Educational Games for Indirect Length Comparison in Sighted and Blind Students

This study examines how three purpose-built educational games support the development of indirect length comparison skills among a mixed group of sighted and blind primary students in Thessaloniki, Greece. Its central aim is to map the behaviors and haptic exploration strategies students use when comparing lengths indirectly with arbitrary units, standard cubes, and conventional tools such as rulers and tape measures, while also capturing their game preferences. The work is positioned as part of a broader effort to develop design criteria for differentiated materials supporting co-education of sighted and blind learners.

The participant group was small: four fifth-grade students, three sighted and one blind, judged to be at a comparable cognitive level on a fifteen-task diagnostic assessment. Data came from qualitative participatory observation, with video recordings focused on students' hands. Game A added a narrative and text-based cards to a conventional measurement task, Game B introduced a board and pawns, and Game C used audio instructions via NFC-tagged cards, cooperative peer verification, and textured paths. Instructional materials were provided in braille and tactile form, and the games were fabricated through 3D printing and validated at a center for education and rehabilitation for the blind.

Findings indicate that most students aligned arbitrary units without gaps or overlaps and placed string end to end, though several showed inconsistent directional placement and omitted unit assignment. With standard cubes, students generally kept units in contact, yet errors such as gaps, incorrect counts, and placement around rather than along objects recurred. Conventional tool use was broadly correct, with students starting from zero, but a recurring error of starting measurement at one persisted. Students, both sighted and blind, clearly preferred Game C, which the authors attribute to its novelty, auditory instruction, and peer validation, while noting that its length and surplus features may have hindered gameplay flow. The authors conclude that gamified, accessible activities supporting collaboration and differentiated difficulty merit wider adoption in inclusive classrooms, though the very small sample limits the generalizability of these conclusions.