Developing Historical Thinking Skills and Creativity of Visually Impaired Middle School Students

Osman Akhan^1*Adem Uzun²

• ¹Akdeniz University, Antalya, Türkiye
• ²Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Sivas, Türkiye

Visually impaired students in Türkiye follow the general education curriculum, which can pose challenges due to the abstract nature of many subjects, particularly history. History instruction often relies on visual materials and abstract thinking, making it less accessible for students with visual impairments. To address these challenges, this study aimed to enhance the historical thinking skills and creativity of visually impaired middle school students through specially designed activities within the 5th grade “Journey to History” unit. This qualitative study was structured as an action research project. The participants included 14 visually impaired 5th grade students (5 girls and 9 boys), aged 10 to 12, enrolled in a middle school for the visually impaired in Türkiye during the 2022–2023 academic year. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with students during different phases of the intervention and analyzed using the descriptive analysis method via the MAXQDA 2020 Plus program. The findings were organized into thematic categories. The results indicate that students significantly improved their historical thinking and creativity skills. Through tactile learning activities, such as Braille timelines and museum visits where students could physically interact with historical replicas, they developed a deeper understanding of chronological concepts, historical events, and ancient civilizations. These experiences fostered historical empathy and analytical thinking by allowing students to “feel” history rather than only hear or read about it. Additionally, creative activities such as storytelling, creative writing, and animations helped students express their understanding of historical content in imaginative ways. These methods proved effective in engaging students, making abstract concepts more concrete, and encouraging active participation. This study highlights the value of accessible and inclusive teaching strategies in history education. It underscores the importance of adapting instructional approaches to meet the needs of visually impaired students, contributing not only to student development but also to curriculum design and teacher training for inclusive education.