Multi-Sensory Approach Holds Key to Literacy

Multi-Sensory Approach Holds Key to Literacy—NJSBA Study

This is the third installment in a series of articles about the NJSBA-commissioned report, “Financing Special Education in New Jersey.”

Meeting the needs of special education students with limited resources is a concern shared by school administrators throughout the state, researchers for NJSBA’s study, “Financing Special Education in New Jersey,” found during site visits to 34 districts.

Commented one superintendent, “You cannot win an argument about special education costs. What you can do is spend the money wisely and be accountable for delivering appropriate programs at the most reasonable costs.”

Worth the Investment According to researcher Michael Luciano, many special services directors identified the “multi-sensory” approach to reading as an appropriate program, well worth the investment.

The NJSBA-commissioned report recommends that special education and general education teachers in the elementary grades receive state-supported pre-service or in-service training in the multi-sensory approach to reading.

“Special education directors who were visited for this study felt strongly that any emphasis on literacy needs to include a multi-sensory approach (visual, auditory and tactile cues),” Luciano and Dr. Mari Molenaar, the report’s authors, noted when making their recommendation.

Lower Classification Rate “This [research-based] approach helps eliminate the need for some students to be classified and provides additional help for those who are classified,” they stated.

For example, the director of special services in a Kindergarten through 12th grade district in central New Jersey attributed a lower-than-average classification rate to the general education reading program in first grade. The program uses a multi-sensory phonics-based approach.

Proficiency A K-6 district in southern New Jersey reported marked improvement in special education students’ state assessments as a result of a reading program that uses a multi-sensory approach.

“The program is voluntary, and 35 percent of the special education students participate,” wrote Molenaar and Luciano. “State test scores in excess of 60 percent proficient for the special education population are due in part to this program. More than half of the general and special education teachers in grades 3 through 6 are trained in a multi-sensory approach to reading and employ these techniques in their classrooms.”

Workshop Program At Workshop 2007, Molenaar and Luciano will present a special group session on NJSBA’s study, “Financing Special Education in New Jersey,” 10:45 a.m. to noon on Thursday, Oct. 25 in Room 402 of the Atlantic City Convention Center. The session, open to all Workshop participants, is hosted by the Urban Boards Committee.

The “Financing Special Education in New Jersey” Web page contains previous installments of the School Board Notes series about the study, as well as a survey that school officials can take on some of the report’s recommendations.