What is Multisensory Instruction?

Multisensory instruction, sometimes called multimodal instruction, is a teaching approach that engages more than one sense, or modality, at a time.  

When teachers utilize different sensory pathways (sight, sound, touch, taste and smell) they are creating robust and memorable learning experiences for their students.  

What teacher doesn't want that?!?......

What might engaging multiple senses actually look like in the classroom?!?

Well, let's take this example of lesson utilizing a multi-sensory approach to teaching weather vocabulary for early elementary students.\

• First, the lesson might begin with a video showcasing different weather conditions, accompanied by relevant sounds.
• Senses utilized: sight & sound

• Next, students practice pronunciation through repetition and listening exercises.  The teacher writes the vocabulary term on the board and has students repeat the word.  The teacher could also break the word into syllables, talk about morphemes, etc.
• Senses utilized: sight, sound, speaking

• Then, students match picture cards with taught weather words (whole group or small group)
• Senses utilized: sight, touch, listening and speaking

• Finally, students participate in a lively game of weather charades to embody each term
• Senses utilized: movement, listening, speaking

Optional activities might have students exploring tactile materials representing weather textures (i.e. cotton for clouds and sandpaper for sunny days, ice cubes for cold weather, etc.), or students could create their own images, actions or sounds for each weather term. 

Not every lesson HAS to include ALL of the senses, but it is important for teachers to plan more than one way for students to engage in the learning.  In fact, research consistently supports the efficacy of multisensory techniques.  This efficacy is particularly true for young learners and those with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia. 

Studies have shown that when children are taught using multisensory strategies, they exhibit significant improvements in reading skills, phonemic awareness, and overall academic performance (Campbell, Helf, & Cooke, 2008; Snowling & Hulme, 2011).

Follow along with this blog series where we will explore the benefits of multi-sensory instruction, how to implement this technique, what to avoid and the best resources to use!

In the meantime, if you are looking for more information check out Understood's website!