Views of blind students and their academic work memorization

Abstract

This manuscript aimed at establishing how students who are blind manage to remember what they are taught during the lecture hours at Kwame Nkrumah University. The objectives which guided this study aimed at determining how students who are blind remembered their academic work, establishing what helped students who are blind remembered their work and the consideration of what was most helpful to students who are blind in remembering their academic work. The researcher used semi-structured interview, document study and observation checklist to collect qualitative data from the sample of 3 (three) students. Through this study it was discovered on how learners who were blind remembered their academic work and this was through the use of internet, voice recorder, mobile phones and laptops with speech output, the use of group discussions and ordering of the work according to topics and subtopics. The study also revealed what helped the blind to remember their academic work and this was done through attending of lectures, recording of lectures, writing of notes, dictation by lecturers, practical examples given by lecturers during lecture hours, by being given summarized notes by lecturers, help from sighted students and the use of braille and use of their braille equipment. The study further found two most important things which helped learners who were blind remember academic skills, concepts and information being taught and these were done though hearing and listening attentively and it was aided by neural plasticity.