ÿþ<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://www.growingstrong.org/mystyles.css" /> <meta name='keywords' content='biblical Greek, koine Greek, New Testament Greek, biblical languages, biblical language teaching, blind students, seminary students, Christian colleges, seminaries, teaching biblical Greek, Greek pedagogy, biblical scholars'/> <meta name='description' content='Strategies for integrating scholars with disabilities into the biblical language classroom. Written based on experience in a biblical Greek course.'/> <title>Integrating Scholars Who Are Blind in the Biblical Language Classroom</title> </head> <body> <SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822/US/growstro-20/8005/70389b30-ad51-4978-9009-84f71623dcbd"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fgrowstro-20%2F8005%2F70389b30-ad51-4978-9009-84f71623dcbd&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.com Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT> <div id="top"> <h1>INTEGRATING SCHOLARS WHO ARE BLIND IN THE BIBLICAL LANGUAGE CLASSROOM:<br> CHALLENGES, EXPERIENCES, AND SUGGESTIONS</h1> <p id="sarah"><a href="http://www.growingstrong.org/aboutsarah.html"><img style="float:left;" src="http://www.growingstrong.org/sarah.jpg" height="120" width="100">Sarah J. Blake</a></p> <P STYLE="TEXT-ALIGN: CENTER;">ANDERSON UNIVERSITY<BR> <BR> AUGUST 21, 2009</P> </div> <div id="left"> <h2>Mini-Site Navigation</h2> <p> <div id="skip"> <a href="#content">Skip to Main Content</a> </div> <b><a href="keyboards.html">Writing in Hebrew and Greek Using Your Keyboard</a></b><br> <b><a href="hebrew.html">The Experience of Studying Hebrew as a Student Who is Blind</a></b><br> <b><a href="langstudy.html">An Overview of Issues in the Study of Biblical Languages by Students Who Are Blind</a></b><br> <b><a href="languages.html">The Study of Biblical Languages: Information and Resources for Students Who Are Blind</a></b><br> <b><a href="seminary.html">Resources for Seminary Students and Faculty</a></b><br> <b><a href="the_passion.html">The Passion and the Isolation</a></b><br> <b><a href="disability.html">Resources on Faith and Disability</a></b><br> <b><a href="papers.html">Papers and Presentations</a></b><br> <b><a href="books/index.html">Book Reviews</a></b><br> <b><a href="index.html">Main Christian Resources Page</a></b><br> </p> <script src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/growingstrong/BzBQ?format=sigpro" type="text/javascript" ></script><noscript><p>Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/growingstrong/BzBQ"></a><br/>Powered by FeedBurner</p> </noscript> <script src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MadeAliveWeWorship?format=sigpro" type="text/javascript" ></script><noscript><p>Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MadeAliveWeWorship"></a><br/>Powered by FeedBurner</p> </noscript> </div> <div id="right"> <p> Sarah Blake is a licensed minister with the Church of God (Anderson, IN). She is available to provide teaching or music ministry for your church. <a href="http://www.growingstrong.org/sarah/services.html">Hear samples from some of her presentations</a> and contact her for booking information.</p> <h2>Support This Site</h2> <form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post"> <input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_s-xclick"> <input type="hidden" name="hosted_button_id" value="DAGK7G3XQY88Q"> <input type="image" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/WEBSCR-640-20110401-1/en_US/i/btn/btn_donate_SM.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!"> <img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/WEBSCR-640-20110401-1/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1"> </form> <p> Development of content for this site is supported by your contributions, the sale of products through various affiliate programs, and Sarah's work as a writer, speaker, and in other areas listed on her <a href="http://www.growingstrong.org/aboutsarah.html">services page</a>. If the material on this site has been helpful or encouraging to you, please consider shopping using the sites linked here--and return to do your shopping anytime using these links to continue supporting this site.</p> <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=growstro-20&o=1&p=14&l=st1&mode=books&search=%22biblical%20greek%22&fc1=000000&lt1=_blank&lc1=3366FF&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" width="160" height="600" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;" scrolling="no"></iframe> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-4619726658333486"; /* Greek200x200f */ google_ad_slot = "7803670715"; google_ad_width = 200; google_ad_height = 200; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <style type="text/css"> @import url(http://www.google.com/cse/api/branding.css); </style> <div class="cse-branding-bottom" style="background-color:#999999;color:#000000"> <div class="cse-branding-form"> <form action="http://www.google.com/cse" id="cse-search-box" target="_blank"> <div> <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="partner-pub-4619726658333486:dali6jqvgxh" /> <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="ISO-8859-1" /> <input type="text" name="q" size="40" /> <input type="submit" name="sa" value="Search" /> </div> </form> </div> <div class="cse-branding-logo"> <img src="http://www.google.com/images/poweredby_transparent/poweredby_999999.gif" alt="Google" /> </div> <div class="cse-branding-text"> Custom Search </div> </div> </div> <div id="center"> <a name="content"></a> <P> <b>NOTE:</b> This paper should be read in combination with <a href="hebrew.html">&quot;The Experience of Studying Hebrew as a Student Who is Blind&quot;</a> and <a href="langstudy.html">An Overview of Issues in the Study of Biblical Languages by Students Who Are Blind.