Success for Blind Students in Mathematics and Science:

The Importance of Thinking Outside the Box

Imke Durre
NOAA National Climatic Data Center
! "atton A#enue
Ashe#ille$ NC %&&'
(SA
imke)durre*noaa)go#
Se#enth International Conference on +igher ,ducation and Disa-ilit.
Inns-ruck$ Austria
/ul. %''
I) Introduction
In post0secondar. mathematics and science courses$ the preponderance of #isual
displa.s and mathematical expressions poses a num-er of significant challenges for
students 1ho are #isuall. impaired$ particularl. those 1ith little or no usa-le #ision) 2irst$
lectures in these fields can -e difficult for -lind students to follo1 unless sufficient #er-al
information is pro#ided in con3unction 1ith the illustrations and mathematical
expressions presented) Second$ the translation of graphical and mathematical material
from print to a format that is -oth accessi-le and meaningful to the student t.picall. is
considera-l. more time0consuming and difficult than the transcription of plain text)
Third$ 1hile most -lind students use a computer or -raille notetaker for regular text
entr.$ thus allo1ing the instructor to access their completed assignments directl. 1ithout
the need for -raille0to0print translation$ the. are often not a1are of ho1 the. can use this
same approach for the more technical assignments re4uired in math and science courses)
2inall.$ students ma. -e asked to generate their o1n graphs or maps$ tasks 1hich the.
ma. not ha#e pre#iousl. -een re4uired to complete)
Often$ students as 1ell as their instructors and support personnel are not a1are of
specific e4uipment and strategies that could help them meet those challenges) As a result$
man. -lind students do not ac4uire the same or e4ui#alent proficiencies as their sighted
peers in these su-3ect areas and ma. complete their education 1ithout -eing ade4uatel.
prepared to compete in the mainstream 3o- market 5Burgstahler 6678 Stefanich 6678
9ardner 66&8 ,r1in et al) %'':) There are$ ho1e#er$ -lind students 1ho successfull.
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complete course1ork in all su-3ects$ including math and science) The. do so thanks to
highl. de#eloped skills in choosing and using assisti#e technolog.$ accessi-le
instruments$ tactile graphics material$ and sighted assistance for ac4uiring and
demonstrating kno1ledge of concepts that are traditionall. communicated in #isual form)
Often$ the adapti#e strategies these students emplo. are de#eloped -. the indi#iduals
themsel#es$ their instructors$ and;or support personnel -ased on the situation at hand and
the e4uipment and expertise a#aila-le 5Tra#is 66'8 Stefanich 6678 <ermei3 66=8
Schleppen-ach 66=8 Bra>ier et al) %'''8 Asher %''8 Tatomir and ?o1lan %''78 Durre
%''&:)
@ecogni>ing that methods de#eloped in this manner ma. -e helpful to others in
similar situations$ the presenter$ 1ho is -lind 1ithout light perception$ 1ill share her
experiences in o-taining a -achelors degree in applied mathematics and a "h)D) in
atmospheric science) ,mphasis 1ill -e placed on the effecti#e use of assisti#e technolog.
for direct 1ritten communication 1ith sighted instructors8 on #arious approaches to
handling maps$ graphs$ and other illustrations8 and on the importance of pro-lem0sol#ing
skills 1hen de#ising and implementing adapti#e strategies for handling specific situations
5Durre and Durre 6668 Durre %''&:) The purpose of this manuscript is to pro#ide a -rief
o#er#ie1 of each of these areas and point the reader to rele#ant resources) The oral
presentation 1ill furnish concrete examples taken from the authorAs personal experience)
II) Summar. of Strategies
) ,limination of -raille0to0print translation
A relati#el. simple approach to completing assignments and tests in a format
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accessi-le to sighted instructors is to 1rite mathematical expressions in a linear format
that is similar to that used in programming languages and is intuiti#e to -oth print and
non0print readers 5Durre and Durre 6668 Bapperman and Sticken %''C:) 2or example$
one half is 1ritten as ;% and t1o0s4uared is 1ritten as %D%) The author successfull.
emplo.ed this approach throughout her education$ using a computer and refresha-le
-raille displa. 5Durre and Durre 6&=8 Durre and Durre 666:) 2or information on ho1 to
emplo. the linear format$ users of refresha-le -raille displa.s are referred to
http:;;111)shell1orld)net;Eco-ra$ 1hile users of -raille notetakers can consult
http:;;s%%C&)ts-#i)edu;mathpro3ect;ch!0sec&)aspFMainContent)
%) ,limination of print0to0-raille transcription
(sing a refresha-le -raille in this manner also opens up the possi-ilit. of pro#iding
the student 1ith course materials in electronic format 1ithout the need for print0to0-raille
translation) It ma. -e possi-le$ for example$ for the uni#ersit.As disa-led student ser#ices
office to arrange for student assistants to scan the course materials into electronic files
that the -lind student can read 1ith a standard 1ord processor) If the document contains
mathematical expressions$ the assistants can edit them to -e consistent 1ith the linear
format descri-ed a-o#e) This approach can make for a more timel. deli#er. of materials
than 1hen transcription into -raille is re4uired)
C) Alternati#es to creating illustrations
Ghen an assignment or test re4uires students to demonstrate kno1ledge or skills -.
