ISaR Projekt

This article measures the effectiveness of Kentucky Teacher Academy (KTA). Twenty-one teachers attended the week-long seminar. While attending KTA, they received a stipend and also earned continuing education credit. Teachers of the visually impaired and science teachers received priority, on the basis of the generally accepted practice of "full inclusion," whereby science teachers and special education teachers work cooperatively in the classroom to teach difficult subject matter to students with special needs. The results from the Content Knowledge Test and the Questionnaire indicate that attendance at the KTA had a positive impact on the teachers level of knowledge about science and nature studies, perception of using an outdoor setting as a classroom, and degree of comfort when teaching science and nature studies to children who are visually impaired. This article recommends the KTA and encourages the use of outdoor classrooms as a teaching medium for students who are visually impaired. The authors view the KTA as a potential model for developing similar programs through which more teachers can become comfortable with teaching science and environmental concepts to students who are visually impaired.

(Source: Abstract)