the four decades under study, there was some variation in the distribution of different diagnoses. Students with diagnoses related to the central nervous system had a comparatively higher risk of not attaining their normal grade level in mathematics. Implication for practitioners: Teachers may expect that a braille-reading student will follow his or her grade level in mathematics. It is essential, however, to gain information on the causes of visual impairment, in general, and in cases of the co-occurrence of visual impairment and learning disabilities, in particular. It is essential to document typical learning patterns among braille-reading students and intervention strategies for students with visual impairments and learning disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A secondary analysis of pertinent measures from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 found numerous significant relationships between instruction in the content areas of the expanded core curriculum and positive outcomes for students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]