Teaching Enzyme Activity to the Visual Impaired and Blind Students
Biochemistry requires a high abstraction level, and different approaches should be used to enable the proper understanding of different subjects. In particular, students with visual impairment or blindness need special attention, not due to a lack of cognitive skills, but due to the fact that most o...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2017-08-01
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| Series: | Technologies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7080/5/3/52 |
| _version_ | 1818084637779427328 |
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| author | Felipe Sales de Oliveira Agatha Santos do Nascimento Maria Lucia Bianconi |
| author_facet | Felipe Sales de Oliveira Agatha Santos do Nascimento Maria Lucia Bianconi |
| author_sort | Felipe Sales de Oliveira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Biochemistry requires a high abstraction level, and different approaches should be used to enable the proper understanding of different subjects. In particular, students with visual impairment or blindness need special attention, not due to a lack of cognitive skills, but due to the fact that most of the teaching methods are visual. Enzyme properties are usually taught through experimental data that show how the activity changes in different conditions, which end up with the analysis of graphs. Therefore, our group developed experiments and graphical representations that enable visually impaired and blind students to understand enzyme properties. The experiments were done with pineapple bromelain, using reconstituted dry milk and gelatin as substrates. The “visualization” of the results were based on the sensation of the viscosity of the samples. The graphs were made with cold porcelain with all the labels (legends and numbers) written in Braille with a positive slate. From our experience with a blind student, both the experiments and the graphic representations were useful adaptations for teaching enzyme properties. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T19:57:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e5cf45fe059845189a24fe0b24460253 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7080 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T19:57:04Z |
| publishDate | 2017-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Technologies |
| spelling | doaj.art-e5cf45fe059845189a24fe0b244602532022-12-22T01:35:38ZengMDPI AGTechnologies2227-70802017-08-01535210.3390/technologies5030052technologies5030052Teaching Enzyme Activity to the Visual Impaired and Blind StudentsFelipe Sales de Oliveira0Agatha Santos do Nascimento1Maria Lucia Bianconi2Programa de Educação, Gestão e Difusão em Biociências, Instituto de Bioquímica Médica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, RJ, BrazilPrograma de Educação, Gestão e Difusão em Biociências, Instituto de Bioquímica Médica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, RJ, BrazilPrograma de Educação, Gestão e Difusão em Biociências, Instituto de Bioquímica Médica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, RJ, BrazilBiochemistry requires a high abstraction level, and different approaches should be used to enable the proper understanding of different subjects. In particular, students with visual impairment or blindness need special attention, not due to a lack of cognitive skills, but due to the fact that most of the teaching methods are visual. Enzyme properties are usually taught through experimental data that show how the activity changes in different conditions, which end up with the analysis of graphs. Therefore, our group developed experiments and graphical representations that enable visually impaired and blind students to understand enzyme properties. The experiments were done with pineapple bromelain, using reconstituted dry milk and gelatin as substrates. The “visualization” of the results were based on the sensation of the viscosity of the samples. The graphs were made with cold porcelain with all the labels (legends and numbers) written in Braille with a positive slate. From our experience with a blind student, both the experiments and the graphic representations were useful adaptations for teaching enzyme properties.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7080/5/3/52enzyme activityvisual impairedblindBiochemistry |
| spellingShingle | Felipe Sales de Oliveira Agatha Santos do Nascimento Maria Lucia Bianconi Teaching Enzyme Activity to the Visual Impaired and Blind Students Technologies enzyme activity visual impaired blind Biochemistry |
| title | Teaching Enzyme Activity to the Visual Impaired and Blind Students |
| title_full | Teaching Enzyme Activity to the Visual Impaired and Blind Students |
| title_fullStr | Teaching Enzyme Activity to the Visual Impaired and Blind Students |
| title_full_unstemmed | Teaching Enzyme Activity to the Visual Impaired and Blind Students |
| title_short | Teaching Enzyme Activity to the Visual Impaired and Blind Students |
| title_sort | teaching enzyme activity to the visual impaired and blind students |
| topic | enzyme activity visual impaired blind Biochemistry |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7080/5/3/52 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT felipesalesdeoliveira teachingenzymeactivitytothevisualimpairedandblindstudents AT agathasantosdonascimento teachingenzymeactivitytothevisualimpairedandblindstudents AT marialuciabianconi teachingenzymeactivitytothevisualimpairedandblindstudents |