Tools Enabling a Student Who Is Blind in a Liberal Arts Chemistry Laboratory Course

Abstract

Chemistry laboratories ordinarily involve a number of visual observations and require qualitative and quantitative explanations of these observations. A student with blindness at Truman State University successfully completed the laboratory portion of the non-majors liberal arts chemistry course with the assistance of a senior undergraduate chemistry education major, the guidance of a chemistry professor with blindness, and a variety of alternative laboratory methods. Volumes were measured using a notched syringe or the graduated cylinder pipet technique. Changes in color were measured by a Color Analysis Laboratory Sensor (CALS) and a Submersible Audio Light Sensor (SALS). Balance and Vernier probe measurements were recorded using Vernier data acquisition software (Logger Pro 3.6) and Job Access with Speech (JAWS) screen review software. This paper reports the impact of these alternative methods on the level of participation of the student with blindness for the following experiments: Density Determination, Flame Emissions Tests, Simulation of the Measurement of Hemoglobin in the Blood Using Spectrophotometry, the Investigation of Hydrates, the Study of Chemical Reactions in Everyday Life, and Titrations. The Solutions, the Soap-Making, and Paper Chromatography laboratories are not reported. All the laboratories except the Density laboratory are part of the Chemistry 100 curriculum at Truman State University ("CHEM 100", 2010).