Indoor wayfinding in children with visual impairments: How the use of a coding robot impacted route familiarization and spatial planning

Hapeman, Julie L. Indoor wayfinding in a new school can be a challenge for students with visual impairments. As children grow, the expectation for their independence grows, often along with the size of their school buildings. Traditional methods of orientation—walking the route multiple times, verbal directions, and tactile maps—work well for many, but not all. When one student struggled to learn a route in his high school using traditional methods, coding a robot to replicate the pattern of his route was the teaching method that finally worked for him. Using single subject research design, this study investigated the effectiveness of learning a route by coding a robot versus learning a route with traditional methods. Data were collected on four participants, ages 9–15, as they learned new routes at the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired (WCBVI) using traditional orientation methods and coding a robot in the pattern of a route. A calculation of route efficiency for each intervention showed that each participant performed better with a different intervention and that the use of a coding robot may be an effective tool for some who are learning new routes.

Grantor dc:publisher

Alverno College

Year dc:date

2023

Author dc:creator

• Hapeman, Julie L.

• Blind students
• Children with visual disabilities
• Bind--Orientation and mobility--Study and teaching

Statement dc:rights

• These materials may be used by individuals and libraries for personal use, research, teaching (including distribution to classes), or for any fair use as defined by U.S. Copyright Law.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://alverno.omeka.net/items/show/845

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:alverno.omeka.net:845