Yes, I have seen learned helplessness in my student. It takes a lot of coaching on our part (the TVI and O&M). I’ve had to keep reminding myself that this is their first experience with a blind student and they are afraid and overwhelmed. The problem, of course, is finding all of the time needed to educate and train other team memebers.
I love the following statement, William:
It means asking myself, before I reach out, whether there’s a clear reason for the touch or whether Im thinking more about the goal and gathering data instead of allowing time for learning to occur.
I find myself often focused on collecting data or thinking I’ve got to get through this lesson so they can be up to speed with their classmates. Then I realize if I am not allowing the time to learn, they will just continue to get further behind said classmates!
Question 5
I am very excited to use the ETLP with my young kiddos. Sometimes I struggle with determining how independent a student really is and what constitutes mastering a skill. After learning that tactile skills should be developed sequentially and interdependent of each other, I am going to be reviewing some of the skills with a current student. This student has many splinter skills but I often see a breakdown when the student is putting the whole together during concept development. I also see some difficulty with this student learning braille letters and using tactile graphics functionally so I am curious to see if there are any pre-requisite skills that I may have missed. I love the resources that are provided by the ETLP to either assess further or practice for developing areas of weakness. Having the ETLP as a resource when doing FVA’s on younger students is going to help to shape my recommendations/goals/accommodations for the student.
I love the idea of building in exploration time because I often find myself rushing a student through activities. Sometimes the demands of data collection and task completion are on my mind more than I’d like them to be. One thing I will change with lessons this year will be to set a timer for open exploration with my student leading the discussion (maybe a few prompting questions) but to let his observations guide my instruction.
I like to think that I am good about allowing extra time for students to problem solve and become more independent for ADLs but I need to allow that time during academic instruction as well.
Sometimes it can be very challenging to train other team members to help build independence. I have one particular student where each August the prior two school years, I’ve had to ‘shadow’ the student to advocate for him to do EVERYTHING independently because he can. It is mind boggling to see the things this student had gotten away with using blindness as an excuse. This also goes to show just how smart the student really is too.
Keep doing what you are doing to promote independence!
Question 6: The ETLP emphasizes that tactile skills are sequential, interdependent, and influenced by multiple developmental areas. How does this challenge or reshape your understanding of literacy development for tactile learners?
The ETLP has reshaped my understanding of literacy by demonstrating that braille instruction is only one part of literacy development for tactile learners. Before students can successfully read braille or interpret tactile graphics, they must first develop strong tactile exploration, fine motor skills, concept development, and meaningful experiences with real objects. These foundational skills develop over time and build upon one another, much like spoken language develops before reading print.
This perspective also reinforces the importance of early intervention and collaboration among educators, therapists, and families. Rather than waiting until a student is ready for braille instruction, tactile experiences should begin as early as possible through daily routines, play, and exploration. The ETLP also helped me recognize that literacy should be viewed more broadly, especially for students with multiple disabilities who may communicate using objects, textures, or tactile symbols before transitioning to braille.
As I prepare for a future career as a teacher of students with visual impairments (TVI), I believe this framework will influence my instructional decisions. It reminds me to assess where each student is developmentally, provide systematic instruction that builds on existing skills, and ensure that every student has opportunities to become an active, independent tactile learner.
I like how you allow your teachers to experience what the student can see with the visual simulation glasses. I am sure some teachers find this quite helpful.
I appreciated your reflection because it shows how important it is to individualize tactile instruction for each student. As I am learning to become a TVI, I am realizing that touch is not just a teaching tool but also a way to support independence. Your examples show that hand-under-hand, verbal instruction, and modeling all need to be adjusted based on the student’s needs and comfort level.
I also found your point about knowing when to withdraw support important. The readings emphasize that students learn best when they are active participants in tactile exploration rather than passive receivers of help. I think this is especially important when working with paraprofessionals and classroom teachers so that everyone understands how to provide support while still encouraging independence.
