Outlines (Jun 2010)
Providing an orientation basis for a young blind reader’s structuring interaction with expository texts
Abstract
The interventional case-study presented in this report was intended to explore how the use of aconceptual meta-model representing coherent and conceptual relations commonly appearing inexpository texts helped a blind reader to use structuring strategies in reading them. Theinstructional approach designed and tested in the study was based on the key elements of thetheory of planned stage-by-stage formation of mental acts and concepts (PSFMAC), introduced byGalperin, and also drew on contemporary approaches in reading comprehension interventions.The participant of the study was a 17-year-old, blind man with semantic and syntactic disorders inhis early language development. The results of the study indicate that the use of the developedconceptual meta-model appeared to considerably affect his strategies in structuring the expositorytext content. During the intervention, the participant started more accurately to take account ofsome frequent coherent and conceptual, particularly causal, relations that he was previouslyprone to ignore. He also started more actively to use external speech while reading. The resultsprovide evidence that the developed conceptual meta-model can serve as an external organizerhelping a blind reader to actively structure text content.
