Background
The following case study provides insights and approaches relating to a
single student, Emma, from two different academic staff who taught her. Emma
was undertaking study in a health, biomedical sciences faculty.
Emma was a school-leaver with a visual impairment that was progressively
worsening. She could see figures of people but she could not read boards and
she needed a scanner to read notes. Emma could write by hand to do exams and
assignment work.
Emma was a high achiever and she met normal criteria for entry to the
course. She was a second year student.
Emma was confident and astute, able to ask for relevant support and was
friendly and easy to deal with. She interacted easily with her peers. Many
of them were not aware of her disability.
Lecturer 1
Interaction with Emma
The lecturer was aware that Emma was in the faculty as she was already a
second year student by that time, but she was officially informed by the
disability officer that Emma would be in her class. The disability officer
suggested that the lecturer negotiate directly with Emma regarding any
assistance that Emma might require.
The lecturer provided Emma with lecture notes before the lectures. (These
were not enlarged because Emma had her own scanner). The lecturer commented
that she found writing out the notes for Emma a useful form of revision for
her.
Emma sat at the front of the lecture room and did not need to tape the
lectures.
In the practical work Emma required extra explanation of the aspects she
could not see herself. The lecturer did not find this onerous.
The lecturer made herself accessible to Emma but Emma did not need to
make use of this except for the extra help with the practicals.
Assessment
Fifty-five percent (55%) of the mark was by exam. For this the lecturer
arranged a separate room, a scanner and an invigilator for Emma. These were
arrangements used the previous year so it was only a matter of invoking
procedures that were already in place, and with which Emma was familiar.
Prior to the exam a technician in the faculty checked the equipment to see
that it was functioning correctly. Emma was offered a time extension but she
did not need to make use of it.
Thirty-five (35%) of the mark was for assignment work. No modifications
were necessary to Emma's assignment work. She completed these at home as did
the other students.
Ten (10%) of the mark was for practical work. The practical sessions
involved groups of four students and peer assessment was used. Emma
participated in her group and was assessed by her peers but was exempted
from giving an assessment of the other students. The lecturer compensated
for this.
Lecturer comments/observations
The lecturer did not find the extra attention she gave to Emma onerous,
although she spent about an hour on the lecture notes for Emma each lecture.
She felt that such extra assistance was part of her duties. She also
expressed that she liked the personal interaction involved in providing
support of this kind. She did comment, however, that if there were several
students with a disability requiring individualised attention the time
commitment might become onerous.
The lecturer commented that Emma had had to have help to use the library
for assignments and a classmate had volunteered. This had been a concern
because the classmate's library skills were poor!
Reasons for Emma's success
Emma was naturally capable. She was also easy to work with, confident,
sharp and able to identify her own needs.
Lecturer 2
Interaction with Emma
The lecturer was alerted by the first year coordinator that Emma was
entering second year. This was because of occupational health and safety
issues for both Emma and the clients and also for any adaptations to course
delivery and assessment procedures. The disability contact officer had been
working with the first year staff who had been teaching Emma.
The lecturer conferred with Emma at the beginning and throughout the
course to ensure that everything that could be of assistance was being done
and that Emma was satisfied with the level of support.
Emma explained that when slides were being shown to the class, a verbal
description of the slide given while it was on the screen assisted her in
being able to see it. The lecturer ensured that she did this.
Emma's progress was discussed at staff meetings so that there was a team
approach to assisting her and sharing successful strategies. Prior to the
beginning of Emma's third year the disability contact officer had already
held a meeting of all third year staff to discuss the relevant issues.
The ability to negotiate was recognised as very important for students
with a disability. The lecturer identified this as one of Emma's needs and
provided advice.
The lecturer described Emma as ‘a very brave young woman’. She found her
very direct and confident, sometimes even too confident in that she did not
always recognise when she needed help.
When the lecturer was on holiday in Britain she took the opportunity to
speak to people there about visual impairment and physiotherapy in order to
be able to assist Emma better in her studies. Two percent (2%) of
physiotherapists in the UK are visually impaired. Prior to leaving Australia
the lecturer had asked staff what issues they wanted her to investigate when
in London. At the University of East London the lecturer was introduced to a
range of strategies. A resource kit for blind students studying in the
health sciences area had been produced.
Emma had not been aware of the situation in the UK with regard to visual
impairment and physiotherapy and was greatly encouraged when the lecturer
reported what she had learnt in London.
The lecturer provided access to international email for Emma so that she
could email the University of East London for information if she wished.
Assessment
The assignment for the lecturer's course was a baby assessment. The
students had to find a baby and make certain assessments about its
development over a time period. Prior to beginning this assignment the
lecturer talked to Emma about the aspect of duty of care. Emma showed
surprise that the lecturer had thought it necessary to raise this. The
lecturer saw this as an indication that Emma needed to think carefully about
all the implications of her disability as it became more severe, and not
overlook the increasing need for vigilance regarding safety issues.
The assignment required the taking of photographs. The lecturer suggested
to Emma that she use a video camera instead, as a better and more
comprehensive supplement to her memory.
Reasons for Emma's success
Although her natural aptitude was high, an important contributing factor
in Emma's success was her positive attitude. She was also assertive without
being confronting, and able to ask for support when she needed it.
Strategies for working with visually impaired students
Useful strategies were suggested by the University of East London, as can be
seen from the following list.
- Photocopy overheads for students.
- Lend slides to students before or after
lectures.
- Lend any videos used for students to
take home.
- Make audio-visual resources available
to students.
- Provide access to university scanners.
- If a class activity is crowded (e.g.
when students gather round a patient to watch a procedure) to videotape
this and have it projected on a monitor in the corner of the room so
that hearing impaired students can see the procedure close up.
- Provide stick-on bumps for dials on
monitors so that hearing impaired students can adjust intensity and
other settings.
- Assist students to improve their
negotiation skills. With a visual impairment there is an increased need
for students to negotiate various matters with others. For example,
often cardiac monitors that need to be read while students are working
on a patient are beyond their visual range. Students need to negotiate
either with their tutor or buddy as to how the information on the
monitor can be relayed to them while they are treating the patient.
- Ensure that safety issues are fully
addressed. This is particularly important regarding paediatric patients
because children are so fast and have little sense of safety.
- For exams provide an invigilator, extra
time, a scanner and a separate room.
Comments from University of East London were that more time is needed for
working with hearing impaired students and they may need extra time to
complete courses. They are also more likely to experience fatigue.
In response to the question of how a blind graduate can work across all
areas of physiotherapy, the point was made that people choose appropriate
work areas and avoid those that are likely to give them difficulty. For
example, hearing impaired physiotherapists go into fields that involve
working in a small number of locations, which they can get to know well,
rather than those that involve operating in many new environments.
It was pointed out that hearing impaired students are particularly good
problem-solvers and are strong students because they are very alert to their
own limits.