Street Crossings - APH Needs Survey

When the orientation and mobility profession came into being at the end of World War II, it was safe to cross a street without traffic controls when it was quiet: when the traveler could not hear any vehicles approaching and when there was not any masking sound to block the sounds of vehicles. Now, this is still true at some intersections, but it is not true at others. Crossing at some uncontrolled intersections when quiet can result in a vehicle coming into a traveler’s path before she finishes the crossing. Such a situation can result in injury and in some cases death. APH is currently developing an instructional program to support instructors when teaching students how to evaluate uncontrolled crossings. When using information and audio/video simulations in this program, instructors can teach students how to determine if, when quiet, they can cross a street without traffic controls before a vehicle can come into their path.

We at The American Printing House for the Blind would appreciate completion of this short survey by COMS, NOMC, supervisors, APH ex officio trustees – in short, anyone in the field who might be in a position to use or purchase such a product from APH.

Question Title

* 1. Please check all the items that describe your profession or your involvement in the field of visual impairment and blindness.

COMS

NOMC

Orientation and mobility specialist, not certified

TVI

Program administrator

APH ex officio trustee

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 2. What do you currently teach your students about crossing at uncontrolled intersections? Please check all that apply. If you do not teach O&M, check all statements that you think are true.

Students who judge traffic by listening can cross safely when they do not hear a vehicle approaching from either direction.

Loud noise in the environment can mask the sound of approaching vehicles.

Students who judge traffic by listening should wait till it is as quiet as it gets at the intersection before crossing.

Students who judge traffic visually can cross safely when they cannot see a vehicle approaching from either direction

Students who judge traffic visually should cross where they have a clear view of traffic.

Students who judge traffic visually should learn specific techniques for glancing in both directions to make sure they see approaching vehicles.

Methods/techniques have been developed that will enable students to determine whether they can cross a given street with no traffic controls when quiet without an unexpected vehicle crossing their path or whether, even when they begin crossing when quiet, a vehicle can reach them as they cross. A software-based instructional program to help instructors teach these techniques would begin with audio/video simulations in which tasks are ordered by difficulty and complexity in a controlled, indoor environment and then would provide teaching strategies to help the student transfer learning to real-life intersections.

Question Title

* 3. Should APH develop such an instructional program?

Yes

Comments:

Question Title

* 4. Instruction using simulations would take place indoors with later outdoor instruction to apply learning to actual intersections. Imagine that the following conditions existed.

·         You found APH’s instructional program to be a useful teaching tool.

·         Your student needed to learn to evaluate crossings with no traffic controls.

·         Completion of instruction with audio/video simulations would take approximately four hours.

·         You have control over when to begin this program so that you would not interrupt other essential O&M instruction by using this program.

Would you spend four instructional hours in one month on teaching these skills through simulations?

Yes

Comments:

Consider two versions of such an instructional program. Both versions would cover the same material. However, the difference between the two versions is whether the software or the instructor controls the scaffolding of instruction.

Version 1:

The software makes most of the decisions about which simulation files to present to the student, times student responses, selects appropriate feedback based on student response, and presents recorded feedback read by a live narrator. The software provides narrated and onscreen conceptual information for the student. The instructor listens to simulations with the student and teaches/practices a skill if the student is not learning it from the simulations. The software provides additional onscreen and video information for the instructor.

Version 2:

The instructor, rather than the software, makes most of the decisions in this version. The software provides conceptual information for the student that can be read onscreen or that the instructor can provide in any format as a homework assignment. The instructor makes decisions about which simulation files to present to the student, listens to simulations with the student, times student responses with a stop watch, and gives the student appropriate feedback based on student responses. The instructor also teaches/practices a skill if the student is not learning it from the simulations. The software provides additional onscreen and video information for the instructor.

Question Title

* 5. Which version of the software would you prefer to use:

Version 1

Version 2

Please share additional comments on this topic:

Thank you for completing this survey. Your feedback is extremely helpful to us.