&quot;</a> The issues discussed in these articles overlap strongly. It is important to understand that the successful integration of a scholar who is blind depends on the availability of accessible reading materials--or the availability of a qualified and capable reader combined with the ability of the scholar to learn via auditory material. It id very difficult for beginning scholars to do this. With that in mind, this paper presents a case study based on successful integration of two scholars in a Greek setting: both in the student role and in the teaching role.</p> <h2>Setting and Hypotheses</h2> <p> Anderson University offers first-year Greek during the summer as a five-week intensive course available to both undergraduate and graduate students, using J. Gresham Machen s primer, New Testament Greek for Beginners. The first edition of this book is available in braille; and there are minor differences between the first and second editions. The explanations differ slightly; but the exercises are nearly identical in most chapters.</p> <p> The availability of a relatively similar version of the textbook offered two possibilities for study: (1) that a blind student could participate fully in the course and complete the same assignments as other students if proper modifications could be made; and (2) that a blind teacher could serve as instructor for students whether they are blind or sighted. Circumstances offered an opportunity for evaluation of both hypotheses during the summer course offering in 2009.</p> <h2>Students</h2> <p> Eleven students registered for the course. Six were undergraduate students; and five were Master s level students studying at Anderson University School of Theology. A few students had studied one language prior to taking Greek; but most had very limited experience with linguistic study. One student, a visiting student from another university who was blind, registered for the course because of the availability of a braille textbook and the possibility that she might be able to receive assistance in learning to use accessible tools to assist her in further Greek study.</p> <h2>Instructors</h2> <p> The instructor for the course was a seasoned professor of biblical studies and Greek who had offered the intensive course for a number of years. A teaching assistant joined him who had taken the intensive course in the past and was completing her second year of Greek as an independent study. She herself was also blind and had devised several strategies for working around barriers in the first-year Greek classroom. In addition to her knowledge of Greek and experience teaching in other settings, she also brought to the classroom an understanding of technology, including but not limited to adaptive technology for those with disabilities, gained from prior employment experience. Her long-term goal is to serve as a professor of biblical studies in a college setting, in which she anticipates that most of her students will be sighted.</p> <h2>Modifications in the Classroom</h2> <p> The visiting student brought her laptop computer and braille display to class so that she could take notes and compose answers to exercises and tests. The teaching assistant ensured that her computer system was configured so that Greek characters would display correctly on both the screen and braille display as she typed. The teaching assistant also brought a laptop and braille display to class. She used her lap both to check the visiting student s work and to type out examples that were written on the board so that the student could read sample verb endings. She also created modifications of charts not included in the older version of Machen s textbook. Further discussion of her methods of accomplishing these tasks is included in later sections.</p> <p> Because tests did not display properly when transferred from the professor s computer to the student s computer, the teaching assistant also retyped the tests so that they could be read easily. This enabled the student to participate fully in the course, completing all assignments and tests in the same amount of time as her peers. Further discussion of this problem is included later.</p> <p> Some modifications were made in the methods used for parsing verbs and other activities that typically required diagramming. The student developed this system herself with feedback from the instructor and the teaching assistant. Samples of the student s notation system are included for reference at the end of this paper.</p> <h2>Student Interactions</h2> <p> The visiting student displayed an excellent understanding of grammatical concepts; and resident students interacted easily with her and found ways to collaborate with her during group study sessions. Since all students had access to the same exercises on most days, it was possible for them to compare notes by reading the sentence and referring to the word in question, spelling it out if necessary, discussing parsing details, etc.</p> <p> Some problems occurred when the two books did not include the same sets of exercises. Students attempted to resolve these problems by reading to one another; but more often than not this confused one or more of the group. In these instances, the visiting student worked alone. Occasionally, the students were able to isolate a few exercises that were equivalent and chose to work these together.