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Running Head: The Effects of Braille in Visually Impaired Students 1
Running Head: The Effects of Braille in Visually Impaired Students 1
Hannah Silva
Introduction
How do you read a book if you are blind? How can you drive, read signs, read menus, or
even go shopping when you cannot see? These are all common questions that are asked in
reference to those who are visually impaired. It obviously has big effects in the world as an adult,
but the adjustment is even more drastic as a student. Students with visual impairment face a
number of challenges when in the classroom; problems that especially pertain to literacy. When
asked about reading in a classroom with visually impaired students, the typical response to
instruction is Braille, but how do students actually respond to traditional Braille boards in the
classroom? Herzberg, Rosenblum, and Robbins (2017) report that while traditional Braille
methods are effective, students with visual impairment show more confidence and motivation
while using new methods of literacy development. This subject is growing increasingly more
popular in schools today as the demand for new and improved learning strategies are being
incorporated into general education classrooms. More knowledge on teaching literacy to students
who are visually impaired needs to keep pace with the rest of the world while discovering new
Purpose
One of the most popular topics in schools today is special education and inclusion.
Students with visual disabilities are often in a jeopardized situation when it comes to literacy
because of the restraint in being able to visually decipher the words on a page. My main
objective for this research is to discover the different strategies for these students so that they
may have as many options as typically developing children. I will also be exploring what effects
these strategies have. Braille is always the immediate reaction when everyone hears the word
THE EFFECTS OF BRAILLE IN VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS 3
“blind”, but what are some other strategies to achieve literacy in visually impaired students?
One of my main goals in this project is interviewing teachers that have students with
visual impairments in their classrooms and learning what methods they use for literacy
instruction. Ideally, I would like to speak with multiple teachers equipped with experience in
teaching different levels of visual impairment in their classrooms. I will ask for some examples
of how they include literacy development in a way in which all of their students can
collaboratively participate. I will use case studies and interview participants to discover the
answer to my research question. All of this will be accomplished through a survey on Braille
instruction within classrooms that they have encountered. These teachers will fill this survey out
Through my research, I believe that I will be able to show that having a toolbox of
different strategies for visually impaired students is beneficial and has positive effects. Breaking
outside of Braille to build literacy has to have positive effects in this ever changing world of
technology, new methods, and approaches. I expect positive effects, new strategies, and mind
Review of Literature
Students with visual impairments are often equated with braille, and this method of
teaching is typically the immediate source to turn to for educators and parents. This is the topic
covered by Herzberg, Rosenblum, and Robins (2017) through a large study that surveyed 84
teachers of students with visual impairment. This study was conducted to discover the number of
students that had teachers who provided literacy instruction to students who used both Braille
THE EFFECTS OF BRAILLE IN VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS 4
and print, and how introducing one or the other affected the students’ development in literacy.
This study also covered the different effects in literacy through print instruction versus braille
instruction. The participants in this study consisted of the students of eighty-four teachers in both
the United States and Canada, with each teacher having at least one student with visual
impairment in their classrooms. The methodology used in this research was a survey, through
which a teacher would pick a specific student and answer the questions from the survey with
them in mind. Some of the questions asked were about the students’ demographic background,
tools for assessing literacy, student confidence, and motivation in using print and braille. The
author concluded that although not all of the teachers answered all of the survey questions,
eighty-two of the students were introduced to braille in under a year. The second most common
response pertained to the need to establish a foundation of literacy in braille. As far as braille
print literacy is concerned, it was found that eleven students were performing above grade level,
while thirty performed at grade level, and a shocking thirty-six students were performing under
their grade level. Although many different types of braille tools were provided, a majority of the
students were not confident in their abilities to use braille. However, the study showed a positive
correlation between confidence and motivation for students reading print as opposed to braille.
The study showed that, ultimately, new methods of introducing literacy to students increased
An aspect of this article that I particularly appreciated was the diversity of teachers that
were surveyed. Instructors from not only the United States, but also Canada were participants in
this study which provides a broader view of these students’ needs and backgrounds. It offered a
broader perspective and considered different education systems outside of the United States.
