How Multisensory Instructional Packages Facilitate Academic Achievement

Multisensory Instructional Packages are self-contained teaching units that appeal to students with no perceptual strengths who have previously been unmotivated. All packages have certain basic elements in common:

1. Each package focuses on a single concept. Whether the package focuses on a unit such as pets or dinosaurs or a theme such as "getting along," students know precisely what the focus is and can decide if it is appealing as a new topic or useful in reinforcing a previously learned skill. The cover and dual title (analytic and global) always reveal what the package contains.
2. At least four senses are used to learn the contents. A typewritten script that is repeated by the teacher's taped voice gives clear directions to students to construct, manipulate, piece together, write, draw, complete, play, and in several ways use their sense of touch and their entire body in kinesthetic activities related to the package's objectives.
3. Feedback and evaluation are built in. The package includes tests, and students may respond by writing, taping, or showing results. Correct answers and responses may be checked as the items to be mastered are completed. The directions allow for immediate feedback and self-evaluation. Mistakes can be corrected through repetition of the taped and printed directions and by comparing the student's answers with ones prepared by the games and activities.
4. Learning is private and is aimed at individual learning styles. Only the teacher and student know how well the youngster is doing. Self-image and success are enhanced as progress increases without peer competition for the slower students. The multisensory approach; the colorful materials and packaging; the option of working alone; the motivating choices; the selection of when, where, and how to work; and the ability to move about and to eat if necessary make the instructional package an effective teaching aid for many students.