That is a great point to keep in mind. Thank you for sharing this experience with us.
- Reflect on your own use of touch when supporting students. In what ways might your approach unintentionally promote passive or controlling touch? How could you shift toward more active, non-controlling interactions, and what impact might that have on student learning?
I have noticed that my use of touch when supporting students has changed throughout my career. When I first started teaching, I worked with a lot of students with multiple disabilities who needed a lot of support. I used touch frequently especially as a physical support. My special education background at the time generally supported hand over hand. When I went back to school for my certificate for teaching students with visual impairments, I feel like I learned about how to use touch to support in a less intrusive way through hand under hand, using a less is more technique to add more support as needed. The population of students that I worked with also changed-they were more academic and did not need as much physical support. I think using non-controlling interactions, such a gentle touch at the elbow instead of picking up a student’s wrist, can be a shift in changing the interaction and lead to more independence for the student.
Evaluate the role of research versus practitioner experience in shaping tactile instruction practices. How should educators balance anecdotal evidence with emerging scientific findings when making instructional decisions?
I found this article to be very interesting to read! I feel like in school preparing to be a TVI, I learned so much about how the visual system works, but never once did we learn about how the brain interprets touch. The research in this article was gathered from people without visual impairments about how they interpret touch and used to develop a science-based approach to touch for people with visual impairments. I think that this can be very helpful in providing some guidance while also remembering that article states the differences we also experience in our sense of touch is not due to differences in our vision. We all experience human touch differently based on a variety of factors-prior experiences, trauma, culture, upbringing, etc. In order to make instructional decisions, educators need to build a rapport with students and learn how they experience touch while also remembering that there is evidence of how using a non-controlling touch supports learning and independence.
Question # 1: The Development of Tactile Skills
Educational teams play a critical role in supporting the development of tactile skills by working together to provide consistent opportunities for exploration and learning. Teachers incorporate tactile experiences into daily instruction, families reinforce these skills through everyday activities at home, and specialists such as Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TSVIs) and occupational therapists provide targeted strategies and guidance.
Breakdowns in collaboration often stem from inconsistent communication, limited understanding of tactile development, or a lack of shared goals among team members. Time constraints and insufficient training can also make it difficult for everyone to implement the same strategies consistently.
Collaboration can be strengthened through regular team meetings, clear communication, shared instructional goals, and ongoing professional development. Providing families with practical activities to use at home and ensuring that all team members understand the student’s tactile needs creates a more consistent learning environment. When educators, specialists, and families work together with a unified approach, students are more likely to develop the tactile skills needed for independence and academic success.
Amy, I really appreciated your honesty in sharing this experience. It takes a lot of reflection to recognize when our good intentions may unintentionally encourage passive participation. I like how you shifted from hand-over-hand to verbal prompts and hand-under-hand guidance, allowing your student to become more actively involved in the learning process. Your example highlights how allowing students to initiate their own movements can lead to greater independence and better internalization of skills. It also reminds us that progress isn’t always immediate, but consistency and patience can make a meaningful difference. Thank you for sharing such a valuable learning experience.
Good morning, Rebecca.
I completely agree with your point that “you don’t know what you don’t know.” Many educators genuinely want to support students with visual impairments but have never been taught how tactile skills develop or why they are so foundational. I also like that you connected tactile development to concept development and literacy because those connections are often overlooked. I think another important step is providing ongoing collaboration between TSVIs, classroom teachers, and related service providers so strategies become part of everyday instruction instead of something that only happens during specialized services. Building that shared understanding across the entire team would make a significant difference for our students.
I agree that the ELTP will be a beneficial tool to begin utilizing. I wasn’t aware of it before. I have a student with Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis. He has been stable visually the last couple of years. It will be very important to continue building his tactile skills. The ETLP will allow me to determine where he is lacking or showing splinter skills so that instruction can be provided where needed.
