Teaching energy in living systems to a visually impaired students in an inclusive classroom

The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of instructional materials developed to teach basic chemistry concepts covered in the topic 'energy in living system' within the unit of 'Energy in Industry and Life Systems' to a 10th grade congenitally blind student who is attending a public high school in Erzurum city center and studying in an inclusive classroom environment. For this purpose, initially the students' prior knowledge of the concepts covered in the topic 'energy in living systems" has been investigated and students individual learning needs are determined. In order to do this, the student was observed in the inclusive classroom settings and individual interviews were carried out with the student. Based on the needs determined, instructional materials and information sheets for the chemistry concepts on "energy in life systems" are designed. During this process the students' individual needs (for materials, equipment and activities) were considered together with the general rule of thumbs within the framework of principles for material design and use of equipment in an inclusive environment during the teaching of the "energy in the life systems" topic. As the participant was a congenitally blind student, all materials were designed as tactile. The results showed that the instructional materials developed for teaching the concepts of 'energy in life systems' were effective and helpful in learning the basic concepts aimed to be taught together with the other learning outcomes. Key Words: Visual impairment, Chemistry teaching, Energy in living systems