Final Project

Rhetoric 7313
Theory of Technical Communication
Harold Moses, Sr. and Harold Moses, II
November 24, 2014

Literacy Acquisition for

Blind and Visually Impaired Students in
Writing Composition
Classes at the College Level
A Literature Review
And like the settlers of other frontiers, the teachers who by choice or assignment are heading to this
pedagogical West are certain to be carrying many things they will not be needing, that will clog their
journey as they get further on. So too they will discover the need of other things they do not have and
will need to fabricate by mother wit out of whatever is at hand.Mina P. Shaughnessy
I knew that he was out there but I didnt know his name.Helen Keller
And like skydivers who dont know where their parachutes will take them, [research on blind literacy
acquisition] is inherently unpredictable.Aries Arditi
Sometimes you may address a problem and its something like jumping out of a plane: You dont know
where youre going to begin or where youre going to land, or if [youre] going to land on something
fruitful.Aries Arditi

Legal and Professional Responsibilities of Faculty and Institutions

Ferrell (2007) cites Lowenfield as pointing out that people with visual impairments were treated
as defective, considered expendable, and sometimes killed in ancient times because they could not
contribute to the work of the communitywhich was, then, war and survival. As time passed, people
came to believe that these individuals needed to be cared for and sheltered by society. It was in this
atmosphere of charity that blind people began to make strides in their own right. They became writers,
scientists, civil engineers, ministers, musiciansachieved fame and notoriety because of their own
achievements. Blind persons were thus among the first people with disabilities to be recognized as
being able to benefit from education. Notably, this occurred largely because blind people themselves,
without benefit of formal education and assistance from professionals, demonstrated that they could do
the same things that sighted people didif not better.
Not very long ago, however, attending a mainstream college was beyond any consideration for
individuals with learning acquisition differences, or learning disabilities. But in recent years, numerous

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legislative mandates, such as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, have made literacy acquisition for the blind
and visually impaired (BVI) at these institutions a real possibility.
Section 504 of the Act, which applies to all post secondary programs and activities that receive
federal financial, is the main legal imperative requiring colleges and universities to offer support services
for students with disabilities. While the Act does not require that colleges and universities lower their
criteria of admission or course requirements, it does mandate that these institutions make reasonable
accommodations, placement in the most integrated setting and the enjoyment of all campus activities
to the extent appropriate once a student has been accepted. Kibria (2005) reports that, as a result the
passage of the Act, every year an increasing number of BVI students are entering mainstream colleges
and universities. The number of BVI students enrolled in postsecondary institutions varies depending on
the source of data since supplying the information is purely voluntary. However, the National Center for
Educational Statistics (1999) reported that in 1999-2000, 9% of all undergraduate students in degreegranting institutions reported having a disability that created difficulties for them as a student. Of the
students with disabilities, 12% had either a visual or hearing impairment. These students are less likely
to have graduated from college than their sighted counterparts.
Accommodating their learning needs in the regular education. Modifying the curriculum to
accommodate BVI students poses a challenge not only for them, but for faculty, and administrators
alike. The educational reforms associated with the legislative mandates have shed light on the need to
improve teacher training, charging institutions of higher education with training teacher educators in
specific strategies for educating students who are blind and visually impaired, including how to assist
these students with becoming involved in the development of effective pedagogy (National Center for
Educational Statistics 1999)

General Challenges to Writing Literacy Acquisition: A Birds Eye View

Writing is a very integral part of the literacy acquisition process in colleges and universities,
regardless of the course of study. Freshman composition, an English course focused on helping new
college students gain vital writing skills for their college career, is usually taken during the first year of
study. Students gain experience writing essays and papers, using rhetorical devises and effectively
revising papers, which are skills that are deemed needed to write at the college level. Freshman
composition is often required before a student can take other classes that require a large amount of
writing.
Teaching and learning writing literacy has traditionally been dependent on students having
unencumbered visual perception. The Office of Students with Disabilities at Valencia College (2014)
reports that most college instructors of composition rely heavily on written assignments as a primary
means of communicating knowledge and understanding. Freshman composition courses tend to be
challenging for sighted individuals, and these types of courses, of course, present an even greater
challenge to the sighted instructors who teach them and to the unsighted students who must acquire
the knowledge imparted therein.
Many BVIs face challenges with written handouts, exams, and/or assignments. Visual
impairments may impact a students access to standard word processing programs and computers.
Accessing journals, publications, or other library resources for written assignments may be difficult for
many. Computers, assistive technology, and software programs have increased the number of written

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communication options for BVI students. Despite improvements in technology, many students with
visual impairments need additional accommodations to complete written assignments, those not
generally required of their sighted counterparts. Typical accommodations for BVI students include
extending assignment deadlines, allowing alternative assignment formats, extended test-taking time, or
the use of adaptive technology.

