JARAMOGI OGINGA ODINGA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF SNE &ECD

COURSE TITLE: SPECIAL METHODS OF TEACHING VI

COURSE CODE:ECT 331

ASSIGNMENT 1

GROUP 2 MEMBERS

RUTH AUMA E432/1119/2020

Alvin Odhiambo Otieno. E432/1036/2020

Mark Adika E432/0989/2020

Alfred Ochenga Adoyo E432/1053/2020

 1) Distinct phases in the evolution of the status of the blind in the society

The evolution of the status of the blind in the society today underwent different phases as follows

Separation

In tribal life and in primitive societies, individual who could not provide for themselves or take care of
themselves or their own defense were generally considered as a liability to the tribe or group,they were
separated from their group into forms annihilation and veneration while in early western civilization of
Sparta, Athens and Rome ,blind people were put to death in various ways.

Ward status

The advent and rise of monotheistic religion led into the second phase in which the blind were
protected and regarded as words of society.The old testament has many protective precepts and early
Christian communities considered children,the aged and the blind as the special words of the church

Self -Emancipation

Under the protection of ward status,some blind individuals became well known as bards ,singers and
musicians .From the beginning of the eighteenth century,there appeared throughout the western blind
individuals who by their own effort acquired education but also became outstanding and imaginative
tutors during their youth who assisted them in adapting their tools of learning to their needs

Integration

Learners with disability attend same class with those without disability.They are taught by one teacher
and thereafter taken to resource room for special subject like braille oriented and mobility .

Inclusion

It is a western idiology that was that was borrowed.Iit’s where by children with disabilities are taught by
a number of teacher within a class.

2)History of education of visually Handicapped

In 1974 that the first school for the blind children was established.This , however,was the result of
changes in living conditions of the blind and societal attitude towards them which occurred and
development over hundreds and thousands of years.History of education of visually handicapped
children such ,are reviewed into five distic phases in the evolution of the status of the blind in the
society: separation, ward status,self emancipation , integration and Inclusion.

Above all , there are first great men who founded residential schools for the blind; valentine
Hauy,Samwel Gridley Howe ,Louis Braille.

Valentine Hauy (1745-1822) ; He discussed the methods by which he taught writing, arithmetic,
geography, music and hand craft for occupational process

Samuel Gridley summed up the following;

 That each blind child must be considered as an individual and be traced in accordance with
his personal ability and opportunities to use the training in his community.
 The curriculum of the school for the blind should be well rounded and conform in so far as
possible to that of common schools ,but that more music and craft should be provided.
 The main objectives must be to train blind youths to be able to take their places in the social
and economic life of their home communities as contributing members.

Louis Braille and his system (1809-1852) knew Barbier’s system because it was demonstrated and
experimented with at the institution .He must have recognized that the vertical six dot arrangements of
the Barbier cell was was too high to be covered by the fingertips.It was a stroke of genius that reduced
the cell to 3 dot in a two row arrangements and designed an alphabet within his basic dot cell.Later
experiment provided evidence that his arrangement is the most suitable for touch reading and it is used
upto now.

b) Behavioral characteristics of blind children

Totally blind children are more likely to adopt body and head movements where sight impaired children
tend to adopt eye-manipulatory behaviors and rocking.The mannerisms exhibited most frequently are
those that provide a specific stimulation to the child
Close or covers the eye since some maybe very sensitive to light or may even end up not reacting to light
since he/ she might not have sight completely.

Has trouble reading or doing other close-up work or holds objects close to eyes to see as this maybe
evident when a child reads below the line or above the lines loudly especially for the low vision or holds
head to one side while reading.

Some children who have vision issues are known to have short attention spans and may be sensitive to
bright light.

Often visually impaired children might sit close to the television hold book close to their face while
reading or hold toys very close to their face while playing

Visually impaired exhibit behaviors such as rocking,eye -poking ,hand or finger movement, gazing at
lights,and other repetitive behaviors that may interfere with learning and social interactions
(Kauffman ,1981)

Some children always rub their eyes frequently especially the pre -schoolers and they may experience
dizziness or headache following close eye work.

