DEVELOPMENT OF ART ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE COLLABORATION FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED LOWER ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

Abstract

This research article aims to design and examine the effects of art activities intended to promote collaborative skills among lower primary school students with visual impairments.
A mixed-methods research design was employed. The sample consisted of eight lower primary students with visual impairments from the Bangkok School for the Blind. The research instruments were validated for content validity and included: 1) a teaching observation form, 2) an expert interview form, 3) four lesson plans for art activities designed to promote collaboration, 4) a weekly behavioral observation form for art activities, 5) an overall behavioral observation form, 6) a weekly student focus group discussion guide, 7) a student satisfaction questionnaire, and 8) an interview form for teachers’ opinions and satisfaction. Data were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, including content analysis and basic statistics such as mean. The findings indicated that the development of art activities to promote collaboration among students with visual impairments should emphasize multisensory engagement, hands-on practice, and group-based learning. The activities should integrate collaborative art approaches with a storyline technique to ensure continuity across activities. After implementing the four activities, the students demonstrated continuous improvement in collaborative and social skills. In addition, the students reported a very high level of satisfaction with the activities, with a mean score of 2.89 out of 3.00. The teachers also rated the activities as highly appropriate at the highest level, with a mean score of 5.00 across all evaluation criteria.