Structural and Pedagogical Challenges: Sighted Teachers/Unsighted Students

Teachers of freshman college composition most often approach the teaching of writing from
two perspectives: process and social (Office of Students with Disabilities 2014). The writing process
involves the development of thoughts and requires the ability to use words to develop an idea and
utilize recursive, translation, planning, and revising skills and communicate that idea to others (Paths to
Literacy 2014).
The translation process can be the most challenging for BVIs. The process has two components:
the generation and transcription of text. Text generation requires student to have the ability to
symbolize ideas into units of language, specifically words, sentences, and paragraphs. Text transcription
requires students to possess the ability to convert the words into print, or for students who are blind,
into braille or electronic devices. Both text generation and transcription are necessary in all the
processes used when writing compositions.
Studies in the visual impairment literature Ferrell et al., 2006; Fichten et al. 2014) suggest a
significant difference in the way that instructors who teach at mainstream institutions approach the
teaching of writing compared to how BVI students have been accustomed to learning the process.
Teachers who have received specialized training in teaching writing to BVIs have typically approached
teaching writing to these students from a different pedagogical perspective. The principles are similar
but critical contextual social factors that exert strong influence on writing literacy are different.
Although BVIs who read braille are involved in the same cognitive processes during writing tasks
as their sighted counterparts, some students experience tremendous frustration using specific tools,
such as braille writers, a slate and stylus, or special pens and paper with bold lines. Success at writing
composition requires that individuals be able to express their ideas freely and easily, without struggling
with the mechanics of tools.
And prior to their enrolling in writing classes in mainstream colleges and universities, many BVI
students have been taught writing by teachers who view the writing process as the creation of the
content of what is written, and ideas for instruction that are specific to students who are blind or
visually impaired. The tools of writing are the various methods for students with low vision, as well as
those who are blind. Traditionally, these tools include braille and print formats, and the use of a
keyboard and assistive technology has expanded the forms of expression with voice output, print, and
braille displays. Writing can also be interpreted even more broadly for students who are blind or
visually impaired to include the use of tactile representations, objects, or other symbols. (Path to
Literacy). In general, instructors or writing composition in mainstream colleges and universities,
because they have no specialized training in teaching BVIs, may not make writing assignments that are
sight-specific, or tailor made for BVIs.

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Research by Kitao and Saeki 1992, citing Elbow, Graves, Edelsky, Roen, Wiley, and Rubin, point
out that writing, like other forms of language, is a social activity aimed at purposeful and meaningful
communication with others. Among the social aspects of writing are opportunities to control topic,
assume a variety of social roles, perform functions (advising, requesting, complaining, etc.) and adapt to
a specific audience. Research has indicated that awareness of the intended audience of a piece of
writing influences the style and quality of that writing.
Unfortunately, the structure of the typical writing class, with the interaction limited to the
teacher-student relationship and with the teacher in the role of knower and evaluator, limits rather than
expands the use of written language. In their role of responder, BVI students are those who are most
unlikely to have the opportunity to explore and vary social roles through their writing. Studies (Strickling
2014) have shown that, because subtle visual cues are missing and facial expressions are lost, social
interactions are more complicated for individuals who have visual impairments. They often tend to be
more ambivalent, and disinterested socially, than their sighted counterparts, and this may constrict their
ability to produce written texts for a wide range of audiences.

Assistive Technology: Too Little Too Soon

BVI students enrolled in college composition classes must have assistive technologies that
facilitate curriculum access. Screen readers, screen magnification software, braille printers, personal
digital assistants (PDAs) with and without braille displays and global positioning enhancements. But
these tools are often expensive, and the expense cannot be distributed among several students because
they are adapted to meet an individuals needs. The most difficult part of the technology puzzle has
been simply to get new devices to the people who need them (Shapiro cited in Ferrell 2007). Equally as
hard, however, may be what Rathbun and West (Cited in Ferrell 2007) refer to as the digital divide
between those with computer access and skills and those without.

