Book Review: Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills by Judith R. Birsh - 4 minutes read
Since its publication in early 2000, the 920 pages book has received numerous positive reviews from exciting readers. Over the years, it has contributed to learners' cognitive development and enabled easy assimilation in simplified terms.
A review by educationist Stephanie Al Otaiba, Ph.D., shows this material is a valuable resource for training teachers and other individuals in the Professional Learning Communities. She says, "It has a similar standard with other top teacher reading materials with much insight into accomplishing learning goals.
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Aside from being a top-notch resource for teachers, students find the material thoughtful as there are few negative reviews about the book. Below is a review on how Multisensory teaching of basic language skills helps educators excel in their field;
The Author
Judith R. Birsh, Ed.D
Judith is certified by the Qualified Instructor (Q.I) and Certified Academic Language Therapist(CALT). She believes teachers hold an essential role in a child's learning, so they should be well informed and prepared.
In her words, "teachers are effective instruction for dyslexia and reading. Judith's hypothesis began in the mid-1900s after she met an 18 years old student that reads poorly, and the learner was her first student.
This quest for answers prompts further studies as she attains Masters and doctorate degrees from Columbia University. During her masters, Judith studied remedial reading, then a doctorate in language & reading.
After her training completion with Aylett R. Cox in Texas, Judith is a certified therapist and QI(Qualified Instructor). Then, she founded courses that are useful in the Learning Disabilities Program.
After retirement in 2000, Judith committed herself to teacher preparation by editing three different editions of her book (Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills). During the fourth edition adjustment, she involves the expertise of Suzanne Carreker, who is also a doctorate holder.
On several occasions, Dr. Birsh gives consultation to public and private institutes, writes published articles, and works with exceptional students. In addition, she receives awards from numerous reputable organizations, including International Dyslexia Association, among others.
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Suzanne Carreker, Ph.D
In 2015, Suzanne became a member of Lexia Learning as Educational Content Lead. The role involves spearheading curriculum design for adolescents struggling with reading.
Interestingly, Suzanne spends more than two-decade at a Houston nonprofit organization (Neuhaus Education Center). After co-editing the fourth Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills edition, she was a fellow recipient of the International Dyslexia Association Award to mark her excellence and commitment to dyslexia learning.
Note that aside from the significant contribution of Judith and Suzanne, others that contribute to the success of this educational material include; Kay A. Allen(M.Ed), Virginia W. Berninger(Ph.D), Nancy Cushen White(Ed.D), Susan H. Blumenthal(Ed.D), etc.
Pros
- The material is a great educational resource.
- It focuses on students experiencing reading difficulty, e.g., ADHD, dyslexia, etc.
- The book is available on numerous e-commerce platforms.
- It contains in-depth information about the impact of language development on student learning.
- The book is excellent material for elementary teachers that want to teach reading.
Cons
- The print material is small with no picture.
- It is expensive
- There are zero research reports to back up the book strategies
Book Review: Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills by Judith R. Birsh
Content
Get a copy of this book if you would like to learn about the multisensory teaching approach. It is an effective instructional material across global universities and colleges. In addition, the text helps prepare educators on how to use evidence-based techniques to improve learners struggling with language skills in elementary or high school.
The content provides information on how teachers can structure Literacy instruction to improve learning. Aside from learning language, it is a suitable material for successful class planning, assessment, and understanding of students experiencing learning disabilities.
For more than two decades, the book remains among the best resources for teacher professional development as it gets educators more compassionate toward students' success and attaining learning objectives.
It is a recommended material for every classroom instructor. Similarly, it provides guidelines on technology's importance to learning and student-friendly features like chapter keypoint, skill assessment, case studies, etc.
Conclusion
This book covers math learning disabilities, vocabulary instruction, oral development, executive function, spelling, language fluency, composition, and others.
As earlier reiterated, every student and educator needs a copy of Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills for better language comprehension. In case of any suggestion or inquiry about the topic or material, kindly drop a comment below.