A didactic approach to project-based engineering education: Inclusive teaching materials for people with visual impairments

Abstract

Learning geometric figures in mathematics education presents significant challenges for blind and visually impaired students. The lack of accessible resources hinders the construction of concepts such as angles, sine, cosine, tangent, and spatial relationships, compromising the understanding and development of mathematical reasoning. This work emerged within the context of a disciplinary project focused on promoting accessibility and learning for blind and visually impaired elementary school students, using geometric shapes such as right triangles, equilateral triangles, cylinders, spheres with a quarter-circle hollowed out, and cubes, adapted as teaching tools. The need was identified within the Materials Engineering course at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), using the Project-Based Learning (PBL) methodology. The project aims to construct tactile geometric objects that enable the interpretation of shapes through touch and Braille writing. The methodology involved ABPj steps, including planning, action plan development, needs assessment, 3D modeling in SolidWorks software, prototyping via 3D printing using PETG filament, testing, and validation with blind users. Visits were made to the Zila Mamede Central Library and the Accessibility Laboratory (AL) to collect feedback and improve the prototypes. In addition to the geometric figures, a support booklet for teachers was developed, which will be distributed to assist in teaching practices aimed at visually impaired individuals. This material presents a structured methodology and a guiding guide, proposing pedagogical strategies that promote the understanding of mathematical concepts through the use of geometric shapes. The proposed solutions, duly validated, represent the results of an interdisciplinary project integrating the areas of engineering and inclusive education.