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Short-Term Programs Offers Hybrid Algebra I Course

Authors: John Rose, Short-Term Programs Teacher, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI)

Abstract: The author describes how the Short-Term Programs (STP) Department at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) helps students across Texas earn high school credit for Algebra I through a hybrid class that meets both online and in-person.

For the third year, the Short-Term Programs (STP) Department at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) is offering a hybrid online/in-person Algebra class. The year-long class meets via video conference four times per week (Monday-Thursday) for an hour and a half. The class meets in-person three or four times per year, once or twice during the Fall semester and twice during the Spring semester. Students participating in the course are able to remain in their district, while also receiving small group instruction from the STP teacher, John Rose, a secondary math teacher and Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TSVI). 

In addition to the common challenges that everyone deals with in a classroom, such as distractions and interruptions, students with visual impairments face unique challenges in math classes. Algebra and other math classes present concepts that are very visual. Students who are blind, for example, require explicit instruction, tactile graphics, and audio graphing calculator skills. They also may benefit from manipulatives, such as Algebra Tiles and a graph board or peg board. The STP class seeks to reduce these challenges by providing small group instruction from a teacher who is experienced with Algebra concepts, the range of accommodations, and access technology.

The online and in-person components of the course provide distinct learning opportunities. When students are online, they have an opportunity to practice independence and self-advocacy. They work alongside their peers virtually to follow verbal instructions to read graphics and use technology to solve problems. When students are in-person, they have opportunities to learn and practice hands-on skills, such as reading tactile graphics and using tools to create linear, exponential, and quadratic graphs. Students have opportunities in-person to practice using technology, such as the Desmos graphing calculator, with a level of support that helps them feel more successful.

What do some of the students say about this class?

I feel like I get better instruction out of TSBVI than I did at a public school. For me, in public school, the teacher would just whizz through everything. If I didn’t get it, she’d just keep going. [In this Algebra class], if I don’t understand something, Mr. Rose can help me. It may go a little slower, but it’s not crawling along. A.S. (2022-23 cohort)

I have a love-hate relationship with math. I really like math when I understand what I’m doing. With Mr. Rose, I usually understand…most of it. I’m always going to have one or two things that are more challenging, and I’m fine with that.  L.H. (2023-24 cohort)

In addition to the Algebra I credit class, Short-Term Programs offers weeklong, weekend, and summer programs, as well as distance learning. These classes supplement the instruction that students receive in their home school district. For more information or to refer a student who may benefit from supplemental instruction in Expanded Core Curriculum skills, reach out to the Short-Term Programs department at TSBVI.

A student sits at a table and holds up a yellow peg board with a red diagonal line on it.

Student in Algebra I for SBOE Credit proudly shows the line he graphed on the xy coordinate pegboard.

A student wearing glasses smiles as she holds up a yellow pegboard with a line made of push pins and a rubber band.

Student in Algebra I for SBOE Credit shows off the line she graphed on the xy coordinate pegboard.

A student uses both hands to explore a page of the braille book on the table in front of him. Other braille materials and a laptop are also on the table.

Student in Algebra I for SBOE Credit practices reading tactile graphics in a STAAR released test.

A student wearing headphones explores a yellow graph board with his left hand and reads on the BrailleNote with his right hand.

Student in High School Access to Academic Skills uses the xy coordinate pegboard to graph a line of fit.

A student uses both hands to read a braille book on the table in front of her. Also on the table are a Perkins braille writer and a BrailleNote.

Student in High School Access to Academic Skills prepares to solve an Algebra problem.

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