Most of us learn about our 5 senses when we are very young. Sometimes games are played where you are blindfolded and get to smell and touch an object and see if you can guess what it is. The basic 5 senses are: see, smell, hear, taste, and touch.
We are taking in information all the time, and usually through more than one of our senses. When we talk about processing information, we refer to the senses we use to process by the terms, visual (by sight), auditory (by sound), kinesthetic (by moving), and tactile (by touch).
While we access information through all of the senses, most of us favor one (our dominant learning style) and then have one or more that are auxiliary, or supportive to our dominant learning style. Multi-sensory instruction is when information is presented using two or more of these primary forms of sensation simultaneously. In a classroom setting there are many learning styles at play. Unfortunately, information is still being presented mostly auditorily and the other learners are just out of luck. Freed and Parsons in the book Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World address some of the ramifications of this:
�Even such subjects as science and history, which are ripe for visualization and hands-on exploration, are often taught in this dry, boring, auditory fashion. The result: These subject areas attract only left-brained, sequential children or those who can survive the presentation?As our children are becoming more restless, more visual, and more right-brained, their learning style is colliding with that of our teachers, who are generally left-brained and thrive on order, neatness, and repetition?As the gap between the way teachers teach and the way students learn becomes wider, schools are failing our children at an increasing rate (pg. 159).
It stands to reason then, that with every person using a different combination of dominant and auxiliary learning styles, that presenting information in a multi-sensory fashion would be the most effective. �Research suggest that when students are taught using techniques consistent with their learning styles, they learn more easily, faster and can retain and apply concepts more readily to future learning?(Logsdon, �Multisensory Techniques�Make Multisensory Teaching Materials?. It has also been proven that the use of multiple sensory pathways reinforces weak memory patterns (Orton, 1928).
It is important to note that neuropsychologists agree that while not all visual learners are dyslexic, all dyslexics are visual learners. Research validates this claim and is another reason why language instruction for dyslexics must have the visual and hands-on components to be effective. Multi-sensory instruction is vital for those with learning disabilities. The numerous benefits are clear and the reasons why are evident. Multi sensory instruction is the key to student success.
We are taking in information all the time, and usually through more than one of our senses. When we talk about processing information, we refer to the senses we use to process by the terms, visual (by sight), auditory (by sound), kinesthetic (by moving), and tactile (by touch).
While we access information through all of the senses, most of us favor one (our dominant learning style) and then have one or more that are auxiliary, or supportive to our dominant learning style. Multi-sensory instruction is when information is presented using two or more of these primary forms of sensation simultaneously. In a classroom setting there are many learning styles at play. Unfortunately, information is still being presented mostly auditorily and the other learners are just out of luck. Freed and Parsons in the book Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World address some of the ramifications of this:
�Even such subjects as science and history, which are ripe for visualization and hands-on exploration, are often taught in this dry, boring, auditory fashion. The result: These subject areas attract only left-brained, sequential children or those who can survive the presentation?As our children are becoming more restless, more visual, and more right-brained, their learning style is colliding with that of our teachers, who are generally left-brained and thrive on order, neatness, and repetition?As the gap between the way teachers teach and the way students learn becomes wider, schools are failing our children at an increasing rate (pg. 159).
It stands to reason then, that with every person using a different combination of dominant and auxiliary learning styles, that presenting information in a multi-sensory fashion would be the most effective. �Research suggest that when students are taught using techniques consistent with their learning styles, they learn more easily, faster and can retain and apply concepts more readily to future learning?(Logsdon, �Multisensory Techniques�Make Multisensory Teaching Materials?. It has also been proven that the use of multiple sensory pathways reinforces weak memory patterns (Orton, 1928).
It is important to note that neuropsychologists agree that while not all visual learners are dyslexic, all dyslexics are visual learners. Research validates this claim and is another reason why language instruction for dyslexics must have the visual and hands-on components to be effective. Multi-sensory instruction is vital for those with learning disabilities. The numerous benefits are clear and the reasons why are evident. Multi sensory instruction is the key to student success.
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