Introduction:

The purpose of the study was to survey orientation and mobility (O&M) instructors who are blind concerning the identification of accommodations, teaching techniques, and resources to teach students with visual impairments (i.e., blindness or low vision).

Methods:

The study utilized an online survey via Qualtrics (2019) with 27 closed- and open-ended items to identify accommodations, teaching techniques, and resources needed. The survey was e-mailed to membership and certification organizations requesting O&M instructors who are blind to participate for 12 weeks. The participants were 15 O&M specialists, mostly male and Caucasian. Survey data were then analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results:

Forty percentage of the participants reported that there were minimal standards that they had to demonstrate prior to their admittance into an O&M program. About one-fourth of the participants mentioned their program was modified because of their visual impairment. Eleven participants (73%) reported that their nonvisual instructional strategies and techniques were predominantly gained through their university programs or other visually impaired instructors (27%, n = 4).

Discussion:

Aspects of this study that are similar to the current literature are smaller faculty-to-student ratios for blindfold or simulation cane courses, accommodations used by participants, and suggestions for monitoring the safety of students. The results revealed the participants’ strong belief in the importance of immersion training, the use of the Structured Discovery Cane Travel (SDCT), nonvisual skills during O&M instruction, sleep shades, and students’ problem-solving abilities.

Implication for practitioners:

Although the participants had received SDCT immersion training, most personnel preparation programs approved by the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of Blind and Visually Impaired do not use this method. For this reason, it is important for faculty to identify best teaching practices from among all programs and to integrate these practices into their curricula. Sharing best practices could strengthen all programs. Moreover, students with visual impairments should be taught early about self-advocacy and the ability to have helpful knowledge about one’s skills at a university and in the workplace.

中文翻译：

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盲目的定向和流动专家对他们在提供定向和流动服务时使用的住宿和教学策略的调查

介绍：

这项研究的目的是调查定向和流动性（O＆M）指导员，这些指导员对于确定住宿，教学技术和资源来教有视力障碍（即失明或弱视）的学生是盲目的。

方法：

这项研究利用了Qualtrics（2019）进行的在线调查，其中包含27个封闭式和开放式项目，以确定住宿，教学技术和所需的资源。该调查通过电子邮件发送给会员和认证组织，要求盲人参加为期12周的O＆M讲师。参加者有15名O＆M专家，其中大多数为男性和高加索人。然后使用描述性统计数据分析调查数据。

结果：

40％的参与者报告说，在加入O＆M计划之前，他们必须证明的最低标准。大约四分之一的参与者提到他们的程序由于视力障碍而被修改。11名参与者（73％）报告说，他们的非视觉教学策略和技术主要是通过他们的大学课程或其他视障老师获得的（27％，n = 4）。

讨论：

这项研究与当前文献相似的方面是眼罩或模拟拐杖课程的师生比例较小，参与者使用的住宿条件以及监测学生安全的建议。结果表明，参与者坚信沉浸式训练的重要性，结构化发现甘蔗旅行（SDCT）的使用，O＆M指导中的非视觉技能，睡眠习惯和学生解决问题的能力。

对从业者的启示：

尽管参与者已经接受了SDCT浸入式培训，但是大多数由盲人和视觉障碍者教育与康复协会批准的人员准备计划并未使用此方法。因此，教师必须从所有计划中确定最佳教学实践，并将这些实践整合到课程中，这一点很重要。分享最佳做法可以加强所有计划。此外，应尽早向视力障碍学生提供关于自我倡导的知识，以及在大学和工作场所中对自己的技能有帮助的知识的能力。