If you’ve ever sung the ABCs, done the motions to “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes,” or played a language-learning game on your phone, you’ve experienced multisensory learning firsthand. Chances are, you still remember some of the songs and rhymes you learned in elementary school—and that’s because multisensory learning really works!
Multisensory learning is an approach that incorporates various modalities and engages multiple senses. Typically, multisensory teaching strategies and activities use some combination of visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile methods. Here’s a few examples:
Multisensory learning can also include taste, smell, and various other ways to engage the senses. Activities like educational games or apps often engage several stimuli, such as visual, auditory, and tactile.
Multisensory learning builds neural connections, especially for diverse learners. In fact, engaging multiple senses stimulates different areas of the brain and strengthens neural pathways, making learning more effective and resilient.
Studies have shown multisensory learning to be highly beneficial for all students, but we’re going to focus on the specific benefits this approach could have for special education students.
It’s important for learners to be engaged and focused in order to comprehend and retain information, but we know that this level of attention can be difficult and short-lived for some of our learners with autism or ADHD. Multisensory learning can help capture the attention of special education students and keep their focus for longer periods of time. How? The short answer is – because it’s fun! Typically, multisensory learning involves some level of play, and research has found that children’s minds are especially receptive to new information and forming key connections while they’re playing. Engaging in play brings joy, which can enhance attention, activate concentration, and increase motivation.
Multisensory learning also increases engagement by reducing the opportunity for distraction. When students are participating in various forms of learning, they are also engaging different parts of their brain, making it more difficult to go off-task. For example, it will be much easier for a student to get distracted simply reciting shapes than reciting and acting them out or singing them in a song.
Multisensory learning can also lead to deeper learning by connecting knowledge with real-world implications. In the context of special education, this deeper learning could look like counting blocks to build a tower or pointing out the shapes we see in our meals as we eat. Activities like these engage multiple senses while also demonstrating the real, and often exciting, connections our learning has to the world around us. This form of learning goes beyond memorization to create a deeper level of understanding, which also leads to a greater retention of information and ability to apply concepts to various situations.
Studies show that integrating visual and auditory inputs enhances perception and memory more effectively than single-sensory approaches. When information is presented through multiple sensory channels, learners can better process and retain it.
Differentiation is critical in special education to help ensure that every student is able to learn to their full potential. Multisensory learning allows students to learn information in a way that is inclusive but individualized by creating various entry points for understanding. For example, a classroom of students could be reading the same short story, but including closed captioning and audio allows for students to comprehend the story in the manner that is best for them. Or with the examples of counting, including strategies such as songs and manipulatives will ensure more students can grasp the concept. Teaching through a variety of intelligences (spatial, musical, logical, etc.) also allows students to discover their own strengths in learning, boosting confidence and motivation.
We also know how important choice and agency is for students with disabilities. Multisensory learning allows for students to develop a preference for a modality they like best and therefore create positive associations with the materials they are learning.
Another benefit of multisensory learning is that it’s easy to incorporate into your current curriculum and lesson plans! Here are a few questions you can consider to help you include multisensory learning in your teaching:
TeachTown incorporates multisensory learning throughout its curriculum, including game-based learning, audio books with closed captioning, lesson plans that incorporate manipulatives and visuals, and much more. If you’d like more information, schedule a consultation with a member of our team to learn more.
Contributor Bio
Tasha McKinney brings over eight years of experience in education. After four years of teaching outdoor education programs, she pursued a Master’s in Early Childhood Special Education at the University of Texas. Since then, she has worked both in classroom settings and for an EdTech company, where she develops social-emotional curriculum aimed at fostering student wellness. Tasha is passionate about designing inclusive, creative lessons and activities that resonate with learners of all backgrounds and abilities.