The Effectiveness of a Multisensory Center-Based Learning Curriculum in Prekindergarten Students

Abstract

Date Presented 4/1/2017

The process of educational development has major impacts on the physical, cognitive, emotional, and social aspects of a child. This study supports the benefits of a multisensory center-based curriculum in the classroom, which has the potential to aid in development from childhood throughout life.

Primary Author and Speaker: Jennifer Dessoye

Additional Authors and Speakers: Leah Davis, Ellen Mahon, Samantha Rehrig, Tara Robinson

PURPOSE: This study hypothesized that a multisensory center-based (MSCB) curriculum approach improves the overall performance of prekindergarten (pre-K) students in the areas of reading fluency, comprehension, visual–motor skills, and fine motor skills. An MSCB curriculum provides children with academic centers encouraging them to explore their environment through multisensory motor activities while maintaining educational standards.

Due to limited literature on this topic, further research on this curriculum’s benefits has the potential to positively affect young students’ learning and development. This learning and development lay the framework for experiences throughout the lifespan. According to the American Institutes for Research (2014), 28% of 4-yr-olds in America were registered in pre-K programs in the 2012–2013 school year. With so many children involved in pre-K programs, facilitating school readiness through appropriate educational methods, skill building, and occupational therapy (OT)–related concepts such as an increase in client factors and performance skills is vital to development and success.

DESIGN: The design is a nonexperimental pilot study with pre- and posttest with convenience sampling. The participants were 10 children ages 3–5 yr enrolled in a preschool program with the MSCB curriculum in place.

METHOD: The quantitative measures used included the Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GRADE; American Institutes for Research, 2014), Beery–Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual–Motor Integration (Beery VMI), and Beery VMI subtests of Visual Perception and Motor Coordination. The participants in the study were evaluated using these measures at the beginning and end of the 2014–2015 academic year (pre- and posttest). IBM SPSS Statistics was used to analyze data from the intact group of matched pairs. Correlated samples were analyzed with the paired t test to examine the significance of change in scores within each pair (Tomita, 2006). Following application of the Bonferroni adjustment, significance level was determined to be p = .00625.

RESULTS: Upon analysis, paired t tests conducted on the GRADE raw scores, VMI raw scores and grade equivalents, and VMI Motor Coordination subtest raw scores and grade equivalents were determined to be significant. Upon interpretation of results, one can conclude that this curriculum is effective for increasing visual–motor and motor coordination skills. Strong preliminary results of this study support the use of higher level research on MSCB learning with various populations.

CONCLUSION: Understanding of this curriculum by OTs can better prepare students for their transition from pre-K programs into formal kindergarten settings. This correlates with the increase in our role in how to best engage our youngest minds, especially with the effective use of Response to Intervention. By increasing the amount of evidence available to support a multisensory center-based learning curriculum, this study contributes to the field of OT by creating a larger knowledge base regarding pre-K students and how to engage them most effectively in their role as student.

OT practitioners working with this population will be able to support the use of MSCB learning, assist educators in ensuring the success of the youngest learners, and provide the best quality of care for this client population. This study suggests the importance of incorporating OT-related concepts into curricula by implementing multisensory stimulation with a focus on fine and gross motor skills. Occupational therapists and collaborating professionals will be able to incorporate these research-supported techniques to facilitate new and retained learning.

References

American Institutes for Research. (2014). Group assessment and diagnostic evaluation. Retrieved from http://www.rti4success.org/group-assessment-and-diagnostic-evaluation-group-reading-assessment-and-diagnostic-evaluation-grade

American Occupational Therapy Association. (2014). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process (3rd ed.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68(Suppl. 1), S1–S48. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2014.682006

Bottini, M., & Grossman, S. (2005). Center-based teaching and children’s learning: The effects of learning centers on young children’s growth and development. Journal of Childhood Education, 81, 274–277. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2005.10521305

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2014). NAEYC early childhood program standards and accreditation criteria and guidance for assessment. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/academy/files/academy/file/AllCriteriaDocument.pdf

Tomita, M. R. (2006). Methods of analysis: From univariate to multivariate statistics. In G. Kielhofner (Ed.), Research in occupational therapy (pp. 242–280). Philadelphia: F. A. Davis.