2018 texas focus: on the move! learning to access through ......2018 texas focus: on the move!...

Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired Outreach Programs www.tsbvi.edu | 512-454-8631 | 1100 W. 45th St.| Austin, TX 78756

2018 Texas Focus: On the Move! Learning to Access through Touch: Promoting the haptic development of learners with vision impairments through progressive and mutual accommodation Saturday, March 3, 2018 9:45-11:15 AM

Presented by

Michael McLinden, School of Education, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom

[email protected]

Developed for

Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired

Outreach Programs

http://www.tsbvi.edu/

mailto:[email protected]

2018 Texas Focus - Learning to Access – McLinden, M. Page 1

Learning to Access through Touch Michael McLinden, University of Birmingham, UK

Learning Outcomes By the end of this session you should be able to:

• examine differences in the human senses providing us with information about the world which is ‘close’ and the world which is ‘distant’ to us;

• analyze key differences in processing information through ‘visual’ and ‘haptic’ means;

• understand the distinction between relatively passive and active forms of learning through touch;

• reflect on the significance of specialist input in supporting learners to maximise their use of ‘haptic perception’ through ensuring appropriate opportunities are provided to support ‘learning to access’ through touch.

Introduction This workshop provides an introduction to the role of haptic perception (sometimes referred to as ‘active’ touch) in the learning experiences of children with vision impairments with a particular focus on curriculum access. The workshop draws on two theoretical reference points, namely:

A dual model of ‘access’ with a broad distinction made between ‘access to learning’ and ‘learning to access’ (e.g. Douglas and McLinden, 2014; McLinden et al, 2017).

A bioecological systems model of human development to illustrate the complex interaction over time between the developing learner and the proximal and distal influences on such development (e.g. Bronfenbrenner, 2005; McLinden et al, 2017).

With respect to haptic perception, the dual model of access makes a distinction between:


Providing children with ‘accessible’ material in their preferred medium in order to access particular curriculum areas (e.g. braille, tactile symbols, object of reference, tactile diagrams).

Teaching children ‘access skills’ (for example, supporting the child in knowing how to access a particular resource or object including for example, the skills required to learn to read braille, exploring a novel object, interpreting a tactile diagram etc).

These approaches can be broadly conceptualised as:

• Access to learning: the child is provided with access to appropriate information in order to learn about a particular curriculum area.

• Learning to access: the child is provided with the means by which he or she is able to learn how to access information with increasing independence.

As noted by McLinden and Douglas (2014), a broad strategy in ensuring ‘access to learning’ emphasizes making the educational environment accessible in the current context (i.e. ‘here and now’). This strategy includes providing accessible curriculum materials in a given lesson, guided support with mobility to aid the child in getting to a particular classroom. A complementary strategy is to support the child in ‘learning to access’. This is particularly characterized through areas of the ‘additional curriculum’ which emphasise the development of independence skills such as the use of technology, low vision aids and mobility.

With reference to the bioecological systems theory, the notion of ‘progressive, mutual accommodation’ (Brofenbrenner, 2005, p107; McLinden et al. 2016) is of particular relevance to the role of a specialist educator, as it highlights a need to focus not just on the learner, the environment or indeed each in isolation, but rather the changing relationships between these over a given period of time and across different educational settings (including further and higher education).

A key theme running through the design of the activities in this workshop therefore is the progressive development of an ‘active’


learner, who as a result of significant vision impairment, possibly in combination with additional needs, requires:

• deliberate and structured opportunities in order to ‘access’ haptic experiences (‘access to learning’);

• the development of skills in order to learn from these experiences (with a particular focus on both ‘learning to access’ and ‘learning how to access’).

The distinctive role of the specialist input is emphasised throughout the workshop in promoting such development within different environments to ensure effective ‘learning through touch’.

Workshop Design We start the workshop with some practical activities that offer an introduction to the sense of touch. Through these activities, we consider the distinctive nature of how we ‘learn’ through this sense (with a particular focus on relatively ‘passive’ and relatively ‘active’ forms of learning through the sense of touch).

We then split up into pairs/small groups for practical workstations. The activities within each workstation include opportunities for you to reflect upon key features of resource design (i.e. in order to provide ‘access to learning’), as well as the broader knowledge, understanding and/or skills that may be required in order to support and promote effective learning through touch (i.e. ‘learning to access’).

A summary of the key themes introduced in the workstations is presented in Table 1.