Some things I did not like about this article were the discrepancies in the surveys and the lack of
THE EFFECTS OF BRAILLE IN VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS 5
verifying data reviewed by the researchers. I believe that the lack of response from some of the
teachers altered the results of the study. Also, the authors did not collect any work samples or
verify that data was accurate and applicable to the study. However, despite these deficiencies in
the article, this is still applicable to my research project because it reviews how much of a
difference increasing literacy through print rather than braille can have on a student with visual
impairment. The article is evidence that other strategies aside from braille can be helpful in
increasing students’ confidence and motivation in literacy through methods other than the
atypical braille concept. It portrays the positive effects that other methods for improving literacy
can have. For future research into this topic, I would alter the study by incorporating sample data
from the teachers to support evidence of efficacy in the students. This data would give more
support to the article and to the effects of methods besides braille in students.
Another study focuses on promoting literacy in children with visual impairment. Parents
may find it difficult to be able to relate to braille and promoting literacy through this traditional
method. Typically, braille methods are thought as the only way to promote literacy in students,
but there are many other methods that could be implemented today by parents. However, some
may ask how parents may implement these methods for literacy in their children with visual
impairment? Kamei- Hannan and Sacks (2012) answer this question through a study that was
conducted with parents of children who are blind. This study was created to discover what
parents’ views of using braille as a singular method to literacy was and what this literacy looks
like in the child’s home. The participants in this study included thirty-one parents of children
with visual impairment who were involved in the Alphabetic and Contracted Braille Study. The
methods that the authors used were telephone interviews implementing a thirty item
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questionnaire. The authors then gathered demographic information and separated the parents into
two groups divided by the students’ achievement levels. Through this study, the authors
concluded that the parents mostly read to their children and would sometimes provide them with
books in braille, but found reading aloud to be more effective. This read aloud method was
implemented by all of the parents in the study, and it was also found that this was the prime
A worthy part of this article that I enjoyed was how well the parents were incorporated
into this study. Many studies are based off of the children involved, as they should be, but it is
always insightful to discover what the parents’ views are. The parents play such a large role in
literacy and are an integral part of any child’s journey through reading. I also found it very
interesting that the authors utilized parents that were both competent in braille and those who
were not. This aspect added a good amount of diversity into the study. However, on the other
hand, an aspect of the article that I did not enjoy was that the authors only interviewed the
primary caretaker of the child. This singular response may not relay all of the information about
the situation as it could and other members close to the student could be more active in
promoting the child’s literacy than the primary caregiver. The entire household is not represented
through just one person. Despite this slight flaw in the study, this article is relevant to my
research because it is observing braille literacy in every environment that the students are present
in. It shows the effect that methods outside of the typical teacher instruction can have on students
with visual impairment. To further improve this study, I would address the entire household that
the participants are from, not just the primary caregiver. Every member in the students’
household can have an effect on literacy, whether it be through reading aloud or more creative
methods such as inventing games for familiarity with books and language. I found that this
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This article observes how incorporating special education into the classroom is becoming
an ever increasing topic of interest for educators everywhere, but many still have questions about
how to cater to literacy. Children with severe disabilities, such as blindness, have as much need
for literacy as typically developing children. However, what steps are being taken to ensure this
equality in literacy for children who are visually impaired? Saviano, Llyod, and Hattton (2017)
executed a study that examined whether or not the use of flashcards in Braille assisted with
learning vocabulary in students with visual impairments. The study was conducted to answer if
flashcards, paired with auditory instruction, were effective in teaching vocabulary and if students
who read Braille could spell words when flashcards were used. The participant in this study was
a young boy who had the reading ability of a second grader and was diagnosed with a visual
examination during participant testing, probe sessions, and recorded data. After conducting 2
months of probe sessions with the participant, the authors found that not only did the participant
identify all 18 target words, but also the spellings of 16 out of the 18 words. The authors deduced
that an auditory-only condition was preferable compared to a flashcard- only condition, but the
participant learned how to spell the words more effectively with the flashcard method.
Ultimately, the use of flashcards created proficiency in teaching steps to literacy for visually
impaired students.