State of the Research

Not much research has been conducted specific to how BVI students acquire written literacy in
college composition courses. With the advent of assistive technology, many educators have assumed
that this technology automatically promotes BVI literacythat it can be electronically manufactured.
Because such an event is highly unlikely, there is a great need for applied research related specifically to
the writing literacy acquisition of adult learners attending mainstream colleges and universities.
A steady annual increase in the number of BVIs attending mainstream colleges and universities
and enrolling in classes that require that they become literate in this domain also implies the need for
universities and colleges to adequately prepare, motivate, and support their graduates to engage in
research on a continuing basis. These instructors can ill afford to fail in their duties to impart their
knowledge of writing literacy to students who direly need these skills to become self-sustaining,
independent adults.
Research which investigates how BVIs find or generate meaning in their writing or how BVIs can
communicate to writing instructors how the instructors can best address their needs will help educators
provide higher levels of literacy to their students. Variables to be considered would include personal
qualities, instructional approaches and strategies, environmental aspects, teachers competency to
teach learners, and the mode of writing which is most appropriate.

References
DAndrea, Mary F. (2012). Preferences and practices among students who read Braille and use assistive
technology. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. Retrieved from
http://www.journalofvisualimpairmentandblindness.org/
Ferrell, K.A., Mason, L., Young, J., and Cooney, J. (2006). Forty years of literacy research in blindness and
visual impairment: Technical Report. National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities. Retrieved
from http://www.nationalcenteronlowincidencedisabilities.org
Ferrell, K. A. (2007). Issues in the field of blindness and low-vision. Retrieved from
http://www.nclid.unco.edu/-journal
Fichten, Catherine S., Goodrick, G., Amsel, R., & Libman, E. (1996). Teaching college students with
disabilities: A guide for professors. [Original article and title are in Japanese]. Retrieved from
http:// carroll.org/contact-us/
Kibria, Gholam. (2005). Professional and legal challenges of teaching students with disabilities in
postsecondary education. College Teaching Methods & Styles Journal, 1(1). Retrieved from
http://collegeteachingmethods&stylejournal.org
Kitao, K., and Saeki, N. (1992). Process and social aspects of writing: Theory and classroom application.
Retrieved from http://ericec.org/digests/darchives .org/
McNear, Donna L., Lewis, Larry, and Halliday, Jim. (2015). A framework for Braille literacy: Integrating
assistive technology in the literacy curriculum. Center on Disabilities at California State
University. Retrieved from http://www.csun.edu/cod/index.php
National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) (1999). Students with disabilities in postsecondary
education: A profile of preparation, participation, and outcome (NCES (1999-187). Retrieved
from http://www. nces.ed.gov
Office for Students with Disabilities. (2014). Teaching strategies for students that are blind and low
vision. Department home page. Valencia College. Retrieved from http://www.valencia
college.edu/osd/documents/BlindnessDraft.pdf
Paths to Literacy. (2015). Overview of the writing process. Retrieved from
www.pathstoliteracy.org/overview-writing-process
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 504. Text from: United States Code Service. Available from: LexisNexis
Congressional (Online Service). Bethesda, MD: Congressional Information Service.
Rex, Evelyn J. (1990). The education of visually handicapped learners: An overview of research issues.
Peabody Journal of Education, 67(2). 54-73. JSTOR. Retrieved from http://www.j
stor.org/stable/1492645

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Stodden, Robert A., Whelley, Teresa, Chang, Chuan, and Harding, Tom. (2001). Current status of
educational support provision to students with disabilities in postsecondary education. Journal
of Vocational Rehabilitation. 16. 189-198. Retrieved from http://www.rrc.hawaii.edu
Strickling, C. (2015). Impact of visual impairment on development. Retrieved from
http://www.tsbvi.edu/curriculum-a-publications
Wagner, M. (1989). Youth with disabilities during transition: An overview of descriptive findings from
the national longitudinal study. Menlo Park, CA: The National Longitudinal Study of Special
Education Students.
Washington State University, Institute for Public Policy (WSU-IPP). (1999). Educational placement
options for blind and visually impaired students: A literature review. Retrieved from
http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/ReportFile/933