Question 1:
Some schools I have worked in will hold a monthly team meeting, where the teacher, therapists, and paraprofessionals will get together to discuss student progress and needs. This often times will include strategies, use of consistent language, etc… I believe this is a great way to keep everyone on the same page. It is important for everyone to be consistent across the board so that the student learns across environments.
However, the parent/guardian/caregiver, are not included in this meeting, causing them to be out of the loop. Although the parents may have individual discussions with the teacher or therapists, the only meeting they participate in is the IEP meeting. The parents have valuable information about their child that should be included in planning for their needs. Including parents more frequently in these types of meetings or connecting to make sure they have needed materials at home so that learning can be consistent between home and school could be a way to strengthen the collaboration.
I feel like my whole career I have learned about passive and active learning for students who are braille readers or emergent braille readers and how important it is to allow them to have a sense of tactile control during instruction as much as possible. From the beginning stages, I try very hard to use my hands as guides and models for students to understand how to approach tasks and not use hand over hand strategies for student learning. Sometimes it is hard not to do this, but even when I feel it is necessary, I use this technique briefly and then transition to just tactile support. I try to model this for staff also and encourage their understanding of active learning and it’s importance for tactile learners. This course has been so beneficial, getting new ideas of how to give tactile support for learning in ways that are most beneficial for students. I feel like we need to do the best we can to promote active learning scenarios as much as possible.
I literally just answered this same question. Especially for emergent readers, I know that guided instruction is more beneficial than hand over hand techniques, but sometimes I don’t see another way to introduce a new skill or concept without doing this. I always tell the student what I will be doing and assure them of what we will be doing during the lesson and then try to transition to less support as quickly as possible. I think it is a tough call sometimes and we just have to get out of the student’s way as soon as possible so they have those active learning experiences.
I agree - loved all the resources from this module. I downloaded them all! I love having something to reference to justify or guide my own thinking. It is good too to evolve as teachers and know there may be an even better way to introduce skills or advance through skill progression - I am all about working smarter not harder!
- Reflect on your own use of touch when supporting students. In what ways might your approach unintentionally promote passive or controlling touch? How could you shift toward more active, non-controlling interactions, and what impact might that have on student learning?
According to Sara Kitchen in Approaches to Tactile Instruction, “non-controlling touch promotes independence and learning.” This makes sense because most individuals prefer to have control over their environment and over what they are touching. As teachers, it is important to understand how each student responds to different textures so they remain engaged and do not have a negative tactile reaction.
Several years ago, I worked with a student who could not tolerate touching a gummy worm that was being used during a science lesson. That experience reinforced the importance of allowing students to explore materials at their own pace. Over the years, I have intentionally changed my instructional approach to give students greater freedom and control when exploring objects.
When working with students through touch, I used to ask for the student’s hand so I could guide their movements. Because I am blind myself, this felt like the most efficient approach. Now, however, I use the hand-under-hand technique, allowing students to observe and feel how I explore an object while maintaining control of their own movements. I have also learned not to interrupt a student’s exploration. Instead, I ask them to let me know when they have finished.
For example, I have a student who enjoys using the Swing Cell to manipulate the pegs while learning letters. When the student finishes forming a letter, they simply tap the table twice to let me know they are done. This allows them to complete the task independently without me repeatedly asking if they have finished. Giving students this level of control creates a more relax learning environment and encourages independence for both the student and me.
I agree. Patience is definitely key to a student’s success and understanding. If, we as TVI’s, rush the student when exploring tactile graphics, the student may not receive full comprehension about the tactile graphic. I have observed aides providing assistance and not allowing the student to explore the graphic by moving the student’s hand to the next point of interest. Example, when a student is trying to determine intersecting lines on a coordinate plane. The student needs to be able to explore the lines prior to finding the specific intersection. I try modeling the correct approach by asking my student if they were able to find and follow the two lines. If so, then I have them explore the information for the intersection itself.