I found that this article was very enjoyable to read. I greatly appreciated the use of
simpler vocabulary that was easy to understand but precise in its content. The authors were also
particularly straightforward in all of their approaches in conducting research with the participant.
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The study may have taken two months to complete, but the amount of time proves that the
authors were thorough in their research. The graphs gave a great visual perspective into the
improvement of the participant’s progress. I personally wish that the authors had conducted
another study on participants that were at higher reading levels to compare results. This article is
relevant to my study because I am looking for the effects of different strategies to obtain literacy
in visually impaired students. This research article gave a prime example of an approach that
depicted how useful flashcards can be to students who are blind. For future research, I would
definitely return to the participant when he is older and at a higher reading level to test whether
or not age and grade made a difference in the outcome of learning. The study would obviously
have to be made more difficult, but it would be fascinating to see if there is a difference in the
results. This article is certainly a good addition to the studies that I am conducting for my
project.
This article focuses on the “new tools” of literacy instruction for all students, regardless
of accommodations. For most typically developing children, the basic tools for literacy are paper
and a pencil. However, students with visual disabilities use other tools that serve their purposes
in a different, yet effective, way. During this time, it seems that technology is being integrated
into everything, becoming a bridge between content areas, differentiated learning, and many
more possibilities. The authors of this particular article, Bickford and Falco (2012), address this
new trend in the education world and how it can be applied to special education. The authors’
purpose in this study was to determine whether there is a difference in students’ results in braille
efficacy when the instruction was offered with either a technological form of braille or traditional
braille. This study shows the authors alternating braille methods. The participants of this study
were nine students from public and residential schools and 4 teachers of students with visual
THE EFFECTS OF BRAILLE IN VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS 9
impairments from two different states. This study had 6 females and 3 males, each group ranging
from ages 6-8 years old. The authors conducted this study through several different types of
fluency. The authors also submitted video clips of their administration of the curriculum-based
measures. The authors found that there was very little difference in student learning between
traditional braille and the technological form of braille. The students performed at the same level
in each of the practices regardless of whichever method they were using. It was decided that the
technology could potentially motivate students into demonstrating higher outcomes, but it was
found that the average student gained the same amount of literacy instruction either way.
This article did an amazing job of really going into depth explaining the different
methods used. For example, I had no idea what curriculum-based measures were before this
article. I was preparing to look into it when I found an entire section dedicated to explaining
what constituted a curriculum-based practice. However, the results of the studies were rather
disappointing. I had expected to find more drastic results based on the article, but they were quite
the opposite. The study did not provide a clear answer, but the authors did not expound upon this
anymore. This article assisted me in my research because it showed that ultimately, as far as the
authors could tell, there was no difference in learning between the traditional braille method and
the technological version. There is no immediate difference between students that used one form
of learning braille over the other, although the authors did suggest that using technology could
draw students in. To improve this study, I would suggest another round of research should be
conducted. This article was published in 2012 and there have been vast improvements in
technology since that year. The new leaps and bounds that have taken place in technology,
especially for the special education classrooms, could definitely play a part in a new outcome for
THE EFFECTS OF BRAILLE IN VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS 10
this study. This study definitely helped me gather information on the effects of different
Methodology
The methodology used in the research for this study consisted of an online survey that
was sent to teachers in several different states. The teachers are all licensed in special education
and had encountered students with visual impairment at one point in their career. They have all
had at least a year of experience in a classroom setting and have experience in diverse
classrooms. The states of North Carolina, Virginia and New York. One of the participants is a
principle of a school specially designated for the deaf and blind who represented all of the
educators in the school. The other 8 teachers are all in the public school system or have been in
the system previously during their career. This sample of teachers is a proper representation of
the public.
I selected these participants because of their varying levels of experience and ages. Some
of the participants are from an older generation and used to seeing the classical Braille system
whereas other participants are from this younger and more technology enriched age. The varying
ages of the participants would give more diverse answers due to exposure to different times and
places.
The survey itself was composed of ten questions with multiple choice answers. All of
these questions pertained to literacy and the function of Braille within the classroom. Some of
the questions addressed the effects that differentiated methods of literacy instruction for students
Findings
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The findings from the research conducted in this study showed rather varying results.
