Diversity
Teaching Students Who Have Low Vision: A Workshop Created for Teachers and Assistants
Rationale
“Accomplished teachers of students with exceptional needs create an environment in which equal treatment, fairness, and respect for diversity are modeled, taught, and practiced by all, and they take steps to ensure access to quality learning opportunities for all students.” (NBPTS)
The handout below lists the topics of discussion in a workshop that I created specifically to support our student who is legally blind. In order to meet the needs of our student, I had set up stations in my classroom with computer equipment dedicated to each task. Our paraprofessionals and special education teachers needed to know how to use the equipment. In addition, they requested a general overview of the strategies for teaching people with low vision, so I created this professional development session shown in outline form on the handout. I demonstrated each of the tools in the list, then offered hands-on training at the stations.
Reflection
None of the teachers or teacher assistants who are Egyptian had previous experience with special needs, though some are university trained educators. In Egypt, generally speaking, people with disabilities are segregated in the communities. Services are extremely limited and independent mobility is next to impossible, at least in the city. Only recently universities have admitted students who have blindness or low vision.
Also there were teachers from North America in attendance, including myself, who had not encountered a student such as the one we discussed in the workshop. He needed a coordinated effort from all of his teachers in order to have equal access to learning.
To facilitate the collaboration, I searched the literature for instructional strategies for low-vision and adapted the information that applied to our student for a training session. Each teacher learned how to connect and operate the magnifier and to use a variety of computer settings and programs.
After his teachers attended this workshop, the student had a smoother transition from teacher to teacher throughout the day. Hopefully, those teachers will continue to develop their work in teaching students with exceptional needs so that many more students will have smooth transitions.
None of the teachers or teacher assistants who are Egyptian had previous experience with special needs, though some are university trained educators. In Egypt, generally speaking, people with disabilities are segregated in the communities. Services are extremely limited and independent mobility is next to impossible, at least in the city. Only recently universities have admitted students who have blindness or low vision.
Also there were teachers from North America in attendance, including myself, who had not encountered a student such as the one we discussed in the workshop. He needed a coordinated effort from all of his teachers in order to have equal access to learning.
To facilitate the collaboration, I searched the literature for instructional strategies for low-vision and adapted the information that applied to our student for a training session. Each teacher learned how to connect and operate the magnifier and to use a variety of computer settings and programs.
After his teachers attended this workshop, the student had a smoother transition from teacher to teacher throughout the day. Hopefully, those teachers will continue to develop their work in teaching students with exceptional needs so that many more students will have smooth transitions.