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A student explores a shell with the teacher. A sighted person, Getting in Touch
whether a classmate or a teacher, can learn to interact though
touch. Teacher and student make joint observations of nature. A teachers instructional style certainly
influences what a student learns.
Teachers engage their students by pro-
viding visual and auditory information.
V
& Frederick, 2000; Hodgdon, 1995;
ision is a primary sense for Hughes, Pitkin, & Lorden, 1998). They convey their mood through facial
learning. Teachers use pictures, expressions, body language, and tone of
But what about students who cannot
photographs, and a variety of color- perceive visual cuesor access verbal voice. They give directions by gestures,
coded materials in their instruction. information? When students have pointing, and spoken words. If students
They also use demonstrations and con- severe and multiple disabilities, teach- cannot receive or understand these
ers must resort to alternative teaching modes of communication, the teacher
siderable modeling, which requires the
strategies to provide effective and acces- must use alternative strategies. The pri-
students visual attention. Many stu-
sible instruction. mary alternatives are tactile. The
dents with severe and multiple disabili-
If these students are also blind or teacher must convey his or her instruc-
ties have considerable difficulty under- have limited vision, however, they need tional expectations, mood, and informa-
standing verbal information and so rely instructional materials that provide rele- tion through physical and direct contact
heavily on visual information (Alberto vant tactile information. This article with the student.