Development of accessible and low-cost teaching materials for Microbiology education for individuals with visual impairment

Abstract

Over the years, a new need has emerged in the educational field to include people, taking into account all their particularities. In this sense, social inclusion proposes welcoming, valuing, and ensuring that everyone reaches their desired potential. The increase in the number of enrollments in Special Education has led educational institutions to continually adapt, using inclusive and innovative tools in the educational process. In the academic context, health science courses include morphological subjects in their curricula. These subjects frequently use practical classes, often with the aid of optical and electron microscopy for learning. However, these resources are not accessible to students with visual impairments, which represents a significant challenge for the education of these people and an obstacle in the teaching-learning process. Based on this, this study aimed to develop a low-cost, durable, non-toxic teaching material, suitable for use in microbiology classes, and then an opinion poll was conducted to verify its effectiveness. Styrofoam of different shapes, sizes and thicknesses were used to create the model, as well as materials that could have different textures to the touch to differentiate the classes presented. For this purpose, textured silicone paints, colored plastic paint (Acrilex), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), cardboard, string, suede paper and clay were used. The results were satisfactory, showing the level of understanding in the two groups established for the research. The material used was durable, sensitive to the touch, and suitable for teaching when also associated with Braille. It was concluded that the models created can be considered significant resources due to the possibility of the students appropriating the concrete concept of the structures and understanding the image in three dimensions.