Accessible DataLIT: Discovering the Role Teachers of the Visually Impaired Play in Data Literacy Development

• In Event: Supporting Science Teaching and Learning With Technological Approaches

Abstract

Research is lacking in determining how students develop data literacy/reasoning, yet data and data visualizations are introduced in kindergarten and are prolific in all areas of the CCSSI. Many core aspects of data reasoning are presented visually and are inaccessible to students with neuro- and sensory-diversities. Through interviews of Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVIs), this pilot study for Project Accessible DataLIT explored how a specific set of special educators help nonvisual learners develop data literacy/reasoning through the integration of classroom knowledge with their specific sensory needs and learning modalities. Preliminary findings demonstrate the centrality of TVIs fostering such literacy through supplemental materials and curricular support and suggest TVIs may underestimate their role in data literacy/reasoning development.

Author

• Erin Foley, San Francisco State University