Multisensory Learning Project

Overview

We all live in a dynamic, multisensory world which is noisy, distracting and occasionally chaotic.  We are constantly bombarded with information through our different senses.  Sometimes, the combination of this information supports our learning, sometimes it doesn’t.  The key is how we integrate information from the different senses.

Prior research has shown integrating multisensory information can facilitate learning in infants and adults.  This concept has become the basis for educational programs in literacy and numeracy.  Yet there has been a dearth of systematic research into the effects of multisensory input on learning in school-age children, which this project intends to rectify.

The aim of this project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), is to investigate multisensory learning in children and identify the best modality(s) for learning.  For example, do children learn best with tactile, visual or auditory information, or a combination of the different senses.  How does this change as they develop – is the optimum learning modality for 5-year olds the same as the optimum modality for 7- or 10-year olds? Is there a dominant modality that differs between age groups?  This project is now finished. For a summary of our research findings, click here.

Is your school full of budding young scientists?

We have been working with schools across Greater London, Surrey and Somerset but are always in need of more to take part in our various research projects.  If you work at a primary school or know of one that would be interested in participating, please contact us. Without your support, informative educational studies regarding school-age children cannot progress.

Email babylab@bbk.ac.uk