Leatning aids and tools for teaching mathematics to the blind and visually impaired in the preschool period

Zakonodaja na področju vzgoje in izobraževanja otrok s posebnimi potrebami v zadnjih letih vse bolj spoštuje in uresničuje načelo inkluzije, kar pomeni, da se otroci s posameznimi primanjkljaji vključujejo v redne oddelke vzgoje in izobraževanja, pri tem pa jim je pri premagovanju ovir ponujena dodatna pomoč strokovnjakov, prilagoditve in številni pripomočki. Število otrok s posebnimi potrebami se v zadnjih letih povečuje. Zakonodaja loči devet skupin otrok s posebnimi potrebami (otroci z motnjami v duševnem razvoju, slepi in slabovidni otroci, gluhi in naglušni otroci, otroci z govorno-jezikovnimi motnjami, gibalno ovirani otroci, dolgotrajno bolni otroci, otroci z motnjami vedenja in osebnosti, otroci s primanjkljajem na posameznih področjih učenja, otroci z avtističnimi motnjami). Magistrsko delo obravnava slepe in slabovidne učence, ki so v današnjem svetu, ki je poln vizualnih predstav, zelo prikrajšani. Potrebni so številni pripomočki in različni pristopi, ki slepim oz. slabovidnim omogočajo pridobivanje novih znanj in izkušenj preko drugih čutil, predvsem tipa. Redne šole in vrtci, v katere se vpisujejo otroci z okvaro vida, pogosto niso opremljeni in pripravljeni za ustrezno izvedbo vzgojno-izobraževalnega dela s slepim oziroma slabovidnim otrokom. Pomankanje pripomočkov, pomankanje ustreznega kadra, neprilagojene metode poučevanja, neprilagojen prostor oz. okolje, v katerem se otrok giblje, lahko zavirajo optimalen razvoj otroka. V praktičnem delu magistrskega dela je predstavljena izdelava 4 tipnih učil, ki so primerna predvsem za otroke v predšolskem obdobju. Gre za pripomočke, ki otroku omogočajo razvoj motoričnih spretnosti, usvajanje prostorskih predstav ter matematičnih pojmov. Potek izdelave posameznega pripomočka je predstavljen v besedi in sliki, našteti so tudi vsi pripomočki, ki jih potrebujemo za izdelavo posameznega učila. Omenjene pripomočke smo preizkusili tudi v praksi, s pomočjo štirih otrok s Centra IRIS (Zavod za slepo in slabovidno mladino) v Ljubljani. Na podlagi preizkusa so pripomočki evalvirani, podani so tudi predlogi izboljšav za posamezen pripomoček.Lately, the legislation in the area of special needs children education has made more effort towards respecting the principle of inclusion and putting it into practice. Consequently, children with individual disabilities are integrated into regular education departments with provided extra professional support, modifications and many learning aids and materials. In recent years, the number of children with special needs has been rising. The legislation classifies special needs children into nine groups: children with intellectual disabilities, blind and visually impaired children, children with deafness and hearing impairment, children with speech and language impairment, children with physical disabilities, children with chronic conditions, children with emotional disturbance and behaviour problems, children with specific learning disabilities, and children with autism. This thesis deals with blind and visually impaired children. They, in particular, are deprived of experiencing the present-day visually rich world. This brings the need for many learning aids, as well as correct approaches that enable them to gain new knowledge and experience through other senses, mainly tactioception. Regular schools and kindergartens that enrol visually impaired children are often underequipped and inapt for providing suitable education to blind and visually impaired children. The lack of materials and learning aids, the lack of specialized staff, unmodified teaching methods, as well as unmodified facilities and movement area can delay the optimum child development. The field research part of the thesis shows the making of four tactile learning aids suitable primarily for pre-schoolers. These learning aids enable the child to develop motor skills, spatial awareness and math concepts. The process of making each aid is documented by step-by-step descriptions and pictures, along with a list of materials needed. We tested the learning aids in field with the help of four children from Center IRIS (Institution for blind and the visually impaired youth) in Ljubljana. The test provided suggestions for improvement and enabled evaluation for each individual aid