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This exploratory qualitative study gathered data on adolescents' mental models of illiteracy before and after they read news articles on the topic and explored their epistemic beliefs about illiteracy and news articles as a knowledge source. Engaging with the news requires critical thinking and civic engagement, both central components of education in a democratic society. In order to investigate how students run and revise their mental models in the face of these demands, researchers provided twelve students from a rural, Midwestern high school with news articles on the topic of illiteracy. Using semi-structured interviews, think-alouds, and hands-on close reading activities, researchers tracked how participants' beliefs on the source and stability of knowledge illustrated their epistemic beliefs about illiteracy, as well as how they established criteria in sorting information across texts. The study found that most participants showed the ability to incorporate better ways of thinking about illiteracy after engaging in a guided reading activity, and some subsequently exhibited changes in their epistemic beliefs on the topic. The findings provide insight into how adolescent learners approach news articles in classroom reading activities and how their epistemic beliefs interact with their engagement.

Introduction: The authors of this study evaluated the necessary features of tactile maps to provide independent, efficient, and safe travel across a university campus; and a process for developing tactile maps based on user needs and preferences. Methods: Participants who have low vision provided input, through interviews and field tests, regarding which features were critical for a tactile map. The four-phase development and research design process included: phase 1, semistructured interviews about campus navigation; phase 2, creating draft maps using two different tactile media--microcapsule or braille embossed lines; phase 3, fieldtesting maps through site visits with participants; and phase 4, finalizing the map. Four undergraduate students with low vision participated in phases 1 and 3 to assess their experiences in navigating a campus; and the collected data were used in phases 2 and 4 to create, revise, and finalize the content, layout, and medium of the map. Results: Three of the participants preferred microcapsule lines to braille embossed lines, while one participant stated the usefulness of both media. The four-phase process allowed customization of local maps for individual users. Discussion: Map features that contribute to readability and efficacy of use include the medium; the layout; the combination of orientation maps, which provide an "overview" of a large area; and mobility maps, which contain more detail and are designed to help the traveler in unfamiliar areas (James, 1982). Implications for practitioners: Colleges and universities should gather data and create tactile campus maps for students with low vision or blindness following the four-phase process used during this study. Although the data show that the map's medium is a matter of personal preference, several features are essential to creating a map with maximum readability.