Teaching Blind Students

MEDCI with Cognate in Teaching Blind Students

MAT with Certification in Teaching Blind Students

What blind children lack is not access to services, but access to high expectations. Society holds only minimal expectations for blind people. Consequently the blind child is rewarded for virtually any level of performance. Even the most forward-looking people rarely hold more than tenuous and uncertain expectations for the blind. It is not surprising, therefore, that blind children lack a clear image of their own potential. To develop a real sense of their own ability, blind children must be in an environment with clearly defined expectations.

~ Fredric K. Schroeder, Ph.D.

Louisiana Tech University's programs in teaching blind/visually impaired children provide unique, exciting opportunities for students to learn about blindness and how to teach children who are blind/visually impaired. These graduate programs are a component of Louisiana Tech's Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness and offer rigorous professional training in small group settings. The superior quality of the students' preparation for teaching is not derived simply from course content, but from close collaboration and a variety of experiences with Louisiana Center for the Blind (LCB).

Teacher candidates who posess a valid teaching certificate are eigible for a Master of Education in Curriculum, Instruction and Leadership with Cognate in Teaching Blind Students. Teacher candidates with an undergraduate degree without a teaching certificate are eligible for a Master of Arts in Teaching with concentration in Teaching Blind Students. Both degrees provide eligibility for Louisiana State Department of Education's add-on certificate in Visual Impairments/Blind K - 12.

Both degree programs are approximately 5 academeic quarters in length and include a strong Braille proficiency requirement in both plans of study*. Students participate in a variety of experiences designed to offer first-hand knowledge of non-visual techniques used by blind individuals. In addition to University faculty, guest instructors and lecturers (many of whom are blind) provide expertise and hands-on experience in areas such as Braille, adaptive technology, advanced Braille, low vision assessments and techniques, orientation & mobility, and teaching strategies.

Interested teacher candidates are also encouraged to consider an additional certification in teaching Orientation & Mobility. These dually certified teachers - teachers of blind students with O&M certification - are in great demand in Louisiana and across the U.S. Nationally, nearly 6,000 specialized teachers are needed to provide skills to blind children, making job opportunities abundant.

The faculty and staff at Louisiana Tech's Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness are passionate in their dedication to superior training for teachers of blind/visually impaired children. If you are interested in becoming a member of a new class of professionals in the field of blindness, please contact us. Recruitment of individuals from minority groups is strongly emphasized and limited financial assistance may be available.

Contact

Ruby Ryles, Ph.D

Assistant Professor

Coordinator Teaching Blind Students

Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness

Louisiana Tech University

(318) 257-4554

rryles@latech.edu