Table 1 – Summary of key themes introduced in the workstations

No Theme Resources

1. Tactile books Selection of tactile books of relevance to different age groups

2. Tactile diagrams Selection of tactile diagrams of relevance to different age groups

3. Literacy through touch

Selection of braille and Moon resources

4. Tactile selectivity Selection of bags and containers filled with different types of ‘sensory’ resources

5. Tactile symbols Selection of objects of reference and tactile symbols/signifiers

6. Tactile discrimination

Selection of tactile discrimination activities – of relevance to different age groups

7. Two point tactile threshold

Corks and pins


Workboxes Workbox 1 – Tactile books

Tactile books

‘Access to learning’

‘Learning to access’ support strategies

Without the use of vision try to identify a tactile illustration on the bookcover (or an illustration inside the book if appropriate). Take turns in this activity with your partner.

List at least three design features that make a good tactile illustration for a book.

List at least three examples of the strategies that can be drawn upon to support a child in ‘learning to access’ a tactile book through touch with increasing independence.

1.

2.

3.

1.

2.

3.


Other points to note from plenary discussion


Workbox 2 – Tactile diagrams

Tactile diagrams



With your partner’s help explore at least two tactile diagrams using touch (and without the use of vision).

What does each diagram represent?

How did you work this out?

a. List at least three design features that make for an accessible tactile diagram.

b. List at least three features to avoid.

List at least three examples of the strategies that can be drawn upon to support a child in ‘learning to access’ a tactile diagram through touch with increasing independence.

Characteristics

1.

2.

3.

Features to avoid

1.

2.

3.

Strategies

1.

2.

3.


Workbox 3 – Literacy through touch

Literacy through touch



Without using vision try to read some braille words through touch.

Next try reading Moon through touch. Take turns in this activity with your partner.

In thinking about what this activity tells us about touch, list at least three main differences between the tactile codes.

Consider what might be some of the implications of these differences for ‘access’ through haptic perception.

List at least three examples of the strategies that can be drawn upon to support a child in ‘learning to access’ a tactile code through touch with increasing independence.

Main differences

Implications for access

Strategies


Workbox 4 – Tactile selectivity

Tactile selectivity ‘Access to learning’


With your partner’s help but without using vision, place your hand inside at least two of the bags on display.

Describe what you felt when putting your hand into each bag – both from a ‘sensory’ point of view and an ‘emotional’ one!

In thinking about what this activity tells us about ‘learning to access’ information through touch, write down three things your partner could do to make this a more effective learning activity.

Sensory

Emotional

1.

2.

3.


Workstation 5 – Tactile symbols

Tactile symbols ‘Access to learning’


Ask your partner to present you with at least three different Objects of Reference/Tactile Symbols from those on display. Explore each through touch (and without using vision) and try to guess what it is and what it might represent.

a. List at least three design features that make for an accessible tactile symols.

b. List at least three features to avoid.

In thinking about what this activity tells us about learning to access information through touch, write down three things your partner could do to make this a more effective learning activity.

Design features to draw on

Features to avoid

1.

2.

3.


Workbox 6 – Tactile discrimination Tactile discrimination



Explore through touch the matching and discriminating activities on the table.

Write down 3 things that this activity tells us about touch.

In thinking about what this activity tells us about learning to access information through touch, write down three things your partner could do to make this a more effective learning activity.


Workbox 7 – Two point tactile threshold

Two point tactile threshold



Using the resources on the table (a cork with either one or two pins), ask your partner to test whether you feel one or two pins on different parts of your body.

Which body parts did you find were the most sensitive to touch?

What might be the implications when considering how to support learning to access with increasing independence?


Discussion – additional key points


What will you do next?

As a result of this session I plan to:

1.


2.


3.


References Bronfenbrenner, U. (2005). Making human beings human: Bioecological perspectives on human development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Douglas, G., and McLinden, M. (2005). Visual Impairment. In: A. Lewis and B. Norwich (Eds.) Special Teaching for Special Children? Pedagogies for Inclusion. Open University Press.

McLinden, M., Douglas, G., Hewett, R., Cobb, R. & Ravenscroft, J. (2016). Access to Learning and Learning to Access: the role of the specialist teacher of children and young people with vision impairments in facilitating curriculum access. British Journal of Visual Impairment. May, 1-19.


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2018 texas focus: on the move! learning to access through ......2018 texas focus: on the move!...

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