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T
he teaching of physics often numerous physical illustrations through
involves the use of illustra- the kit. It also enables its user to make
tions that complement and changes in the illustrations in a short pe-
assist the understanding of a particu- riod of time, in the same way as a teacher
lar situation or physical phenom- can construct and modify multiple illus-
enon. Overall, the proper use of illus- trations in class on the blackboard. The
trations can maximize the learning portability feature refers to the possibility
and understanding of concepts and that the KitFis could be transported easily
phenomena related to the teaching of to anywhere by its user. The last feature
science (physics, chemistry, biology) described is durability. The kit should be
and mathematics.1 made from durable resources, so that even
Access to visual information is after its extensive and constant use, it does
difficult for students who suffer from not degrade easily.
visual deprivation. The visualiza- The first prototype of KitFis (Fig. 1)
tion illustrations for such students Fig. 1. Magnetic table and some of the metallic was composed of a rectangular table with
depend on the functionality of the pieces that compose the kit. a magnetized surface with some metallic
2
visual devices they use. Thus, blind pieces. The magnetized surface allows the
students in physics classes where adhesion of metallic parts. Dimension-
learning tools are based on illustra- wise the table was 20 cm wide, 30 cm
tions can experience a situation of long, and 4 cm high. These dimensions
exclusion.3,4 Now a question arises ensured a good portability feature to our
as to how to make use of illustrations kit. Eighty-three pieces of various shapes,
for teaching physics according to the including rectangles, ellipses, circles, arcs,
needs of blind students. etc. accompany the magnetic table. These
The materials developed for phys- pieces were made of steel, which ensures
ics teaching for blind students should Fig. 2. Two suspended objects connected by good durability to the material and guar-
a wire.
take into consideration the point of antees its extended use.
their excessive use. Therefore, these The steel parts are attracted and at-
resources must be highly durable, tached by the magnetic table over it. The
allowing their constant use and magnetization is a way to strongly keep
handling without significant depre- the parts in place during use by the user.
ciation. Another important feature However, in case of composing new illus-
regarding learning resources is that trations, it also allows easy removal and
they should support the construction handling of the parts over the table with-
of maximum content of the phys- out any difficulty.
ics curriculum for teaching to blind
students. Experiments and evaluation
Fig. 3. Two objects connected by a wired sys-
These considerations support the tem, with one in suspended position and the After fabrication of KitFis, its possible
development of a new didactic mate- other on a flat surface. advantages were evaluated. In this section
rial for teaching physics to blind stu- some illustrations of physics using KitFis
dents. A didactic kit named KitFis has been developed for this are presented. An initial trial of KitFis was also conducted,
purpose. It resulted from qualitative research whose goal was involving some physics teachers and a blind student.
to develop and evaluate didactic material that can tactually
reproduce the illustrations that are used to teach physics. Some possible physics illustrations with KitFis
Figure 2 shows a representation of two hanging objects
Methodology connected through a wire that passes over a pulley. In Fig. 3
To develop KitFis, the following features were taken into two connected objects are shown; one is situated on a flat sur-
account: versatility, portability, and durability. The versatility face and the other is suspended. These tactile representations
feature provides a possibility to allow tactile reproduction of allow a teacher to illustrate application of Newton’s second
Three physics teachers and a blind student were invited to taped and all the dialogues that took place during the filming
evaluate the functionality of KitFis. Evaluation of the material were transcribed for analysis. Small excerpts of the recorded
involves the preparation and ministration of a class through classes were selected in which the teachers built illustrations
this material with a blind student (Tiago). The theme of the in KitFis. These excerpts were then analyzed in order to iden-
lecture was chosen by the teachers; the only requirement was tify the functional characteristics of the kit. It is important
that KitFis could support that theme. The teachers, Daniel, to note that the blind student started learning in no time
Eduardo, and Jean, prepared lectures on topics of thermody- through the use of the didactics prepared by the teachers. The
namics, Newton’s laws, and concepts of optics, respectively. focus was to analyze the functionality of KitFis in a physics
Names of the participants mentioned here are fictitious. This class. Teachers and students were interviewed at the end of
research has been approved by the ethics committee on hu- the classes in order to raise their perceptions after using and
man research. All participants were informed of the consent handling of KitFis.
of the research objectives and they signed an agreement be- As an example of this evaluation, Fig. 7 shows a sequence
fore starting this research. of the class performed by Professor Jean. In this class Profes-
Each class session took place on different days and had an sor Jean discusses concepts of geometrical optics, specifically
average duration of 40 minutes. All the classes were video- reflection on a curved surface.