An Exploratory Study of the Uses of a Multisensory Map—With Visually Impaired Children

Emeline Brulé,Christophe Jouffrais,Gilles Bailly,Annie Gentès,Anke Brock

doi:10.3390/mti2030036

Abstract

This paper reports an empirical study of a multisensory map used by visually impaired primary school pupils, to study human habitats and differences between urban, suburban and rural areas using a local example. Using multimodal analysis, we propose to examine how the use of smell and taste shape pupils’ engagement and the development of a non-visual knowledge of geography. Our research questions include: How do pupils try to make sense of this unusual material, in conjunction with the tactile, audio and tangible material used in this lesson? How does the special education teacher support the development of these interpretations? Multisensory material has the potential to support experiential and embodied learning: were these promises achieved? Our findings show how this multisensory map reconfigures spatial occupation and interaction dynamics, and that it has the potential to make the classroom more pervasive to pupils’ social, spatial and emotional lives. In doing so, it provides opportunities for the teacher to develop citizenship education. The paper provides concrete examples of uses of smell and taste in learning activities to support engagement, and has implications for pedagogical design beyond special education.

Highlights

To engage pupils in learning geography, many scholars recommend building on children’s experiences of space (e.g., [1,2,3]), for instance by organizing field trips [4,5,6]
Conducted as part of a larger participatory research project on technologies to teach geography to visually impaired children, this study finds its roots in existing special education practices
We look at how olfactory and gustatory representations were interpreted, and how this interpretation was intertwined with the other representations of the same concept

Summary

Introduction

To engage pupils in learning geography, many scholars recommend building on children’s experiences of space (e.g., [1,2,3]), for instance by organizing field trips [4,5,6]. Some geographers have long challenged vision as the primary or only way to learn and experience space, and to favor embodied and multisensory approaches instead [7,8,9]. One way to do so is to compare two places, their similarities and differences. Another is to zoom out: showing how a neighborhood fits into a city, county, region, etc. Discovery of the map Associating the three smellables/tastables with different areas of the map Finding different types of roads on the map Discussing the transportation infrastructure (e.g., national/regional roads). Discussing the transportation infrastructure (national/regional roads; canals) Smelling rubber. Discussing the evolutions of work and how they shape cities. Synthesizing the similarities of structures between all habitats, starting by the village (e.g., church, town hall)

Methods

Results

Conclusion