Crechriou,+Cicily+Vision+Impairment+and+Blindness

=//**INTRODUCTION**// = My name is Cicily Crechriou and I am an aspiring Health and Physical Education teacher. I am from a small town in Northern California where I enjoyed growing up on a ranch. I enjoy teaching and coaching very much, and especially love to coach Special Olympics basketball in my hometown of Yreka, CA. Something interesting about me is that I have participated in three Polar Plunges for Special Olympics now and I will be doing my fourth this winter (and I will be bugging all of your in my cohort to come and participate with me!) My ultimate goal for my schooling and career is to end up teaching Health and PE at either Yreka High School or Grenada Elementary, both of which are school I attended as a young student.There are a lot of things that bring me joy: beating my fiance at cribbage, playing with my 1 year old baby cousin, and having long conversations with good friends while drinking Dutch Bros in our cars. My biggest teaching fear is that I would completely embarrass a student in one of my classes without realizing that I am doing. My most difficult teaching experience took place in middle school when I was being taught by a teacher that was teaching us math techniques incorrectly and I had to simply teach myself math. The most important thing I hope to learn from this class is 1) what my roles and responsibilities are as a teacher in a general education classroom, and 2) what are some techniques and strategies that I can employ when I do have classes that include students with disabilities.

= = = Visual Impairment and Blindness Research = Visual Impairments and Blindness are disbilities that can be very challenging, time consuming, and confusing for a teacher who has no experience in this area. Many modifications to teaching style, course materials, assignments, assessments, and environmental issues typically must be done in order to effectively and efficiently accomodate students with visual impairments. However, if a student with a visual impairment or blindess is properly introduced and taught within a general education classroom, not only will that student feel the benefits, but so will the teacher and the rest of the classmates. I was interested in this topic of study primarily because of all the possible disabilities, visual impairments and blindness are some of the hardest to completely accomodate in Physical Education because of the safety issues. I have known of some techniques to help students in PE such as beeber balls, and I know that students can get many resources in Braille, but that was about the extent of my knowledge. I was curious as to the techniques and strategies for teaching students with visual impairments and especially what I needed to do in regards to the assignments I hand out and the powerpoints I use with information, graphs, and graphics. My final curiousity was about the social and emotional needs of students with visual impairments and blindness, and how we as teachers can provide that support where ever needed. =5 Facts I Have Learned:=
 * 1) Students with Visual Impairments and Blindness often have issues with being hesitant in new situations (especially in PE), often because their parents and former teachers are overprotective.
 * 2) Students with Visual Impairments and Blindness typically have lower self efficacy, and thus require assignments and activities that are challenging, yet success oriented.
 * 3) Teaching orientation, mobility, life skills, and self management skills take up a significant percentage (18%) of what is being taught to students who are blind in their classes.
 * 4) There are many different machines and programs available to assist students with visual impairments within their classes. There are a great number of technologies and it is highly important to determine which one is best for each individual student.
 * 5) Graphics (which are highly important in my health class) can be transfered onto tactile graphics and other forms of raised images so that students with visual impairments are not exluded from these portions of lessons.

=Top Resource= = = http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=729328f7-f49c-4dd6-9e7d-a83572efa4ec%40sessionmgr12&vid=1&hid=107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=pbh&AN=2487307
 * Lieberman, L., & Houston-Wilson, C. (1999). Overcoming the Barriers to Including Students With Visual Impairments and Deaf-Blindness in Physical Education. //Re:View//, 129.**
 * 5 out of 5 **

This article was a great resource for understanding the barriers that exist in regards to teaching visually impaired or blind students in physical education. The article discusses how students with visual impairments tend to have lower balance, poor spatial and body awareness, and poor striking and throwing skills. These characteristics are caused in large part by the overprotection and discouraging attitudes of parents and teachers. The article also discusses how physical activity is incredibly beneficial for students with visual impairments because it has been shown to correlate with higher qualities of living and increased independence. The article goes over different student barriers to participating such as parent overprotection, lack of opportunities, and lack of confidence. The teacher barriers addressed include lack of preparation or training, the speed of lessons, and fear of accidents occurring in the class. Administrative barriers include time constraints, student schedules, lack of proper equipment, and medical excuses or liabilities. The article briefly mentions some solutions to each of these barriers which can then be researched in more depth through various other articles or sites.

=Other Resources=

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=8f2271b9-a618-43ea-ad90-db6d263b1294%40sessionmgr12&vid=1&hid=107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=pbh&AN=6767142
 * Corn, A. et al. (2002). Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments: What Are They Teaching? //Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness//, 293-294.** **3 out of 5**

This resource is a research based article in which eighteen teachers who had students in their classes who were either very low vision or completely blind, were observed over a period of time. With this observation, researchers were checking to determine how teaching time was allocated while teaching to students with vision impairments. The results of this research are thus: 27% teaching purely academics, 14% tutoring, !8% act9+ivities to increase communication skills, 7% activities of daily living, 8% orientation and mobility exercises, 9% sensory motor skills, and 9% social-emotional skills.

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 * Booth, S. (2006, January). A Beginner's Guide to Access Technology for Blind Students. //Future Reflections//.**
 * 5 out of 5 **

This article highlights and describes the basics of old and new technology for students with visual impairments. Included within these technologies are the use of computers, Braille embossers and translation equipment, MegaDots, and notetakers. This article primarily describes these different technologies and what is required to run them. It also provides basic price ranges and companies that sell the products. This resource can be very useful when trying to determine what technology would be worth investing in when a school must buy new equipment to accommodate a student with vision impairments.