</p> <h2>Important Notes</h2> <p> The fact that two students who were blind had enrolled consecutively (the current teaching assistant in 2008 and the visiting student in 2009) offered an opportunity to compare notes on the experiences and challenges of two students, how learning styles differed, and how the experience of the second student was affected by the presence of someone who was able to troubleshoot problems specific to blindness. Some problems resurfaced despite the fact that an experienced person was present to troubleshoot them. This suggests that it would be prudent to address them when possible.</p> <p> Both students experienced significant difficulty in parsing when presented with exercises orally vs. when working with material in braille. Both students have a strong history of using braille since early childhood. This suggests that when possible, exercises and test materials should be presented so that they can be read in braille. No difference was noted when comparing use of hard copy vs. braille display connected to a computer However, the braille display allows for viewing only one line at a time; and the visiting student felt that it was better to view charts in hard copy so that she could view the entire page. The teaching assistant created charts quickly in the classroom; but computerized transcription of Greek into hard copy braille is not possible at this time. Time constraints prohibited hand-copying the charts into braille; and in time, the visiting student became somewhat comfortable consulting charts electronically. However, it would have been ideal that initial reference material be presented in hard copy form. The teaching assistant provided some supplemental instruction in how to utilize technology as a tool in Greek study. This assisted the student both in learning to read charts and in learning to use additional technology-based tools for advanced Greek study.</p> <h2>Teaching Assistant s Methods and Interactions</h2> <p> The teaching assistant led several study sessions, taught three lessons, and worked with one additional student individually who fell behind. Most interactions went smoothly and were handled in a manner similar to interactions between residents and the visiting student. The most challenging interaction occurred when one student asked,  Is the rough breathing mark the one that goes up to the right? The question was resolved by locating a word with a rough breathing mark that he could see and comparing it to a word with a smooth breathing mark in another word. The student later described the difference in appearance for future reference.</p> <p> The teaching assistant experimented with two presentation styles. Her initial plan was to use a projector connected to her laptop so that she could type examples on the screen for students to view. The system did not function properly during her first teaching session; so she utilized examples from the textbook during her second teaching session. Students had taken a test prior to this session and were fatigued. Further evaluation would have allowed her to determine whether having students write examples on the board was useful or detrimental.</p> <p> In her third teaching session, the projector functioned properly. She attempted to use a feature of her adaptive technology which would allow the visiting student to connect remotely and view the examples on her own braille display. However, neither the teaching assistant nor the student could view anything on the braille display. This forced a return to the previous teaching method for most of the lesson; however, because the projector was functioning, the teaching assistant was able to type an example on the screen in answer to a student s question. Additional opportunities to use the projector in this setting will enable resolution of these technical difficulties.</p> <p> The greatest challenge in interaction between the teaching assistant and sighted students concerned the inability of the teaching assistant to read student work. Students who read work aloud were able to obtain needed explanations of grammatical concepts, and the teaching assistant made liberal use of the laptop to provide examples in one-on-one tutoring sessions. However, this method did not allow for correction of misplaced accents or other errors that could not be detected through oral reading. If students were to type their work,this problem would not exist. The teacher or assistant who was blind would be able to view their work on her own computer using the braille display and thus detect student-generated errors in writing. Free keyboards are available to allow for typing in Greek on both PC and MAC computers; and this option may be explored in the future to allow for easier interactions or online course delivery as the teaching assistant pursues in her career development.</p> <h2>Limitations of This Experience</h2> <p> While this experience demonstrates that scholars who are blind can be integrated into the language classroom as both students and teachers, it is important to note that some limitations exist in the process of integrating a student into a language classroom. Successful integration depends on the student s ability to read braille or large print well, the availability of textbooks in an appropriate format, the availability of appropriate adaptive technology, and the availability of someone either locally or remotely who can assist with troubleshooting technology-related problems when they arise. The final criterion is especially important when working with students who do not have strong technological skills. When textbooks are not available or other criteria are not adequately met, an independent study option might better meet the individual student s needs.