The LVR - Johanniterschule in Duisburg, Germany is a school that serves partially sighted, blind, and visually impaired children, many of whom also have additional disabilities. The school has departments for preschool through secondary education, and supports over 150 students in mainstream schools. Around 80 students attend the school itself, ranging in age from 3 months to 18 years old. Since many students have visual impairments, the school provides optical aids and assistive technology to help students access the curriculum. Some examples mentioned are adapted games and materials, as well as resources like resonance boards, position boards, and tactile books. The active learning approach used at the school emphasizes allowing students to learn through their own exploration and experiences

1. PROJECTE COMENIUS 2011-13
Duisburg (Alemània) 7-11 March

2. LVR – JOHANNITERSCHULE
LVR - Johanniterschule( Duisburg, Germany) is a school for partially sighted
and blind children and youngsters. Many pupils have got additional
moderate and sometimes severe learning disabilities and/or behavioral
difficulties. A small number of them has also got additional physical
impairments.
The school comprises pre-school, primary and secondary education with a
special department for pupils with additional learning disabilities from year 3
onwards. There is also a peripatetic service which supports over a hundred
children and youngsters in different mainstream schools.
About 80 pupils visit the school itself and about 150 are supported in pre-
school education.
There is an age range from three months up to 18 years, with the youngest
ones being visited either at home or at their local kindergartens.

3. OPTICAL AIDS AND ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR BLIND LEARNERS
Since pupils attending Johanniterschule face visual impairments, they
need, in some cases, optical aids and specific assisstive technology in
order to access their curriculum. Here you will discover some of the
resources used every day in the school:

9. Games and adapted materials to enjoy leisure time

13. COMENIUS PROJECT
“Hear my Voice”
ACTIVE LEARNING APPROACH (LILLIE NIELSEN MATERIALS)
The philosophy behind the approach of Active Learning is that, if given
opportunity to learn from his own active exploration and examination, the child
will achieve skills that become part of his personality.
The teacher’s task is to lead the child out of passivity to activity and help to
achieve motor abilities. They have to create an environment that is appropriate
for these children to learn and to develop actively and they help the multiply
disabled and visually impaired child to achieve as much independence and
autonomy as possible.

14. COMENIUS PROJECT
“Hear my Voice”
ACTIVE LEARNING APPROACH (LILLIE NIELSEN MATERIALS)
Learning becomes possible if the child:
• is given opportunities to learn from the level to which he is developed.
• can discover, experiment, and explore with many ways of performing an
activity and thus learn the most practical way for him to perform a skill
successfully.
• has sufficient time to experiment and the opportunity to repeat an action as
many times as necessary in order to store the information gained and to
confirm that a specific way of acting gives the same result, and so comprehend
the reality of it.

15. COMENIUS PROJECT
“Hear my Voice”
ACTIVE LEARNING APPROACH (LILLIE NIELSEN MATERIALS)
• has the opportunity to compare his experiences. This allows him to discover
similarities and differences, to recognize specific experiences, to associate a
new experience with others already stored in the memory, to link experiences
with each other, and later on to categorize and generalize experiences.
• has somebody with whom to share his interest and experiences. This allows
him to learn how to initiate interaction.

16. COMENIUS PROJECT
“Hear my Voice”
ACTIVE LEARNING APPROACH (LILLIE NIELSEN MATERIALS)
Infants and children learn within several areas of development simultaneously.
Ability achieved in one area influence abilities in other areas, so that the areas
are intertwined and experienced by the infant or child as a small entirety.
Through self-activity and interaction with others, this entirety should gradually
contain more and more detail as the child comprehends and masters the
several parts, becomes able to connect these parts, and finally is able to
perceive a bigger entirety.
In summary, learning is achieving knowledge by being active.

17. Lilie Nielsen Materials
Resonance Board

18. The Little Room

19. Position Board:

20. Scratch and Velcro Boards

21. Activity and Story Books