dra1ing diagrams$ maps$ or illustrations$ -lind students ma. 1ish to either o-tain
4
permission from the instructor to 1rite a step0-.0step description of ho1 the particular
graph is to -e created or meet 1ith the instructor in order to #er-all. communicate their
kno1ledge)
Ghen the creation of figures is re4uired as part of a research pro3ect$ on the other
hand$ -lind students can instead compile the data in ta-ular form$ thus allo1ing them to
-e re#ie1ed 1ith speech or -raille output) Another option is to use a programming
language or command0line dri#en soft1are package to create scatterplots and crude maps
1ith standard characters that can then -e explored 1ith a refresha-le -raille displa. or on
an em-ossed -raille page)
7) Multiple approaches to accessing information presented in #isual form
Ghen figures appear in text-ooks$ handouts$ or online course materials$ it is not
al1a.s necessar. to reproduce them in tactile form) @ather$ one of the follo1ing
alternati#e approaches is often sufficient:
In man. cases$ it is possi-le to gain at least a -asic understanding of the material from
the text and figure captions)
In electronic documents$ the same information ma. also -e a#aila-le in ta-ular rather
than graphical form$ thus making it more readil. accessi-le$ particularl. 1hen using
refresha-le -raille output)
2or the exploration of fairl. simple figures$ such as scatterplots$ line plots$ and outline
maps$ a tactile #ersion em-ossed on a tactile graphics em-osser can sometimes -e of
#alue)
Ghen the needed information is not readil. accessi-le in another form$ the -est
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option ma. -e to ask a fello1 student$ a designated assistant$ or the instructor for a #er-al
description of illustrations)
III) Selecting the appropriate strategies
Of critical importance in choosing the appropriate e4uipment$ accommodation$ or
adapti#e strateg. is an effecti#e colla-oration among the student$ instructors$ and the
uni#ersit.As disa-ilit. support ser#ices staff in 1hich all parties ha#e an open mind to
determining and implementing appropriate solutions to an. issues that arise) The #ia-ilit.
of a solution depends on 1hether it is academicall. accepta-le to the instructor and
uni#ersit.$ 1hether the resources re4uired are readil. a#aila-le$ and 1hether it is
consistent 1ith the studentAs needs and skills) In dealing 1ith #isual material$ the adapti#e
strateg. that is most appropriate is also highl. dependent upon the indi#idualAs a-ilit. to
handle spatial concepts$ the complexit. of the material$ and the le#el of detail desired)
2urthermore$ for students pursuing a degree in a mathematical or scientific field$ it ma.
-e -est to in#est in e4uipment or training that 1ill -e useful -oth in the present course as
1ell as in future educational or emplo.ment settings) 2or students enrolled in a math or
science course to meet a -asic academic re4uirement$ on the other hand$ a strateg.
re4uiring less preparation ma. -e more appropriate as long as it allo1s them to ac4uire
the necessar. academic skills) In all situations$ it is important to keep in mind that
experimentation 1ith different strategies and tools ma. -e needed -efore the most
effecti#e solution is found)
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@eferences
Asher$ ") M)$ %'': Teaching an introductor. ph.sical geolog. course to a student 1ith
#isual impairment) Journal of Geoscience Education$ 49, ==0=6)
Bra>ier$ M)$ M) "arr.$ and ,) 2isch-ach$ %''': Blind students: 2acing challenges in a
college ph.sics course) Journal of College Science Teaching, 2, 70=)
Burgstahler$ S)$ 667: Increasing the representation of people 1ith disa-ilities in science$
engineering and mathematics) Information Technology Disabilities E-Journal, I)
HA#aila-le online at 111)rit)edu;Eeasi;itd;itd#'n7; article6)htm)I
Durre$ I)$ %''&: (ntapped career opportunities for people 1ith #isual impairments)
Bulletin of the American eteorological Society, 89, 6&J066=)
Durre$ I) B)$ and I) Durre$ 666: Instant print0-raille compati-ilit. 1ith COB@A) Journal
of !isual Im"airment and Blindness, 93$ 7'0!%) Durre$ B) ")$ and I) B) Durre$ 6&=:
,lectronic paper for -lind children) Educational Com"uting, 2,'0'=)
,r1in$ ,) /)$ T) S) "erkins$ /) A.ala$ M) 2ine$ and ,) @u-in$ %'': KLou donAt ha#e to -e
sighted to -e a scientist$ do .ouMK Issues and outcomes in science education) Journal
of !isual Im"airment and Blindness, 95$ CC60C!%)
9ardner$ /) A)$ 66&: The 4uest for access to science -. people 1ith print impairment)
Com"uter ediated Communication, 5) HA#aila-le online at
111)decem-er)com;cmc;mag;66&;fe-;gardner)html)I
Bapperman$ 9)$ and /) Sticken$ %''C: "rinting math s.m-ols using the Braille?ite)
Journal of !isual Im"airment and Blindness, 97, J'0JC)
Schleppen-ach$ D)$ 66=: Teaching science to the #isuall. impaired: "urdue (ni#ersit.As
<isions ?a-) Information Technology Disabilities E-Journal, 3) HA#aila-le online at
7
111) rit)edu;Eeasi;itd;itd#'Cn7;articlel)htm)I
Stefanich$ 9)$ 667: Science educators as acti#e colla-orators in meeting the educational
needs of students 1ith disa-ilities) Journal of Science Teacher Education, 5$ !=0=!)
Tatomir$ /)$ and N) ?o1lan$ %''7: Insights from examining 1eathering patterns -.
tactual anal.sis of surface textures) Journal of Geoscience Education, 52$ %&60%6%)
Tra#is$ /) G)$ 66': 9eolog. and the #isuall. impaired student) Journal of Geology
Education, 38$ 7076)
<ermei3$ 9) /)$ 66=: #ri$ileged %ands& A Scientific 'ife( G) +) 2reeman and Compan.$
C'& pp)
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