How Does The Seating Arrangement Improve or Hinder Two Impaired Students?

 

How Does The Seating Arrangement Improve or Hinder Two Impaired Students?

 

Author: Santosh Kumar Biswa, Sr. Teacher, Damphu CS, Tsirang, Bhutan

 

Impairment in students is common in any school. It is a condition in students who are distracted from learning due to physical or mental disabilities. It occurs due to several conditions of which some are permanent and some are temporary (Hindle, Kutchel, Allan, Downie, Leahy, Steel, and Britt, n.d.). Any disabilities in the classroom should be assessed by the teacher well and should look for appropriate seating arrangements based on the needs of every individual student. This is because, the success of the learning experience depends on how the classroom environment responds to the needs of every child and the type of classroom organization the teacher modifies (Garnett, 2010).

 

Description of the impairments of the two students

 

As a teacher in a regular classroom, if two students are impaired out of eighteen students, I should be taking alternative precautions to meet their needs so that they are not excluded during the learning process. For instance, if one student has visual impairment with low vision and the other has hearing impairment with low hearing, one should understand that they have disabilities of the senses, which can hinder their learning while gathering the information (Aruma, n.d.).  

 

A Student with Visual Impairment and Low Vision

 

In the classroom, the particular student would be continuously exposed to visual materials such as chalkboards, written words, models, and other teaching-learning materials. I believe that a student with visual impairment faces major challenges with limited access to see the materials even though the particular student wears a glass if he is seated away from the visual materials or if those visual materials are blocked due to the type of class organization. Such students will have comprehension difficulties, poor skills in organizing ideas, difficulties in staying on task, and need low vision aids in the classroom (Brock, 2022) because such students struggle with sensitivity to light.

 

The teacher can play a vital role in curving such issues in the classroom by bringing a few changes to the seating arrangement and the classroom setting (Henkler, 2018). A student especially having short-sightedness (myopia) should be positioned in the front seat near the chalkboard so that they don’t struggle with the light sensitivity and see things presented by the teachers clearly. This is because a particular student usually finds difficulty in seeing distant objects (NHS, n.d.).  Alternatively, a student having long-sightedness (hyperopia) should be positioned in the back row, away from the chalkboard because he would find it difficult to object closest to them, which appears to be blurred (The College of Optometrists, 2022). Keeping him away from the windows and creating ample spaces between desks, chairs, and other objects in the classroom in both cases would help him increase concentration (Henkler, 2018). It enables the teacher to modify his behavior, promote his independence, inculcate adaptations for a successful learning process, and make the classroom free of physical and visual clutter (Willings, 2016).

 

A Student with Hearing Impairment with Low Hearing

 

A student with hearing impairment with low hearing experiences vital difficulties in understanding the lesson lecture to other students. Students usually fail to either pay attention or follow the directions in the classroom (The Nemours Foundation, 2021) which results in a hindrance in their learning processes. In such a case, a teacher can play a role by making necessary seating changes in the classroom. Arranging the chairs in a U-shape can help a student with such problems to enhance his interaction with his friends and teacher because he can see their teacher clearly and friends (Tacchi, 2022). Moreover, making a student sit in the front row, closer to the chalkboard enables them to listen clearly or read the lips. Doing so would enable them to listen well and follow the conversation during the lecture. Most importantly, allowing the student to choose where they want to sit and maintaining room for flexibility enables them to discuss and learn well based on their abilities (Tacchi, 2022).

 

Impact on my role as a teacher

 

The presence of these two students would impact my role as a teacher because, in the first place, I would be concerned about making the general curriculum accessible to them. Additionally, my responsibility would shift from normal to specialized instruction and services that required unique educational needs.  Moreover, I would be changing my teaching strategies like using the normal clear speech, ensuring that they see what I show and hear what I speak clearly, my teaching position, monitoring, following and gaining attention during my teaching, using their mates in relaying the information, providing ample time for the activity, use of visual aids, etc. (Yogiraj, 2021).

 

 

References

Brock, J. (2022). More Than Meets the Eye. http://www.joanbrock.com/vision_loss_and_blindness.htm

Garnett, K. (2010). Thinking About Inclusion and Learning Disabilities: A Teachers Guide, pp 7-12. Division of Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children. https://www.readingrockets.org/article/what-are-classrooms-students-learning-disabilities

Henkler, Ed. (2018). Teaching Suggestions for Visually Impaired Students. https://theblindguide.com/teaching-suggestions-for-visually-impaired-students/#:~:text=Position%20the%20student%20in%20a,the%20board%20and%20increase%20concentration.

Hindle, D., Kutchel, D., Allan, T., Downie, A., Leahy, M., Steel, M., & Britt, J. (n.d.). Physical disability. Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training. https://www.adcet.edu.au/inclusive-teaching/specific-disabilities/physical-disability/

NHS. (n.d.). Short-sightedness (myopia). https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/short-sightedness/#:~:text=Short%2Dsightedness%2C%20or%20myopia%2C,and%20is%20becoming%20more%20common.

Tacchi, E. (2022). The College of Optometrists. (2022). Long sightedness (hyperopia). https://lookafteryoureyes.org/eye-conditions/long-sight/#:~:text=Long%2Dsightedness%20occurs%20when%20the,phone%20screen%20may%20seem%20blurred.

The Nemours Foundation. (2021). Hearing Loss Factsheet (for Schools). https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/hearing-factsheet.html

Types of sensory disabilities. (n.d.). Aruma. https://www.aruma.com.au/about-us/about-disability/types-of-disabilities/types-of-sensory-disabilities/

Willings, C. (2016). Classroom Design Tips. https://www.teachingvisuallyimpaired.com/classroom-design-tips.html

Yogiraj. (2021). Teachers’ role in teaching of hearing-impaired students in class. https://www.yogiraj.co.in/teachers-role-in-teaching-of-hearing-impaired-student-in-class