Week 5: INCLUSIVE TEACHING

Title: Curriculum Adaptation for Low Vision and Blind Learners

Hi. My name is Hestelle Viljoen. I was the head of a school for visually impaired learners in South Africa.
Since my retirement in 2008, I've been involved in the training of educators as well as the development
of accessible learning support materials for visually impaired learners.

When I had to include blind and low vision learners in my class for the first time, I knew nothing about
visual impairment, and I had to ask myself the four questions, which I am going to try and answer in this
video.

My first question was, how does one present materials to a learner who is blind or has low vision?

Well, we never change our programme, but it is necessary to make the learning support material and
our teaching method accessible by making some adaptations. Some important things to remember is
that it is estimated that 80 per cent of information is taken in through vision. So, visually impaired
learners need to be taught what others learn incidentally. We also need to expose learners to the same
variety of experiences, but with reduced visual complexity. They cannot take in information at a glance,
we need to teach them to explore visual materials and objects, for this they need additional time and
practice. We present graphic materials always in a simpler way, it is essential to prepare the work well in
advance and sometimes to hand it out before the time, to allow them enough time to familiarize
themselves with the work. We tell learners what we write on the board, and what is going on around
them. Learners also require more work and storage space for books and equipment because they are
bigger than other books.

Let's talk about braille as blind learners usually need material in braille. Braille is simply a system of
raised dots that can be read with the fingers. Learners need to read braille using both hands. They can
also use electronic or audio formats, but it does not work as well for all subjects and visual content. Low
vision learners do not see the same way. They might prefer different fonts of font sizes, colored paper or
higher contrast, magnifying devices or to sit in a specific preferred position in class.

Let us now look at the different ways in which we can adapt learning support material. One way is to
simplify a picture or a diagram or show it differently to reduce visual complexity. Some pictures are
meaningless in braille and when the detail in pictures is too small for low vision learners, we use familiar
shapes with different textures or bright colors to reduce visual complexity.

Another way to adapt learning material, is to replace a picture or a diagram with a written description.
We write a detailed description of the picture and all the information that is given in the picture. The
learner can then from the text answer all the questions. A picture or diagram can also be supplemented
with a written description to make the interpretation clearer.

Blind learners fine three-dimensional drawings very difficult to unravel. We can provide supplementary
information describing the necessary characteristics required to improve understanding of the question.
Another helpful way is to replace a picture or diagram with the real item or a model to enhance
perceptual understanding and make it easier to read the two-dimensional diagram. You will need to
allow time for hands-on experiences for this.

One can also reduce the amount of information given when there is too much to fit on a braille page,
which is limited or if it becomes too crowded or blurry for low vision learners. We then redesign the
graphic with less information. Sometimes, inherently visual material in text or pictures can be
incomprehensible for visually impaired learners.

When we teach poems, literature, and cartoons, we need to have longer discussions about imagery and
metaphors. For example, learners who are near sighted or blind cannot see the mountains with their
rumpled cheeks, and might never understand it because of its inherently visual nature. It is unfair then
to ask them, to explain how this figure of speech was used effectively in a poem or text. We try to find
another metaphor in the text that they can relate to or we replace the question with something non-
visual.

Lastly, a question or a task that requires a learner to draw can be replaced, or reversed, or written, or
recorded explanation accepted as response. In maths, a question can often be reversed so that the
learner does not have to draw. We give them the drawing and then ask questions on that graph,
requiring the same knowledge as in the original.

The second question is about, how visually impaired learners do their work in class? What are the
various options that are available to them? Blind learners usually write braille on a Perkins brailler, using
loose sheets of specialized braille paper. They can also make a recording when appropriate. Low vision
learners should be encouraged to write with black felt tip pens or an HB pencil on bold lined paper or
books.

The third question is, how does one assess visually impaired learners? We assess visually impaired
learners in exactly the same way as other learners except for the adaptations or modifications, we make
for the sake of accessibility. Some of the accommodations that we can make entailed; adapting
questions, giving additional time, printing braille or enlarged print, the learner can also make use of a
digital player, a recorder or a computer. Sometimes a learner has a problem with handwriting. In this
case, we provide a reader or a scribe, or arrange an oral examination. For health reasons, we can
sometimes allow time for food or medication intake or a rest period.

The last question I had was, what assistive technology or devices can one used to give maximum access
to visually impaired learners? For low vision learners, desktop, or portable, or handled electronic
magnifiers improve the quality of access and really makes a difference in the lives of the teacher and the
learners. Screen magnification software, large print keyboards, and large display scientific calculators
further enhance accessibility. When we teach blind learners using braille, as their teachers we need to
be able to access braille and graphics printers, with the appropriate braille translation software for text,
maths, science, music, and graphics. When learners use the computer, they need a good screen reader
with earphones. A speaking scientific calculator, is also a requirement for maths and science and other
calculations. Scanners and scanning software also come in handy.

In conclusion, there is no single correct way of providing accessible material and assessments. What is
important, is that we meet the individual needs of each learner and that the original purpose of the
work is maintained.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
CC BY Hestelle Viljoen

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.