[nobe-l] research project help.

[Mark Stimson]

Hi Melissa and friend of Melissa,

I would first recommend picking up a bunch of copies of JVIB (Journal of
Visual Impairment & Blindness) to get familiar with some of the recent
research, that is if she has not done so already.  Also, do a search in the
Journal of Educational Psychology for the terms blindness and visual
impairment.  I can think of a bunch of areas that are either under-studied,
or that would be helpful to do further investigation on.  Two good ones
are...
1. differences btw students who read with Braille vs. those who do not (you
can look at cognitive diffs, such as problem solving, orientation abilities,
reading abilities, etc. - note, success rates have been studied rather well,
but not the cognitive processes that underlie them)
2. teaching methods and differences btw types of low-vision students.
Background: In the field of Cognitive and Perception psychology there has
been a lot of work looking at the two types of visual processing humans
have: magno (which which can be thought of as central vision), and parvo
(which can be thought of as peripheral vision).  It has been theorized that
students with a loss of central vision (such as those who have early onset
of diabetic retinopathy or non-age related macular degeneration) have very
different cognitive and learning processes than students with a loss of
peripheral vision (such as RP).  However, educators have tended to lump all
low-vision students together.  I am not aware of any studies that have
specifically looked at differences between teaching methods or outcomes of
these two groups.  

Melissa, feel free to have your friend contact me directly at marks @
accessingenuity.com if she would like to ask any specific questions.

Best regards, Mark

Mark Stimson, Ph.D.
Accessibility Specialist
www.DocumentAccessibility.com
www.AccessIngenuity.com

-----Original Message-----
From: nobe-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nobe-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Melissa Green
Sent: Monday, September 14, 2009 10:43 PM
To: National Organization of Blind Educators Mailing List
Subject: [nobe-l] research project help.

Hello.
I am helping a friend out who is taking a graduate research class.
She needs to do a lit review and proposal based on her field of study.
She is preparing to be a Teacher of blind students.
The Lit review and proposal must be quantative.
What her and I are having problems finding is a topic in the field of
blindness that needs further study.
Here is one idea that we came up with.
Any others as well as suggested literature searches would be appreciated.
The topic that we thought that might possibly work is comparing blind and
visually impaired students who are in residential schools, to children who
are in public school, or in a self-contained program in the public school.
How they learn skills of blindness.
How they adapt socially, and or how they learn and develop social skills.
Any other suggestions of topics would be appreciated.

Melissa Green
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