Independent exploration with tangibles for students with intellectual disabilities

Students with intellectual disabilities tend to be reliant on other people's opinions and attitudes, and fear taking the initiative. Thus, they are reluctant to independently undertake activities required in exploratory learning contexts -- a pedagogical approach recommended by constructivist theories. This research aims to investigate how different aspects of tangibles, like physicality, multisensory and dynamic feedback, can better support more independent exploration for students with intellectual disabilities. Empirical studies were undertaken where forty-six students with intellectual disabilities used four different tangible systems for exploratory activities. Preliminary results provide indications for adequate design choices under the categories of action-effect mapping, types of representations, embedded meanings and conceptual metaphors, and actions.