Spatial ability is a well-known predictor of success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The purpose of this study was to investigate and understand the spatial strategies that were used by blind and low-vision (BLV) individuals as they solved problems on the tactile mental cutting test (TMCT), an instrument that was designed to measure the spatial ability of BLV audiences. The TMCT is an accessible adaptation of the older, 1938 version of the mental cutting test (MCT) that has been used extensively in spatial ability research. Additionally, this paper seeks to compare these strategies with existing strategies that have been investigated with sighted populations. The BLV community is underrepresented in engineering and in spatial ability research. By understanding how BLV students understand and solve spatial problems and concepts, educators can develop and enhance educational content that is relevant to this population. By incorporating perspectives from the BLV community and making STEM curricula accessible to this population, more BLV individuals may be encouraged to pursue STEM or engineering career pathways.
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Spatial Language Used by Blind and Low-Vision High School Students During a Virtual Engineering Program (Research).
The purpose of this paper is to explore results from a qualitative study of how high school aged BLV youth used spatial language during a virtual engineering experience administered by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). Findings from this study can provide recommendations to enhance language in curricula that better reflects BLV students'
content and may ultimately encourage more BLV students to pursue careers in STEM fields.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1712887
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10437070
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Antona M., Stephanidis C. (Ed.)Block-based programming applications, such as MIT’s Scratch and Blockly Games, are commonly used to teach K-12 students to code. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many K-12 students are attending online coding camps, which teach programming using these block-based applications. However, these applications are not accessible to the Blind/Low Vision (BLV) population since they neither produce audio output nor are screen reader accessible. In this paper, we describe a solution to make block-based programming accessible to BLV students using Google’s latest Keyboard Navigation and present its evaluation with four individuals who are BLV. We distill our findings as recommendations to developers who may want to make their Block-based programming application accessible to individuals who are BLV.more » « less
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Historically, spatial ability assessments have been used to measure spatial thinking on specific constructs in students participating in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. High spatial ability is linked to greater performance in STEM courses and professional STEM career fields. A spatial ability test used commonly for this measurement is the Mental Cutting Test (MCT) developed in 1939 by the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB). Unfortunately, the MCT is unable to measure the spatial thinking of blind or low-vision (BLV) populations due to the test being only accessible by sight. In 2018, a research lab from Utah State University (USU) adapted the MCT into a fully accessible tactile version, called the Tactile Mental Cutting Test (TMCT). The test was later split into two parallel forms, each containing 12 different questions from the MCT. The TMCT allows for researchers to better measure and understand the spatial abilities of BLV populations. The majority of BLV population samples that have taken the TMCT previously have been participants in training centers for the blind, which serve as training centers for helping BLV populations to build blindness skills and encourage independence. Additional data has been collected from youth camps sponsored by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and national and state NFB conventions. During the pandemic of COVID-19, many training centers across the country were closed for safety reasons, and many of the BLV population were confined to their homes to avoid infection risk. In this paper we compare pre-COVID-19 and post-2021 TMCT assessment data from BLV participants including scores and test duration between 2019 and 2022. Results show a statistically significant difference in how long it took participants to complete the TMCT between the two timeframes.more » « less
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
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