I was also a special education teacher for profoundly disabled students before I became a TVI. As a student coming out of college, I had a second-grade student who was blind and had multiple disabilities. The parent bottle-fed her daily. Our experienced speech therapist at the time expressed that she needed to transition away from the bottle because of silent aspiration. I had to admit I was skeptical that this was possible. The repetition of introducing the straw with milk and closing her mouth around the straw, week after week, was successful. She began to understand the sucking technique in order to obtain the milk. It was a lot of repetition and patience.
In our area, we have trains. After we read a historical article about the importance of trains, I found out that my student only had fragmented information about what a train is. Thank goodness the district’s O&M was able to take her to the local train station and feel how big and why the noises are different from a vehicle on a highway. Unfortunately, my student would miss some academic lessons in the public school setting, but the discussion afterward about the lesson filled in those splinters.
Concept Development Through Tactile Graphics
Question #3 How can educators determine whether a student is ready to move from concrete experiences (real objects/models) to more abstract representations (symbols and raised line drawings)? What evidence would you look for, and how would you respond if a student struggles with this transition?
I currently have a student who had nothing in place regarding interventions when he joined my classroom. All of my students have visual schedules as these support their understanding of what is coming next, thereby reducing behaviors. I struggled initially with how to set up a classroom daily schedule for my new student who has CVI and significant hearing loss. After consulting with the TVI assigned to the student we decided, because we didn’t really have a great history on him, that we would start with something I used to call tangible objects symbols. We started pairing 3D objects with his activities within the classroom for instance: a wooden desk when he’s working at his desk, a large soft ball for PT, a plastic swing for recess for his adapted swing, a Band-Aid for the nurse as well as other objects within his daily school environment. Pairing each object with each activity proved to be very successful. I started slowly at his desk with only two objects at a time and when an activity was completed we would say for instance” all done desk work time” time for nurse and so he would put the desk in the done bin and then he would select the Band-Aid. We have to travel to the nurse frequently. What really proved to be most beneficial was working with the OM and using a landmark book. The student quickly began to pair the Band-Aid with the nurses office (the student is tube fed and requires frequent changes throughout the day) so we decided this would be the fastest one to switch over to a 2d representation. As time went on I put up a visual schedule on the wall with his daily setup and was pleasantly surprised at how quickly he adjusted to understanding he had to go over to check his schedule when asked to “check your schedule” and he would go over and check his schedule, moving the object into the finished bin at the bottom. Talking to the TVI and the OM, we grappled with what to do next with him in terms of moving the 3D objects to 2D because at this point, even after multiple evaluations at Children’s Hospital, we’re unsure where he is sight-wise. I also began to pair the ball with PT because PT is so reinforcing. I have found that consistent pairing of the 3D object with the location activity has helped the student immensely.
I struggle on a daily basis to convince my staff that in order to create the desire to participate and learn new things, the staff has to be very reinforcing. I think staff often feels foolish acting so thrilled with every engagement and response the student makes- but it has proven very effective. I had to build rapport with the student because he spent many hours alone in a classroom with untrained staff ( not their fault) and an iPad. While at times I may seem over-the-top in my enthusiasm-it has worked. The student thrives on the praise and claps for himself. It is a joy to see!
I struggle in my classroom with staff allowing independence for my CVI/hearing loss student. People have such big hearts and want to help so badly with everything, but in the end we all know the outcome is learned helplessness. My student attends Adaptive PE. There is ball catching/throwing, obstacle course etc. After weeks of having to constantly remind staff -in a nice manner of course- to back away from the student, he is now catching and throwing a ball. This student has only been walking unsupported for a year; for him to stand and catch a ball is a huge accomplishment. He is very proud of himself-as he should be.
Brenda I think you’re idea of having the para and student focus on a particular skill per class is spot on. Having materials set up prior to the start of class and support where needed e.g. scribing will help to ensure that the student can focus on the lesson and not miss out on important instruction. As the student increases their skill set fading of support can occur. Although, when new material e.g. math/Nemeth symbols is introduced the para or TVI will need to provide more support until the student understands and is comfortable with the new topic.
Jennifer I’ve had similar experiences with students not being able to generalize concepts such as spatial awareness, and positional descriptors etc. Concepts need to be reinforced the para, TVI, COMS with student involvement ( hands on activities)continuously until the student has grasped the concept. For instance when reading braille you can reinforce top bottom right left by asking the student to locate the page number at the top right corner of the page, locate the first word in the sentence at the top left of the page.. The quote “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn.” applies to all students especially those who are blind or have low vision.
