A Self-Accommodation Strategy for Students with Visual Impairments

Abstract

Classroom accommodations are a primary means of providing an appropriate education for students with disabilities. While there is value in student involvement in the accommodations process, the process continues to be teacher-driven, so we need to teach students to be strategic in selecting and utilizing their own accommodations. This problem holds true across disabilities, and students with visual impairments are no exception. The Student Self-Accommodation Strategy (SSA) was developed to support students with high-incidence disabilities in strategically selecting and utilizing their own accommodations. This study investigated SSA learning and performance for students with visual impairments and how learning the SSA impacted their classroom accommodation practices. The learning experiences of four students with visual impairments were compared using comparative case studies (Cresswell, Plano Clark, Gutmann, & Hanson, 2003) within a sequential explanatory design (Hanson, Creswell, Plano Clark, Petska, & Creswell, 2008). Mixed methods data were collected before, during, and after strategy instruction pertaining to accommodations knowledge and practices, strategy learning and performance, metacognition and self-regulated learning, and student perceptions of the SSA. Cross-case analysis revealed key findings regarding strategy instruction, strategy learning and performance, and metacognition and self-regulated learning. These key findings have implications for educating students with visual impairments and future research on the SSA. Ultimately, this study indicates that the SSA is a valuable tool for strategically selecting and utilizing accommodations; however, characteristics of individual students and their learning environments have a considerable impact on the development of strategic thinking.