</p> <h2>Accessible Texts in Greek</h2> <p> Two types of resources alllow for accessibility in Greek. Most preferable are those available in braille. Information about how to obtain these is provided below. For students with technological skkill or with support which would allow them to lean such skills, the Logos software also provides some tools which are accessible.</p> <h3>Braille Texts</h3> <p> The following resources are available from the Bartimaeus Alliance of the Blind in specialized format for use with braille translation software and an embosser, which is a machine that produces a hard copy of braille material. Embossers may produce copies on one or both sides of the page. To obtain these books, it is necessary for the student to register with the Bartimaeus Alliance of the Blind and provide proof of blindness. After doing this, the student will be provided access to the site with a username and password in order to download books from the Greek tools page and other areas.</p> <p> The Bartimaeus Alliance of the Blind frequently ads new books to their collection. Books available include but are not limited to:</p> <p> Balmer, Maurice and Gilbert Lawall. <i>Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek, Revised Ed, Book 2</i>. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.</p> <p> Baugh, S. M. <i>A New Testament Greek Primer</i>. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1995.</p> <p> Black, David Alan. <i>It's Still Greek to Me: An Easy-to-Understand Guide to Intermediate Greek</i>. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1998.</p> <p> Croy, N. Clayton. <i>A Primer of Biblical Greek</i>. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999.</p> <p> Dana, H. E. and Julius R. Mantey. <i>A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament</i>. New York: Macmillan, 1957.</p> <p> Kubo, Sakae, ed. <i>A Reader's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament</i>. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975.</p> <p> Machen, J. Gresham. <i>New Testament Greek for Beginners</i>. New York: Macmillan, 1960.</p> <p> Metzger, Bruce M. <i>Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek</i>. 3rd ed. Princeton, Bruce M. Metzger, 1965.</p> <p> Nash, Donald A. <i>A Primary Grammar of the Greek New Testament</i>. Laurel, IN, T.N.T. Ministries Edition, 2000.</p> <p> Summers, Ray. <i>Essentials of New Testament Greek</i>. Nashville: Broadman, 1950.</p> <p> Wuest, Kenneth S. <i>Wuest's Word Studies in the Greek New Testament</i>. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1966.</p> <h3>Logos Software</h3> <p> Numerous grammars, lexicons, and commentaries are available via Logos software. This software has been tested with the JAWS screen reader and is moderately accessible to people with a reasonable level of skill in use of the computer with the JAWS screen reader and a braille display. Since Greek and Hebrew screen readers cannot pronounce Greek and Hebrew text, it is not possible for students who are blind or visually impaired to access original language material adequately without a braille display or screen enlargement software.</p> <h2>Additional Notes</h2. <p> Since writing this paper, I have served for an additional year, providing tutoring and occasionally teaching lessons in the Greek professor's absence. This has provided me additional opportunity to gain experience working with students who have special needs. I have also been able to train another graduate student to serve as an assistant to me in the classroom, providing assistance with teaching tasks that require sight (e.g. writing on the board, monitoring students' formation of letters, etc.) These experiences serve as the foundation for additional articles on Greek teaching.</p> </div> <div id="footer"> <p> Sarah J. Blake is an experienced teacher of adult Sunday school as well as children ages birth to 5. She has served as a Greek tutor at Anderson University since July, 2009 and also currently serves as a worship team vocalist at Park Place Church of God in Anderson, IN, and moderates online discussion groups for pastors and for families of people with disabilities. She has written numerous articles about health topics, disability issues, and inspirational and devotional topics. To see more of her work, visit her <a href="http://www.growingstrong.org/writing/index.html">writing portfolio</a>.</p> <p> This document is copyright 2010 by Sarah J. Blake. For permission to reprint, please email Sarah at <a href="mailto:sarah@growingstrong.org">sarah@growingstrong.org</a>.</p> <h2>Do You Need a Guest Speaker?</h2> <p> Do you need a speaker for your church, college, or community event? Sarah Blake provides teaching on topics related to biblical studies, pastoral care, and ministry to seekers. She is also available to lead worship at retreats or special events. Visit Sarah's <a href="http://www.growingstrong.org/aboutsarah.html">ministry and services page</a> to hear samples of her presentations and get booking information.</p> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-4619726658333486"; /* Greek728x90 */ google_ad_slot = "3177547096"; google_ad_width = 728; google_ad_height = 90; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <p> This <a href="languages.html">biblical languages mini-site</a> is part of a larger site providing information about Christian faith, disability and other topics. Please <a href="http://www.growingstrong.org">visit the rest of the site</a>.</p> </div> </BODY> </HTML>