Each question answered was rather surprising because the majority of the participants voted for
the same answer. The results from several of the findings were particularly striking to me, in that
The very first question for the survey that the participants completed asked if Braille was
being used as the primary tool for literacy within the classroom. Out of all eight participants,
only one voted yes while all of the rest voted no. The statistics for using Braille in the modern
world today are not in favor of this traditional method. One out of eight schools used in this
Before conducting this specific study, I thought that Braille boards would still be widely
used in classrooms because it seems like a flawless system. However, as shown by the statistics,
THE EFFECTS OF BRAILLE IN VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS 12
Braille boards are a rare commodity in current classrooms. There are so many new and improved
forms of technology that take literacy in students with visual impairment to an entirely new level.
Objects such as Digital Talking Books show to be more popular and effective than attempting to
read in the classical method. It is also shown to be more effective in using technology in place of
the usual instructional strategies. Students also feel more empowered and confident wile using
Another finding that was surprising to discover was how effective teachers found reading
aloud to be. Reading aloud is typically thought of as an “at-home activity”, but teachers reported
that this strategy is effective both and outside of the classroom. Only a small amount of teachers
selected class wide discussion as an effective method of literacy instruction showing the efficacy
The data from these studies confirmed the positive effects from more recent practices of
literacy instruction in students with visual impairment. Branching out from the classical form of
Recommendations
After gathering all the results from the study, my next step would be to discover what
types of alternative instruction for literacy are most popular. I would send out more surveys
detailing the most popular tools and technology for teaching literacy to students with visual
impairments. I would inquire about which method seems to work the best and has the best results
THE EFFECTS OF BRAILLE IN VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS 14
for the students in terms of confidence, motivation, and academic achievement. I would also
attempt to receive responses from as many states as possible, to study the effects of the different
states’ technology and literacy instruction. This survey would be more detailed and contain short
answers for some of the questions. All of these further studies would work towards advancing
students with visual impairments a chance to be at the top of modern advancements. As one of
the participants in a case study by Wang and Al-Said (2014) commented, “As people with visual
impairments, we’re always at the bottom end of the stick when it comes to accommodations”.
The new studies in this area would change this statistic and give all students a fair chance at
literacy.
The implications of this study and the research that was gathered is paramount to where
education is taking students with visual impairment. Motivation to read and build literacy is one
of the most important factors to becoming fluent and if traditional methods of Braille are not
building that confidence, then changes need to occur. Teachers have the chance to make this
change and use the resources that are being offered through technology to build students up and
References
Herzberg, T. S., Rosenblum, L. P., Robbins, M. E. (2017). Teachers’ experiences with literacy
instruction for dual- media students who use print and braille. Journal of Visual
Kamei-Hannan, C., Sacks, S. Z. (2012). Parents’ perspectives on braille literacy: Results from
the ABC braille study. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, (4) 2012, 212-23.
Saviano, M.E., Lloyd, B.P., Hatton, D.B. (2017). Efficacy of using vocabulary flashcards in
Bickford, J. O., Falco, R.A., (2012). Technology for early braille literacy: Comparison of
traditional braille instruction and instruction with an electronic note taker. CEU Article,
10(11), 679-93.
Wang, Y., Al-Said, S.K.Q. (2014). Defining literacy for individuals who are blind or with visual
McKenzie, A. R. (2009). Emergent literacy supports for students who are deaf-blind or have
visual and multiple impairments: A multiple-case study. Journal of Visual Impairment &
Appendix
Yes
No
Sometimes
Of course!
Sometimes
3. Do you prefer using more popular methods of teaching literacy than the typical Braille
board?
Yes
No
Yes
No
6. How do students with visual impairments respond to literacy instruction through Braille?
Somewhere in between
Yes
No
Rarely
Yes
No
Rarely
Yes
No
10. What is the most effective strategy of literacy instruction that you have used in your
classroom?
Reading aloud
Writing papers
Class-Wide instruction
THE EFFECTS OF BRAILLE IN VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS 18