At Wake Forest University, a student who is blind enrolled in a second course in statistics.
The course covered simple and multiple regression, model diagnostics, model selection,
data visualization, and elementary logistic regression. These topics required that the student
both interpret and produce three sets of materials: mathematical writing, computer
programming, and visual displays of data. While we did find scattered resources for blind
students taking mathematics courses or introductory statistics courses, we found no complete
account of teaching statistical modeling to students who are blind. We also discovered
some challenges in stitching together multiple partial solutions. This paper outlines
our specific approach. We relied heavily on integrating the use of multiple existing technologies.
Specifically, this paper will detail the extensive use of screen readers, LATEX, a
modified use of R and the Braille R package, a desktop Braille embosser, and a modified
classroom approach.
The CAUSE Research Group is supported in part by a member initiative grant from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and Data Science Education