A Best-Evidence Synthesis of Research on Orientation and Mobility Involving Tactile Maps and Models.

Abstract: A review of the literature from 1965 to 2008 on tactile maps and models in orientation and mobility yielded four pre-experimental and three experimental articles. The articles were analyzed via best-evidence synthesis--a combined narrative and statistical approach--allowing for recommendations for the most effective use of tactile maps and models. ********** The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 places increased emphasis on evidence-based practice in the educational system by calling for the use of high-quality research methods that include rigorous and systematic procedures, rigorous data analysis, reliable and valid measures, and random assignment. It also stresses that studies that are presented should be clear and detailed enough for replication and should have been approved or accepted by experts in the field. This call for evidence-based practice pertains not only to subjects in the core curriculum, such as English and math, but to skills in the Expanded Core Curriculum for Students with Visual Impairments (ECC). The ECC consists of nine disability-specific skill areas that students who are visually impaired (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) need in order to gain the full benefit of the standard educational curriculum. It serves as a framework that guides the provision of specialized services and skills that are necessary to compensate for the loss of or reduction in vision (Corn, Hatlen, Huebner, Ryan, & Siller, 1995; Huebner, Merk-Adam, Stryker, & Wolffe, 2004). Orientation and mobility (O&M), one area of the ECC, is defined as the ability to understand one's position in space in relation to the exterior world and to travel independently (Blasch, Welsh, & Wiener, 1997). A substantial portion of O&M instruction consists of the student physically navigating paths in a variety of settings to gain experience with travel and safety techniques (Ungar, Blades, Spencer, & Morsley, 1994). Tactile maps and models are also important O&M teaching tools, for two primary reasons. First, individuals who are sighted are able to scan areas to be traveled and to create cognitive maps with relative ease (Sapp, 2003), whereas those who are visually impaired cannot do so because their visual impairments prohibit them from exploring the environment at a distance greater than their canes (Golledge, 1991, 1993, cited in Ungar, Blades, & Spencer, 1996). The rich variety of environmental information that is available to a person who uses vision cannot be fully replicated--even using the most advanced and modern Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and other mapping technologies. In the case of a person who cannot adequately preview an environment using vision, tactile maps and models and other accessible mapping technology may be the best-available alternatives to visual preview. Second, with standardized achievement tests continually growing in importance because of the accountability standards outlined in NCLB, students in typical classrooms are increasingly asked to demonstrate proficiency in the use of maps. This is a standard that students with visual impairments must also meet if they are to achieve on the same level as their sighted peers in inclusive settings (Budd & La Grow, 2000). With the call for evidence-based practice, we posed the following question: What studies exist in the area of O&M tactile maps and models that meet the criteria of "scientifically based" research on educational practice as stipulated by NCLB? The purpose of the best-evidence synthesis presented here, which is a combination of statistical and narrative analysis, was to examine the use of tactile maps and models related to O&M and to review evidence on the effectiveness of these assistive devices for individuals with visual impairments to gain more independent and efficient access to the environment. The studies allowed us to measure maps and models as explanatory variables and independence and efficiency as response variables. …