Non-visual Virtual Reality: Considerations for the Pedagogical Design of Embodied Mathematical Experiences for Visually Impaired Children

Abstract

Digital developments that foreground the sensory body and movement interaction offer new ways of engaging with mathematical ideas. Theories of embodied cognition argue for the important role of sensorimotor interaction in underpinning cognition. For visually impaired children this is particularly promising, since it provides opportunities for grounding mathematical ideas in bodily experience. The use of iVR technologies for visually impaired children is not immediately evident, given the central role of vision in immersive virtual worlds. This paper presents an iterative, design-based case study with visually impaired children to inform the pedagogical design of embodied learning experiences in iVR. Drawing from embodied pedagogy, it explores the process of implementing a classroom-based non-visual VR experience, designed to give visually impaired children an embodied experience of position in terms of Cartesian co-ordinates as they move around a virtual space. Video recordings of interaction combined with feedback from teachers and children contribute to knowledge of iVR learning applications in formal settings by discerning three types of pedagogical practices: creation of a performance space introduction of performative actions and action connected diverse perspectives.

Keywords

• virtual reality
• visually impaired children
• embodied learning
• cartesian coordinates