This is Jennifer Gonzalez welcoming you to episode 197 of the Cult of Pedagogy Podcast.

In this episode, we will be exploring ways you can apply multi-sensory learning in your classroom.

Even before I became a teacher, I was always aware that our senses played a role in learning.

For example, I knew I remember things better when they were introduced to me through more than one sense,

like when my kindergarten teacher had a slur in songs about the months of the year,

which my sister and I can still sing for you.

I also recognized at a young age that when I tried doing homework with music on,

if the music had lyrics, I could not stay focused on the homework.

Later, when I had my own classroom, I instinctively made an effort to deliver information

not just verbally, but visually as well, so students were getting it in different ways.

But after talking with today's guests, Jamie Chavez, I am realizing there is so much more to learn

about the interplay between the senses, how we learn, and how we function in a classroom setting.

Jamie is a pediatric occupational therapist who has co-written two books along with Ashley Taylor,

a pediatric psychologist on this topic.

The first book is called The Why Behind Classroom Behaviors, and the other is creating sensory smart

classrooms. To give us a taste of what both books have to offer, Jamie has written a post on

Cult of Pedagogy about how teachers can apply basic principles of sensory processing in the classroom,

and by doing so, remove unnecessary barriers and boost learning in pretty significant ways.

On today's episode, we'll talk through the main points of Jamie's article. This is an episode

for any teacher. It's going to be like a mini-course on how the senses apply to learning.

You will learn things about the senses that you probably didn't know before, like the fact that

there are actually eight and not five senses. Gain a new understanding of behaviors you've always

...