A website for teachers who are blind or visually impaired.

Taking Classes in a Teacher Education Program

Whether a student has a visual impairment or not, beginning a teacher education program takes a lot of motivation, intestmet, and ultimately work to complete. Most teacher education programs consist of taking classes on the history and philosophy of teaching as well as current instructional strategies, curriculum design, and methods of evaluation and assessment. One or two practicum experiences enable the student teacher to utilize and further develop these new skills, as well as gaining experience teaching in a real classroom where an experienced teacher can act as a mentor.

Since many university and school faculty memebers and teachers may have never worked with a blind or visually impaired person before, and therefore may not be aware of capabilities and possible accomodations, it is important that potential student teachers have strong self-advocacy skills and are able to be flexible in the way needs are met (such as, for example, being able to use a variety of methods to access print in case the preferred method is unavailable). With the right skills and attitude, however, a blind or visually impaired student teacher can find their teacher education program one of the most rewarding experiences of their educational careers.