Question # 3 How educators can determine whether a student is ready to move from concrete to more abstract representations is unique to each student. Since approximately 90% of learning is through visual pathways, blind and visually impaired students are not able to comprehend much of the world around without hands on experiences. I’ve only worked with 2 children who were blind since birth and both were eager tactile learners. Concrete as well as tactile images were provided for as many objects as possible. Since both were able to recognize tactile images (handmade and PIAF) there was no set timeline on when to introduce tactile images as both were often, when possible introduced together. It’s not possible to provide 3D representation of everything, but prior experiences can build upon a student’s understanding of a particular object, animal, tool, etc. For example, if a child has prior experience with learning about cats and has had the opportunity to tactually learn about cats they could be able to transfer that knowledge to understating of what a real lion might be and tactile images with size difference between a cat and lion will help with their understanding. For instance, I had a student who could identify tactile images of trees and name the parts ( trunk, branches, leaves), but had no concept of what a real tree was. Once she had the opportunity to explore “real small trees – deciduous and conifer, as well as place her arms around the trunk of a large schoolyard tree and feel the larger branches and leaves, her understanding of trees increased. She understood that trees come in different sizes, have different leaves, different bark, etc., which enabled her ability to identify tactile and line drawings of various tree types.
- Reflect on a time when a student struggled to understand a concept (e.g., spatial awareness, object use, or body awareness). A student in the past was struggling with answering question on object use and what he wanted when it came to soda/pop/drink/coke. What assumptions did you or others make about what the student “should” already understand? The assumption was that he knew they were all different and sometimes the same and he knew all the names something can be called for the same item. How did those assumptions influence instruction or expectations? The team didn’t really think about the concepts of all the types of “drinks” and just assumed the student was stubborn or picky. What helped shift your understanding of the student’s needs? Realizing that each person that worked with that student called his drink something different, the drinks weren’t always kept in the original containers, they were not compared and contrasted. And the same language wasn’t used. Once the team talked and compared notes it became evident that common language needed to be used. And taking a look at concepts that were assumed and stepping back to re-teach or teach for the first time. Often students who are blind have higher language skills and can get buy. Its important to dig deep on concepts and not to move on the next thing until the student has a well rounded understanding.
Great example. And I loved that you started with small trees that the students could touch/feel and get their arms around. Trips to the local tree/floral nursery has been essential to learning about plant life. I live in a place where seasons change and the leaves change in color and texture during those seasons so important to re-visit the concepts we have taught. Experience books are great for community-based instruction and to help re-visit those concepts and activities. And so important you mentioned different media from handmade, PIAF and raised line drawings. A variety of things to mean the same thing.
Shelia,
I agree with your statement, “Guide with encouraging words when asked for assistance, but be silent, and give them time to explore, to make a mistake, to learn from making a mistake, and to try again.” I have been using it with my kindergarten blind student, I sit in silence and observe especially when it is something I know that she knows how to do and have done it before. It has become a very effective tool that I used with her.
Dionne,
I like the phrasing of your statement, “The goal is to ensure the student builds a meaningful understanding of the concept before expecting mastery of more abstract representations”. I used this concept with my kindergarten student and her braille writer this year. In preschool she wanted nothing to do with the braille writer. Although pushing random keys on the braille writer was alright, it was not motivating enough to keep her attention. This year I made sure she could correctly identify her fingers and then we when from finger identification to finger numbering. Presenting the concepts that way gave her a meaningful understanding that all her fingers have a specific job to do on the braille writer.
Impact of Visual Impairment on Development
- Compare the development of object permanence and causal understanding in sighted vs. blind children (p. 2). What underlying factors contribute to these differences, and how might they influence later learning?
The author states that object permanence is attained by a blind child nearly a year later than in a sighted child. Some factors that contribute to these differences are that in the early months of a blind infant their hands are “fisted and held at shoulder height” while the sighted child is looking around their environment, reaching, grabbing, touching and pulling, the blind child has to wait. Even with ear and hand coordination development if the objects are not within grasp the blind child still must wait and maybe after a few unsuccessful attempts they are figuring out wait until it is given.
Causal relationship and the sighted child are pure excitement and joy for them, they are exploring by putting together things, pulling apart things, building and knocking over things. The blind child must systematically guide and coached. The caregiver has to be the cheerleader and observer by providing a variety of different opportunities to explore different toys and objects and at the same time they must be mindful that the infant needs time on their own to figure out their preferences as well. For example, not because it is busy box with sounds and buttons the blind child must show preference maybe they just prefer the pull and push tube (pop tubes).
The blind child must always be causally observed and informally evaluated on skills and preferences. As stated in one of the modules videos a student can verbally describe a duck, but when the actual duck is presented, they were unable to transfer their rote concept of a duck to the actual duck. Without frequents checks of application of concepts the blind child could seems knowledgeable with repeating facts but is unable to demonstrate them.
Some contributing factors in the child’s early years could influence later learning are the underdevelopment of causal relationships where things are always done for them. This underdevelopment leads to lack of constancy, classification and experience because caregivers and others do it for them because it is easier, quicker and less messy.
