PLC RATIONALE

Chester County Intermediate Unit Induction Year II: Collaborative Action Research Plan

Participants: Sue Bank, Kristin Dibler, Carrie Rozea, and Jackie Steer

Focus: Multisensory Learning – Enhancing Learning by Engaging the Senses

Rationale:

Students learn best when information is presented in a multisensory approach.  When educators provide students with a variety of sensory stimuli they are more likely to engage students in learning and maximize success. 

Inquiry Questions:

·       What does the research say about learning modalities?

·       What are the most effective multisensory strategies to meet the needs of our students?

Action Plan

Research Question	Action Item	Timeline	Evidence of Completion
What does the research say about learning modalities? Mixed findings on the effectiveness of teaching to modality.	Individual research	May – September 2013	Research shared 9/18/13
What are the most effective multisensory strategies?	Each participant will provide one example for each of the four senses (auditory, visual, tactile, kinesthetic).	By September 30, 2013	Share at 10/3/13 PLC meeting via Blackboard.
	Decide how to best present our research, findings, and strategies. Plan presentation.	By December 31, 2103	Presentation on January 30, 2014 to supervisors and colleagues.

Meta-Analysis supporting Learning Style Model --Sue Bank

Meta-Analytic Validation of the Dunn and Dunn Model of Learning-Style Preferences
Rita Dunn, Shirley A. Griggs, Jeffery Olson, Mark Beasley
--St. John's University
Bernard S. Gorman
--http://www.jstor.org/stable/27541998?origin=JSTOR-pdf&Nassau Community College

ABSTRACT Forty-two experimental studies based on the Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Model and conducted be tween 1980-1990 were identified to determine the value of teaching students through their learning-style preferences. The studies were rated according to Lytton and Romney's (1991) Quality Rating Scales. A jury determined that, of the 42 studies, 6 studies evidenced serious threats to validity. The 36 remaining studies provided a database of 3,181 participants. Results were synthesized through meta-analysis. Eight variables coded for each study produced 65 individual effect sizes. The overall, unweighted group effect size value (/*) was .384, and the weighted effect size value was .353 with a mean difference (d) of .755.  Referring to the standard normal curve, this suggests that students whose learning styles are accommodated would be expected to achieve 75 % of a standard deviation higher than students who have not had their learning styles accommodated.  This finding indicates that matching students' learning-style preferences with educational interventions compatible with those preferences is beneficial to their academic achievement.

Educational Articles - Jackie Steer

The Secret to Making Learning Fun



The importance of Kinesthetic play

Teaching & Learning through Multiple Intelligences - Jackie Steer

Teaching & Learning through Multiple Intelligences
Campbell, Linda; Campbell, Bruce; Dickinson, Dee

ABSTRACT:

In his studies of human capacity, Howard Gardner revealed a wider family of human intelligences than previously suggested. Noting that restricting educational programs to focusing on a preponderance of linguistic and mathematical intelligences minimizes the importance of other forms of knowing, this book presents strategies for creating open systems of education utilizing the multiple intelligences philosophy. The book's introduction details each of Gardner's seven intelligences and what the book offers in terms of addressing each intelligence. The succeeding seven chapters correspond to each of these intelligences: (1) verbal-linguistic intelligence and learning processes, focusing on speaking, reading, and writing; (2) logical-mathematical intelligence, focusing on teaching of logic, mathematical processes, working with numbers, and sequencing; (3) kinesthetic intelligence, focusing on drama, creative movement, dance, manipulatives, classroom games, physical education, and exercise; (4) visual-spatial intelligence, focusing on pictorial representation, flow charts, visualization, board and card games, architecture and the visual arts; (5) musical intelligence, focusing on singing, musical notation, curriculum songs, and musical instruments; (6) interpersonal intelligence, focusing on positive interpersonal environments, conflict management, learning through service, appreciating differences, multiple perspectives, problem-solving, and multicultural education; (7) intrapersonal intelligence, focusing on self-esteem, goal setting, thinking skills, emotional expression, and self-directed learning; (8) "Curriculum Development through the Multiple Intelligences," focuses on lesson planning, apprenticeships, and teaching for understanding and (9) assessment that enhances learning. (SD)

Auditory Dominance and Its Change in the Course of Development -- Sue Bank

Auditory Dominance and Its Change in the Course of Development
Christopher W. Robinson and Vladimir M. Sloutsky

Child Development, Vol. 75, No. 5 (Sep. - Oct., 2004), pp. 1387-1401

ABSTRACT:

Young children often have a preference for auditory input, with auditory input often overshadowing visual input. The current research investigated the developmental trajectory and factors underlying these effects with 137 infants, 132 four-year-olds, and 89 adults. Auditory preference reverses with age: Infants demonstrated an auditory preference, 4-year-olds switched between auditory and visual preference, and adults demonstrated a visual preference. Furthermore, younger participants were likely to process stimuli only in the preferred modality, thus exhibiting modality dominance, whereas adults processed stimuli in both modalities. Finally, younger participants ably processed stimuli presented to the nonpreferred modality when presented in isolation, indicating that auditory and visual stimuli may be competing for attention early in development. Underlying factors and broader implications of these findings are discussed.

To view this article, please click on the title above to link to source website.  

This study reports on the shift from auditory preference in early childhood to visual preference as children develop.  Modality preference is demonstrated as relevant to educators with any population.

--Submitted by Sue Bank

Why Multisensory?

Multisensory learning has been known to engage multiple senses when learning and it often helps students learn more effectively in the classroom.  There are also a lot of benefits to using a variety of multisensory techniques with students who have special needs.  Here are some links.

Learning is Multisensory

Autism Multisensory Approaches

Multisensory Materials and Techniques

What is Multisensory

Movement Breaks