Use of Tactile Diagrams in Teaching Science to Visually Impaired Learners at the Upper Primary Level

Inclusive classrooms are a must in today’s education system so that all the students are given equal opportunities, irrespective of their abilities. Understanding science without diagrams and illustrations can be a challenging task for learners. Although Braille books are available for visually impaired students, they lack diagrams and illustrations. To address this issue, the Department of Education in Science and Mathematics (DESM), National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi, has brought out a tactile science book for upper primary level students. This paper aims to convey the importance of the tactile science book for students of class VI. The tactile science books were distributed to students from different inclusive schools as well as students in special schools. The students with visual impairments felt that they were able to understand science concepts easily with the aid of the tactile diagrams. The tactile science book can promote comprehensive classrooms in inclusive set-ups and, through diagrams and illustrations, can help students with visual impairments to increase the efficacy of their learning.