Children tries to brush away blur, frown when reading from a distance or may appear to be clumsy since
they might trip, fall or bump into various objects, especially in new situation ( Keefer,2015)

3. Physical appearance of children with low vision

Physical appearance can be defined as the physical outlook of a person as observed by other people in
the environment that a person finds himself or herself in or the action the action of being viewed by
other people . therefore, some signs of of low vision such as difficulty in recognizing familiar faces,
difficulty in reading or difficulty in seeing objects are always inclusive for people who are blind.
Blind children may also appear to have crossed eyes, eyes that turn out, eyes that flutter from side to
side or up and down or eyes that do not seem to focus are some of the physical signs that a child has
vision problem.

Their eyes are not appearing straight due to muscular imbalance.

They have jerky movements of the eyeballs even when they are staring at a stationary objects,there by
resulting into dizziness and nausea to the child

They appear to have have double vision that is the eye device from horizontal or vertical axis results into
excessive squint.

The children also frown when reading from a distance.

The children have repeated sty or watery red eyes.

4.A teacher of visually impaired student must have knowledge of braille. Explain
and discuss the importance of this statement.

Braille serves as a universal means of communication for the visually impaired

child therefore, the knowledge of braille allows a teacher to check how accurate
and quickly their learners are able to read and type in braille.
Learning and mastering braille code opens door for individuals who are blind.
Children need to be literate,to be able to read, write and count. learning braille
helps children develop grammar, spelling and understand punctuation, these skills
bring intellectual freedom, personal security, independence and equal
opportunities when they grow up. Studies continue to show that individuals who
know braille are more likely to achieve academic success and obtain jobs.

5. Cite 5 classroom adjustment that a teacher should make to enhance learning for students with
visual impairment. 10 mrks

Provide mobility and orientation training as student with visual impairment experience great difficulty in
acquiring skills in directions, mobility and travel.This is particularly important at post primary level where
the student may have to move for individual subjects.
Some students are very sensitive to light and glare. teachers should control the light in the classroom
when possible using curtains, maintaining an even a mount of light through out the room, sitting the
child with back to windows, reducing the glare on the surface.

Arrange for other students to act as buddies and use peer tutoring,peer groups should be encouraged to
include and support the student,use the student name while seeking for his / attention.

Seat the students appropriately in the classroom e.g in the middle towards the front and as well
encourage the student to use visual aids/ resources that have been prescribed e.g glasses,
magnifiers,big- print books etc.

Supplement visual materials with clear verbal explanation and allow more time to the learners to
complete tasks and provide breaks to combat fatigue.

Provide contrast on any visual materials used: black and white is the best.

Have lined paper for assignment ( the darker the lines the better.

Near point work should be limited to fifteen minutes or less the student should be encouraged to look a
way from his/ her work, sharpen a pencil or participate in another activity as this will allow the student
to refocus his / her eyes so that the student is less likely to become fatigued.

6 .State the advantages of using tactile resources in teaching student with visual impairment

Tactile materials allow student to experience concept on their own, which enable them to be more
independent.though it might be complex and abstract for student s with additional intellectual
disabilities.

Use of real objects also provide student with experience and practice in real world e.g use of jars,beads
and bowls to help the student to practice pouring from one container into another or even the use of
telephone to help the student understand the part of a phone, how to use it, how to find the numbers
tactilely ,as the teacher explain that a telephone is an example of office phone and students needs to
practice dialling and practice speaking.

Tactile resources helps student to develop spatial reasoning which will enable personal
agency.therefore, materials should employ multiple distinct texture and allow student to explore self-
discovery concepts from the tactile materials with minimal assistance.

Tactile materials not only impart academic knowledge but also encourage self confidence within
student." Success in school goes beyond ensuring that the student are able to pass their courses and
graduate from high school on time.children or youths with visual impairment deserves the opportunity
to have full,rich lives that includes good education, strong social lives, meaningful careers and the ability
to live and travel independently.

Tactile materials allows enriching educational experience for student with vision impairment as it helps
the teacher to convey a concept s , however tactile materials preparation can be complex, time
consuming and labor- intensive process.

Tactile materials also provide social benefits and independence especially in an inclusive classroom
where student with sight learn together with those with vision impairment. e.g the use of 3D models
enable the students to learn on their own as they can experience it at their level, first hand.they can
make judgement a bout what they are touching, they can interpret the relationship by using both hands
together with the model.

They help the student to develop fine and gross motor skills within students, to build upon the student
spatial awareness and to convey abstract concepts such as maths( objects manipulative in maths) thus
iit encourages retention.