George Mason professor teaches Pre-K-12 teachers how to make their lessons more accessible

Ten years ago, navigating the intersection of Roanoke River Road and Braddock Road by George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus was a challenge. The busy intersection, with five lanes of traffic, was difficult to cross even during off hours. Now, accessible, audio, and haptic cues make crossing much safer for everyone.

We have Kimberly Avila, associate professor of special education: blindness and visual impairments, to thank for that.

Not only is Avila working to create a more accessible campus—working with the Virginia Department of Transportation to upgrade and improve intersections and promoting dismount zones for pedestrian safety—Avila has been a service provider and teacher of the visually impaired, as well as an advocate for accessibility, for more than 25 years.

“It’s a fascinating field,” she said. “We have so much going on: the technology, the innovation. Things have progressed so rapidly.”

But the field is facing one critical shortage: teachers for elementary and secondary schools.

The Virginia Consortium for Teacher Preparation in Blindness and Vision Impairment is a long-running, state-funded program to recruit, train, and retain teachers for students who are blind and visually impaired. At George Mason, the lead university on the grant, that training comes in multiple levels and forms: an undergraduate major and minor, master’s concentration, and graduate certificate. Old Dominion University and Radford University serve as co-collaborators.

Avila serves as the lead coordinator, and she teaches most of the classes that are blindness specific. Courses are mostly synchronous online, so students throughout Virginia can participate while maintaining teaching positions.

Vision impairment can be either ocular or neurological: stemming from either the eyes themselves or from how the brain processes what is seen. Because of this, it’s not always obvious when a student has a vision impairment. Avila notes that about 90% of the students with low vision show symptoms that are only obvious to those with training.

And without the ability to see or perceive visual content, access to education in the classroom is impacted. Being unable to see or read what’s written on a presentation, smart board, or chalkboard, missing important demonstrations, and being unable to understand instructions on worksheets or homework all can cause students to rapidly fall behind.

“It is extremely important that general education and special education administrators are aware of the cues that could signify learning is being impacted by a student’s eyesight,” explained Avila, “and to know how to adapt the classroom environment to support that student’s learning ability.”

Throughout the various degree paths, students learn foundational knowledge on how to spot signs of possible vision impairment, how to develop and implement accessible classroom designs and lesson plans, and how to read braille. And, as with most degrees in education, they are required to complete field experience hours. In this case, their experiences are often teaching braille to a child with vision impairment, or working with mentors and teachers to design solutions to support a child’s success in their classroom through various adaptive and assistive technologies. They even spend a weekend on the Fairfax Campus during the summer to be trained in using a white cane and learning guiding techniques, so they can better understand the nuances of safely and effectively guiding someone who may need assistance.

“When George Mason first took over the program in 2007, it had the ingenuity and innovation to redevelop the program through incorporating the available technologies,” said Avila. “And George Mason continues to show that it’s committed to supporting our program because it serves a critical need.”