[Blindmath] comprehensive math survey

[Al Maneki]

HANDLING MATH IN BRAILLE? A SURVEY
By Al Maneki

 From the Editor: At the 2010 NFB convention in Dallas, Al Maneki 
moderated a lively panel on access to mathematics classes by blind 
students. The response to the panel was enthusiastic, but it raised a 
number of unanswered questions. Al realized how little is actually 
known about how blind people handle the many challenges of math. With 
the help of Judith Chwallow and Mark Riccobono of the Jernigan 
Institute, he has compiled a series of survey questions to help us learn more.

How do blind and visually impaired people read and do mathematics? I 
address this question to any blind person who has studied math at any 
level, or who uses math regularly in his or her work.

Technology makes Braille materials more available than ever before. 
However, it is unclear whether the greater availability of Braille 
extends to the field of mathematics. Even if mathematical materials 
are available in Braille, the question remains of how blind and 
visually impaired people actually perform mathematical tasks--solve 
problems; prove theorems; take tests; and write papers, 
dissertations, and books. How do blind and visually impaired people 
communicate mathematically with others?

As a blind person, I have studied and worked as a mathematician for 
my entire adult life. I have answered the above questions for my own 
situation. Yet it is clear to me that mine are not the only answers. 
We know that a number of blind and visually impaired people have done 
and are currently doing mathematics, but we have no systematic 
information about the methods they find most useful. To help the 
blind community, we need to gather answers from a number of people 
with a variety of experiences. We plan to organize and summarize 
these answers and publish the results in a form that will be helpful 
to teachers, parents, students, and blind adults.

With the help of Judy Chwallow, Director of Research at the NFB 
Jernigan Institute, I have compiled a set of questions that I would 
like to circulate as widely as possible. If you wish to furnish 
answers to some or all of these questions, please send your responses 
to me. While this is an informal survey, I believe that the responses 
we receive will prove valuable to many people.

Who Should Complete This Survey?

We would like to hear from any blind or visually impaired person who 
has taken or is taking at least one math or math-based science course 
at the secondary or postsecondary school level. We would also like to 
hear from any parent or teacher who has advised or assisted a blind 
or visually impaired child with at least one math or math-based 
science course. Furthermore, we are interested in students' 
experiences learning geometry or elementary school arithmetic.

There is no restriction on when or how long ago you or your child 
took a math course. We want to learn about the methods of handling 
math that worked best for you. We are equally interested in methods 
that were not particularly successful or useful.

If you or your child are considering taking math courses at any 
level, you should read these survey questions. They may help you get 
the information you need to complete your courses successfully.

Instructions

In your responses, please provide me with contact information (name, 
address, email, phone) so that I may reach you for possible 
clarifications and follow-up interviews. Please also include your age 
(closest to 5-year multiples, i.e.  20-25, 25-30 etc); the highest 
level of education you have completed; your primary reading medium; 
your current employment status and job title.

You need not answer all of the questions, since some of them may not 
be relevant to your experience. You do not have to answer questions 
separately. You may provide a narrative summary for your response to 
this survey.

If you require additional information about these questions, please 
get in touch with me. You may contact me by email, phone, or snail 
mail. My contact information appears at the end of the survey.

You may submit your responses by email or snail mail (Braille or 
print please, no audio) to the addresses shown below. Please complete 
this survey by April 15, 2011. Persons taking courses after this date 
may respond later, as I anticipate a continuation of this survey.

Your answers will not be used to judge your mathematical strengths or 
weaknesses. Any personal information you may reveal in your responses 
will remain confidential. Names, mailing addresses, email addresses, 
and phone numbers will not be distributed.

Survey Questions

Here are the questions to consider:

1.  What math or math-based science courses have you taken 
(elementary, secondary, community college/university, graduate 
school)? Specify the level of each course, and describe the subject 
matter that was included.

2.  Were classroom lectures useful to you? Since mathematics is 
generally communicated visually, tell us as specifically as you can 
what you actually learned from these lectures. If lectures were not 
helpful, tell us what you did to compensate for the missing information.

3.  Were you able to take classroom notes? If so, tell us what method 
you used: large print, hardcopy Braille, electronic or live 
notetakers, audio recordings, etc.

4.  How did you handle reading assignments? Tell us about your use of 
Braille textbooks, recorded textbooks, large print textbooks, or the 
use of live readers or tutors.

5.  How did you do homework assignments and take tests? Describe your 
use of large print, notetakers, hardcopy Braille, mental arithmetic, 
or dictation to a live reader. If you used Braille, describe your 
method of translating Braille into a medium accessible to instructors 
who do not know Braille. If you used Braille/print reverse 
translation software of any kind, describe how this worked. In your 
answer to this question, tell us about any additional devices and 
technologies you have used, i.e., older devices such as the Taylor 
Slate, Cube-a-Rithm Slate, Circular Slide Rule, and Cranmer Abacus; 
and newer devices such as talking calculators or specialized learning software.

6.  Have you written papers containing mathematical content in an 
academic or professional setting? Describe how you did this, 
especially the use of human support.

7.  How did you work with line drawings, graphs, or charts? Explain 
how these were described to you or produced in accessible formats. If 
you had to construct these items, tell us how you accomplished this task.

8.  How familiar are you with the Nemeth Braille code? Describe the 
extent to which you use it for reading or writing.

9.  Are there any tools/devices/aids that you wish you had had that 
would have enhanced your mathematical experiences?

10.  How satisfied are you with your mathematical experiences? Are 
there other comments you would like to make about how blind and 
visually impaired people may read and do mathematics?

Conclusion

This is an informal survey. I am conducting it with the intention of 
using the results to help others who will be taking math and 
math-based science courses in the future. The results of this survey, 
after they have been compiled, may also prove useful to people who 
are accustomed to doing math in their own ways. These folks may find 
new ways of working more productively. It could further turn out that 
these responses will suggest altogether different ways of doing math, 
either by refining methods already in use or by suggesting the 
development of new techniques and technologies. I fervently hope that 
over time this survey will make it possible for blind and visually 
impaired people to learn and do mathematics more efficiently and with 
greater ease.

I plan to compile the first set of responses (received by April 15, 
2011) into an article, ideally for publication in the newly 
established Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research. It is also 
my hope that this survey will be a continuing investigation. 
Additional articles pertaining to this survey will be published if 
they are warranted.

In preparing this article and survey, I received valuable help from 
Deborah Kent Stein, Editor of Future Reflections, and from Mark 
Riccobono and Judith Chwalow of the NFB Jernigan Institute. Although 
they have left their marks on this article and survey, I assume 
responsibility for all shortcomings, errors, and omissions.

I thank you in advance for helping me with this survey. I look 
forward to hearing from you.

Al Maneki
Email:  apmaneki at earthlink.net
(443) 745-9274  CELL
9013 Nelson Way, Columbia, MD 21045
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