Do blind and low vision (BLV) students explore graphs in the same way as their sighted peers? What role does prior visual experience play in teachers’ perceptions of task performance with graphs? Who can be helpful to BLV students in learning about graphs? Teacher training, along with support teachers provide BLV students, play roles in graphing success. I will reveal how teachers perceive BLV students regarding tactile graphics, as well as pedagogical approaches for BLV students to access and understand graphs with similar levels of proficiency as their sighted peers. In presenting on my dissertation work, I will report results relative to teachers’ perceptions of BLV students and tactile graph exploration, the role of visual experience on the ability to solve graphing problems successfully, and beneficial resources for students when using tactile graphics. I conclude with recommendations for practitioners and suggestions for future work.
Inclusion in Science Learning a New Direction, conference on disability and STEM