Role of the Classroom Teacher

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
​Updated November 22, 2025
If you have never worked with a student who is blind or visually impaired, you may feel apprehensive. Even if you have prior experience, it is important to remember that every student is unique. Students with the same visual diagnosis may differ significantly in visual functioning, academic ability, and life experiences. Therefore, individualized understanding and support are essential. 

General Responsibilities

​Classroom Teacher
As the general education teacher, you play a central role in supporting students with visual impairments. Your responsibilities include:
  • Delivering instruction in the core curriculum (e.g., reading, writing, math, science, social studies) and ensuring the student is meaningfully included in all learning activities.
  • Creating an inclusive, welcoming classroom environment where all learners feel valued, supported, and able to participate.
  • Collaborating with the Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI), related service providers, and paraprofessionals to understand the student’s needs and implement recommended strategies.
  • Adapting instruction, materials, and classroom routines as needed to accommodate visual needs, promote independence, and ensure equitable access to curriculum and assessment.
Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI)
The TVI supports the classroom teacher by providing specialized instruction in skill areas directly impacted by visual impairment. This instruction addresses the unique access needs of the student and may include:
  • Braille reading and writing. Instruction in braille literacy, tactile graphics, and efficient tactile reading strategies.
  • Use of assistive technology. Teaching students to use tools such as screen readers, magnification software, refreshable braille displays, and optical devices.
  • Visual efficiency skills. Strategies for using residual vision effectively, including tracking, scanning, visual organization, and use of prescribed optical devices.
  • Self-advocacy and independence. Supporting the student in understanding their visual needs, communicating accommodations, and developing independence across school environments.
These areas fall under the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC)—a framework that outlines the essential skills students with visual impairments must learn in addition to the standard academic curriculum in order to access learning, participate fully, and build lifelong independence.

Collaboration is Key

​Consistent, open communication between the general education teacher and the TVI is essential to ensuring the student has full and equal access to instruction. To support effective collaboration:
  • Share lesson plans and materials in advance. Providing worksheets, handouts, digital files, and upcoming assignments in advance allows the TVI to prepare accessible versions (e.g., braille, large print, tactile graphics, digital formats).
  • Discuss upcoming content and classroom activities. Reviewing units, projects, labs, field trips, and assessments helps identify potential barriers and plan appropriate accommodations or adaptations.
  • Coordinate instruction and roles. Collaboration prevents duplication, ensures that specialized skills taught by the TVI (e.g., braille, AT, visual efficiency) are reinforced in class, and embeds ECC skills naturally into daily learning.

​Working with Paraprofessionals

If the student has a paraprofessional, effective collaboration is essential to promote independence and meaningful participation. Keep the following in mind:
  • Maintain direct interaction with the student. The general education teacher should continue engaging with the student academically and socially to support full inclusion and avoid over-reliance on the paraprofessional.
  • Ensure the paraprofessional reinforces instruction under your direction. Paraprofessionals should support, prompt, or reinforce learning based on your guidance—not introduce new content independently.
  • Clarify roles and expectations collaboratively. The teacher, paraprofessional, and TVI should work together to define responsibilities, communication procedures, and routines that support the student effectively.
  • Remember that the teacher retains instructional authority. Paraprofessionals play a valuable support role, but they are not certified teachers. The general education teacher remains responsible for instructional decisions, planning, and monitoring student progress.

​Understanding Your Legal Role

Understanding IDEA and the IEP Process. 
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), students with visual impairments are guaranteed a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). The primary tool for ensuring that a student receives FAPE is the Individualized Education Program (IEP). The IEP is a legally binding document that outlines:
  • The student’s unique educational and functional needs
  • The supports, accommodations, and specialized instruction required
  • How the student will access and participate in the general education curriculum
  • Goals and services aligned with the student’s present levels of performance
Your Role as the Classroom Teacher
​As the general education teacher, you play a critical role in the IEP process. Your contributions help ensure that the team has an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the students’ needs in real classroom contexts. You are responsible for:
  • Providing information about the student’s performance and strengths. Share academic data, classroom observations, engagement patterns, and evidence of growth.
  • Describing how the visual impairment impacts learning. Explain how the student’s access to print, visual information, or classroom routines differs from those of peers.
  • Offering insight into effective accommodations and modifications. Identify strategies or supports that have been successful—and those that may need adjustment—to promote full participation and independence.
Your input is essential to designing an IEP that meaningfully supports the student’s success in your classroom and beyond.

Helpful Resources for Teachers

Book Resource:
  • Spungin, Susan (2002). When You Have a Visually Impaired Student in Your Classroom: A Guide for Teachers. Published by the American Foundation for the Blind, this guidebook offers practical strategies and an overview of adaptive tools used by students with visual impairments.

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"Your positive attitude toward the integration and education of the student who is visually impaired may be the most important factor in guaranteeing the success and acceptance of this student in your class and school." -"When You Have Visually Impaired Student in Your Classroom: A guide for Teachers", AFB Press