Teaching science to a child with a visual impairment: An essential reference-guide for classroom teachers Welcome to our team!

As your students science teacher, you have the best ability to make the student with a visual impairment feel welcomed and comfortable in the classroom. Through collaboration, we can create an environment which allows the student to realize a true sense of belonging as a student in the class equal to peers who are fully sighted because they are learning everything their peers are learningat the same time, in the same classroom. The Teacher for Children with Visual Impairments (TVI) and the classroom science teacher each have a clearly defined role to play in our students education, as outlined in this brochure. However, collaboration is truly the key to our success. While I can provide suggestions on how to adapt lessons to meet the needs of the particular student and ensure the student has the adaptive tools they need to be successful, you can provide me with observations of student progress and your own suggestions and ideas regarding adaptations and areas where the student may require further instruction. Together, we can remove all of the barriers. This brochure outlines how we each contribute to our students success, as well as giving an overview of the different areas where adaptations will be needed based on the specific needs of the individual student.

Expectations and Goals Just like their peers who are fully sighted, various research indicates that students with visual impairments are most successful academically when they have opportunities to engage in active learning with peers in an inclusive classroom. The academic expectations we have for children who are visually impaired must be no different than our expectations for any other student. With proper adaptations and support, we collaboratively create an environment where students with a visual impairment can be just as successful as every other student in the class. Considering Students Background Knowledge Children who are fully sighted learn so much through incidental observations in daily life, both at school and at home. Think about everything you or I may have learned simply through observing other people and the world around us. For students who cannot learn through these visual observations on their own, they need us to provide them this information through alternative means. While the TVI takes the ultimate responsibility for teaching this knowledge to fill-in the gaps, having success in science class will go a long way towards not only delivering the prescribed learning outcomes for the course, but also making up for these missed incidental learning opportunities.

The classroom teachers role and responsibilities: Delivering and teaching the science curriculum Assessing the students performance in relation to the prescribed learning outcomes for the course, assigning letter grades and providing progress reports identical to those for every other student Collaborating with the TVI to determine areas where the student may need additional support and adaptations within the classroom to support and enable learning Collaborating with the TVI on an action plan for how materials can be adapted for the student will be critical, and then providing materials to the students educational team to be adapted in advance of the lesson for which they are needed. The TVI will have many strategies in mind, but as a science expert, please share your own ideas with the TVI as well. In addition, there are special considerations for instructional strategies such as lectures, labs, demonstrations and field trips that can make them accessible to your student with a visual impairment. In consultation, the TVI will give you the tips and tricks needed to make each activity a success. Ensuring all students in the class keep classroom areas uncluttered and free of hazards Assisting the TVI in assessing the students ability to use special tools in the classroom by tracking the students use of the tools and reporting findings to the TVI

The Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments Role and Responsibilities: Providing guidance and support in helping you implement inclusive classroom strategies. This includes optimizing the existing physical setup of the classroom, determining the best place for the student to be located in the classroom, as well as discussing innovative accommodations for typical teaching methods and class experiences such as lectures, labs, demonstrations, role-playing, use of videos, field trips, etc. Focusing more on oral instruction is just the beginning! Locating and provide special equipment, models and tools for classroom use Ensuring learning materials such as worksheets, textbooks, videos, etc. which you have selected for students, and provide in advance of the lesson, are adapted and reproduced in an alternate format where necessary. This is accomplished either by collaborating with you on simple adaptations, or ensuring materials received from you are adapted (or obtained from other sources) in an alternate-format. Braille, tactile maps and diagrams are just a few examples. Adaptations are based on the individual needs of the student. The key is to receive the materials in advance so that the student has the adapted version available when the material is being taught in-class. Posters, classroom displays, and items used

in demonstrations may need to be adapted as well. Teaching the student how to use adapted materials, such as tactile maps and graphics Taking the lead in teaching the student how to use special tools (for example, adapted measurement tools). If the student reads and writes using braille, the TVI will teach Nemeth Code, a special set of braille symbols used for science-related reading and writing. Continuously assessing the students ability to use these special skills to ensure that they have the opportunity, given adapted materials and tools, to perform in the class at the same level as his/her peers who are fully sighted. This includes identifying areas where the student is succeeding, and where additional attention and teaching needs to be focused.

with a scale if they have not personally done it before. The TVI will check for pre-requisite knowledge before units begin in science class, however as a classroom teacher, you may identify some that may have been missed. versed in lab safety so the student with a visual impairment can participate fully and safely in lab activities. Additional safety training may be necessary due to possible additional hazards.

Together we need to ensure the student is located in the best physical location in the classroom for optimal use of their sensory channels (hearing, vision, etc.) participating actively in group activities, and not just recording results verbally provided by lab partners. not missing basic conceptual knowledge to succeed in science that other students may have learned incidentally. For example, our student may or may not know what terms such as balanced and unbalanced mean when working

Stay connected! Not only are you the students science teacher, but you are also part of the students educational team. Together, we work collaboratively to support each other in helping our student become successful. Our greatest resource is each other! We can complete various assessments together over the course of the year to assist in progress monitoring. Please get involved by attending IEP meetings, understanding the goals we have set for the student, and know that we are always here for each other. If you ever have questions, ideas, or information that would benefit the rest of the team, please keep in touch. Produced by Tom Grainger UBC Student Teacher of Children with Visual Impairments