Spatial Thinking in the Curriculum of Students who are Blind or Low Vision

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The Spatial Thinking in the Curriculum of Students who are Blind or Low Vision project will advance the knowledge of how students who are blind or visually impaired learn spatial thinking, a cornerstone of science and mathematical learning. This demonstration research project will result in pilot-tested assessment and interventions, which will serve as the basis for more advanced, robust investigations of how students who are blind or visually impaired think spatially and learn spatial thinking. The two primary research questions driving the pilot study are:Do students who are blind or low vision demonstrate similar spatial thinking skills as their sighted peer groups? Step 1: Adapting existing instruments into tactile and audio format.Step 2: Formative evaluation of tactile instruments.Can educational interventions or spatial thinking training protocol enhance spatial thinking skills of students who are blind or low vision as measured by traditional and new instruments?Step 1: Developing the Spatial Thinking Intervention.Step 2: Formative Evaluation of Intervention Activities.Step 3: Applying the Intervention Activities.Dr. Phil Gersmehl, a nationally recognized expert in geographic education and spatial thinking, will serve as the external evaluator for this project. Dr. Gersmehl is Co-Director of the New York Center for Geographic Learning and a Professor of Geography at the University of Minnesota. Project materials will be disseminated at Dr. Lobben?s Spatial and Map Cognition Laboratory website at the University of Oregon Eugene. Results will be disseminated at one or more of the following conferences: the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, the Association of American Geographers, the International Cartographic Conference, and the NSF?s Division of Human Resource Development Joint Annual Meeting. Journal articles are expected to be submitted to publications such as the Annals of the Association of American Geographers and/or Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness.