Math teaching strategies that work: Marilyn Zecher’s Multisensory Math

by Kathy Kuhl     As I teach parents how to teach math better, I’ve wished everyone could learn from the expert who taught me Multisensory math, Marilyn Zecher. And you can!

Marilyn has offers recorded webinars and workshops teaching her Multisensory Math Approach. It’s easy to create a free account there and have a look. She’s a great teacher, insightful and enjoyable.

Who is Marilyn Zecher, creator of Multisensory Math Online?

“Marilyn Zecher, M.A., CALT is a specialist in applying multisensory strategies to a variety of content areas and study skills. A frequent speaker at national and regional conferences, Ms. Zecher teaches two graduate level methods courses in Multisensory Math.”

Taking those courses transformed how I teach math to all. It’s not just for students with learning disabilities, dyscalculia, or other challenges. In my homeschool co-op classroom for Algebra and Geometry, I saw it’s a better way to teach all students. Classroom teachers who’ve taken this training say the same. 

As Marilyn Zecher says,
Multisensory math is
“Appropriate for all,
essential for some.”

Initially, Ms. Zecher was a classroom/demonstration teacher in a public school. She became a Certified Academic Language Therapist and dyslexia specialist. As a dyslexia specialist, Ms. Zecher mastered the Orton-Gillingham (O-G) techniques that help dyslexics learn to read. 

What is Multisensory Math?

Then Ms. Zecher spent 20 years learning how the brain learns math. She applied  the Orton-Gillingham approach to the teaching of mathematics. Combining that with evidence-based strategies in mathematics, she created the approach she explains in her Multisensory Math courses.

Learn more about Multisensory Math

Try the free webinar to learn some basic concepts and get the flavor of her teaching. She offers many courses; some are inexpensive. The two and three day workshops are more expensive, but they include 21-28 hours of instruction. Because they’re online, you can take them at your own pace–not during one intense week, as I did! 

For another taste of her work, see my post here. Or if you have middle school students, try her 2020 workshop “Mastering the Middle School Move from Arithmetic to Algebra,” at the International Dyslexia Association Conference, generously shared by IDA here.

As you watch these excellent videos, you’ll see this is an approach that can be applied to any curriculum. It’s a different way for parents and teaches to think about explaining math.

Ms. Zecher hopes to offer some content designed specifically for homeschooling parents, but there’s plenty to help us now. Check it out!