My kindergarten student has “helpers” in her classroom and usually they would look at me while they are trying to help her, and I would shake my head to them to indicate no.
Question #2 Compare two areas of concept development outlined in the reading (e.g., object exploration vs. environmental awareness). How do they contribute differently to a student’s understanding of the world? Where do they overlap?
I had a life skills student who was congenitally blind. She had good skills with object exploration and identification. She was given a lot of opportunities when it came to this area. However, because she was in a wheelchair and could not push herself around for a length of time, her environmental awareness was a little lacking. We worked a lot on this by doing sensory walks. I would ask “what do you hear? what do you smell? can you feel anything with your hands or under your wheels?” I was trying to combine tangible sensory experiences with environmental cues. She was doing really well at this. She was able to identify places in the school buy sound and smell. Sometimes you have to include real objects or senses in order to become better at environmental awareness.
Amy, I have had similar experiences with the use of different vocabulary by different people for the same object. It’s so hard to get the same vocabulary used with multiple people work with the same student. I ended up creating a list for a specific student of vocabulary that I used to try and get the same words used across the board. It doesn’t always work but I felt like it was worth a shot.
Rachael, motivation is a huge issue! I wish there was an overarching answer to combat lack of motivation. Not just in concept development, but in general for VI students learning skills that might be more difficult or different than what their sighted peers are learning. I like that you are using “first, then”. Has it been helping?
As a TVI and OM, I love taking kids on field trips such as to a train station. I have talked about field trips in several of my posts. I am adamant that field trips that are tied to curriculum and age appropriate are essential for my students. I do not have the time or money to take field trips that are critical for my students until they get to high school! Time is precious in a school day but going to explore and experience a train station in real life is essential. I also love trains!
Think of a time when a student accurately used vocabulary but did not fully understand the concept (similar to the “duck” example). How would you redesign that learning experience using the progression of real objects → models → tactile graphics → raised line drawings? What specific instructional moves would you make at each stage?
This has come up for me several times in the past school year, but this is one of my favorite stories!
This instance was shared with me by a student’s parent and turned out to be a collaborative concept-development effort! She is beginning to realize that his vision is much more impacted than she realized (to be honest, I’m realizing this, too). While playing with friends outside, a helicopter flew overhead. His friends ran over and started pointing at the helicopter (as young 2nd-grade boys do). This student did the same thing; however, his mom noticed he did not point and seemed to be looking up, but not in the right direction. What an easy moment to miss, but this mom was paying attention. She later asked him what color the helicopter was —he said black (great guess!), but it was red. She realized he knew the vocab but did not actually have visual access, leading her to wonder whether he actually knew what a helicopter looked like. When she asked him more questions, he fumbled through an answer, saying things like “it’s kind of like a plane-- it flies and is louder”, but could not provide more details. Thus-- project helicopter began!
We are lucky to live in a small town that does absurd, but fun things, like having Santa fly to schools in a helicopter over Christmas. His mom shared this with me in November, so we had time to prepare for the Santa flyover. His teacher and I worked together to arrange a field trip to an aircraft museum (love a teacher who will try and align these things with the curriculum), where he could be up close and touch various aircraft, including a helicopter. He was able to go inside and experience the difference in the type of cockpits and where people sit in a helicopter. On the day of the Santa flyover, the student was chosen to deliver the students’ letters from his class to Santa —to do so, he walked up near the helicopter and felt the wind from the blades. We later drew diagrams of helicopters using his Jupiter magnifier and printed them out on the PIAF machine.
In hindsight, something I could have done to further reinforce the concept would have been to bring a tactile image of the helicopter with me to the museum, so he could interact with the graphic after he explored the helicopter up close. I could also have used the opportunity to ensure he knew the differences between other aircraft-- plane vs. biplane, etc. He has flown several times, but I wonder how much of his knowledge of planes is related to his experience walking from the cabin to his seat, and possibly to the plane’s general shape. Making a book about aircrafts-- including all the random things that are eventually brought up (blimps-- are those still even used?; hot air balloons, etc.)-- using tactile graphics/ self-created images.
Lots of ideas are swirling through my mind now!!
This is so interesting and is such an every day thing that can cause some confusion-- it’s a great example! I’ve had students who only associated a drink with a specific beverage presented in the same container each time. It feels silly to say, but I didn’t go down the trail of “could this be concept development related”?
I like this example, too! The concept of trees are so taken for granted. When I think about my experiences with trees, they are: a) highly visual, and b) I was a frequent tree climber. Our students don’t always get that opportunity to climb a tree. To feel how tall they can go, where the swing might hang from the branch, etc. It has to be intentionally taught, just as you are saying. I like the idea of starting with smaller trees and finding what is accessibly to you/ the student at the time. I also really liked Amy’s reply about trees in different seasons and about visiting nurseries to feel different trees.