About Creating an Appropriate Educational Classroom Setting
There are many issues related to logistics of creating an appropriate and accessible classroom environment that you will want to address. Schools today are engaged in important discussions about differentiated instruction and universal design for learning that address the fundamental issues related to making sure that classrooms are effective learning environments for all students. Addressing the environmental needs of the student with a visual impairment in your classroom will be a part of the bigger picture of making your class welcoming for all of your students.
The decisions you make about your classroom environment will need to include a consideration about the needs of all of the students in your class as well as your instructional needs. You may have a class that allows opportunities for individual work and group work, you may use instructional centers or circle time. On the other hand, you may have a classroom that is set up in a lecture-style or seminar-stlye format. Your braille-reading student will have some needs related to the educational environment but addressing these needs will not necessarily mean a dramatic change to your classroom. Your student, his or her parents, and the teacher of students with visual impairments who supports your student will all be able to help with this planning.
This section of the website contains a sample of issues that you may need to address. The suggestions contained in this website are merely examples of ideas that may be useful, but because your student and your class will have individual characteristics, it is best to address these issues based on these individual needs and preferences.