This resource article provides general education teachers with an overview of strategies to address student needs when completing reading assignments in the class. The strategies are broken down into three main categories: paper strategies, E-text strategies, and auditory strategies. Each category is then broken down into more specific techniques and activities to do for or with the student with the vision impairment. The article also mentions some student and environmental considerations that should be taken into account when choosing which strategy is the most appropriate for any given class or situation. Finally, the article has a template check off list that can be used by the teacher in order to determine which strategies for reading have been attempted and how well they worked for that specific student.
 * Burton, M., Knipe, C., & Midtdal, V. (2010, February). Reading Strategies for Students with Visual Impairments: A Classroom Teacher’s Guide. //Special Education Technology British Columbia//, pp. 1-25.**
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 * 5 out of 5 **

[] Future Reflections is a magazine from the National Federation of the Blind, and is a great resource for teachers, parents, and schools. There are many different special issues that Future Reflections publishes. This specific issue is focused on sport and fitness, as that is my major discipline after all. Categories within the magazine include fitness, competition, PE, camps, adventure, community and more. There are then three to four articles within each of these sections. Some of the articles provide fun and inspiration stories, while some are more educational and knowledge based resources for coaches, teachers, and parents. For example, one article was written by a woman who is blind, who had an amazing PE teacher in middle school who adapted games for her to play in with her peers. She talks about her feelings as the odd person out, what he PE teacher did, and how PE has affected her lifelong fitness goals. In this article there was a personal story, as well as some very applicable tips for modifying PE games to accommodate a student who is blind.
 * Cheadle, B. (2007, February). Sports, Fitness, and Blindness. //Future Reflections// .**
 * 4 out of 5 **

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 * //IBSA World Blind Football Championship 2010 - The Final.// (2010, August 23). Retrieved March 4, 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8i9m0JZvJY&feature=related**
 * 3 out of 5 **

This youtube video is another great resource when expecting a student with visual impairments to enter into your general education classroom. It is important to prepare all of the students for their new peer and explain to them what exactly they should expect as well as what the other student may be expecting. Again, showing students that potential of a person with vision impairments and blindness can significantly change their preconceived notions of what to expect from their new classmate. This video would be especially interesting to show in a physical education class and have a discussion about athletic ability despite diversity.

**3 out of 5**
 * Kash, K. (1991, February 17). Hitting the Note : Ojai: Blind and partially sighted players teach students in blindfolds to use sound and touch in modified softball game. //Los Angeles Times// .**
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This resource is an article out of the Los Angeles Times about a group of people playing beeper softball with students with visual impairments from the Braille Institute. Though the article is fairly short and doesn’t contain much content knowledge or academic research, the reason I liked it so much was because it is a real life, and relevant story. This article can be used in a classroom that is about to have a student with a severe visual impairment transfer in. This is a story that can be shared in order to open up a conversation about how students with visual impairments can participate in all the activities that the general education students do, only with some slight modifications. I would also use this article to open up an activity in which students would take turns wearing blindfolds in my class and seeing what it is like to lose that important sense.


 * Pinquart, M., & Pfieffer, J. (2011). Yes I Can: Self-efficacy Beliefs in Students with and without Visual Impairment. //Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research//, 1-20.**
 * 5 out of 5 **

This research based article was a longitudinal study of adolescents who both had visual impairments and who did not. The comparisons between the two groups of adolescents focused on each individuals levels of self-efficacy in all aspects of their lives. This resource was incredibly long and had various points and ideas within it, however, there was one main point that it concluded with which made it a good resource for teachers. The main point reached, was that students with visual impairments require more measures and activities that 1) involve the student learning and practicing self-management techniques and skills, and 2) are success oriented and designed to be challenging, yet also foster positive feelings. Both of these requirements are things that we as teachers can help to provide in each of our general education classroom with just a little bit of care, attention to details, and research for background knowledge. By increasing these self managing measures and success oriented activities, we will begin to see an increase in self efficacy levels in all students with visual disabilities.


 * Sheppard, L., & Aldrich, F. K. (2000). Tactile Graphics: A beginner's guide to graphics for visually impaired children. //Primary Science Review//, 29-30.**
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 * 5 out of 5 **

This resource highlights the importance of modifying graphic material for students with visual impairments so that they are not left out of that important material. This issue of graphic literacy (graphicacy) is now thought to be a foundational literacy for all students much like reading literacy is. This resource covers numerous methods for modifying graphics into tactile graphics for students with vision impairments. It also reviews the different types of tactile graphics (such as swell paper) and how to decide which graphics are appropriate for translating. Finally, this resource briefly describes how to teach the students to read these tactile graphics and provides a basic list for the students to go through each time they are given a tactile graphic.


 * //Video Clips on Blindness Tips.// (2012). Retrieved March 3, 2012, from Washington State School For the Blind: []**
 * []**
 * 5 out of 5 **

This website resource contains numerous video clips for teachers and students to use which gives students with visual impairments instructional videos and tips for mobility and occupational skills. These clips include skills such as making a bed, navigating a cafeteria, cooking tips, strength training, and room familiarization. This website would be a great one to share with parents and other teachers. They can be used to show the student with the visual impairment or simply watched by the staff so that they are aware of what the student may be going through daily and how they can help guide them through challenging scenarios. Also, this website has a few links at the bottom that connect to Youtube videos which highlight what to do when you meet a blind person, as well as classroom techniques for the teacher and students.

= = = = =**CBL PROJECT** =