What is MTA?

MTA (Multisensory Teaching Approach) is a multisensory curriculum for students identified with dyslexia. It was written by Margaret Taylor Smith, and published in 1987. It meets the description of a multisensory curriculum as it is direct, systematic, explicit, sequential diagnostic, and multisensory. Teachers are highly trained instructors or Certified Academic Language Therapists.

Components of MTA Instruction

MTA is based on the Orton-Gillingham method of systematic instruction, with clearly identified graphemes that are to be taught in a multisensory manner for the prescriptive instruction of dyslexic students in reading, handwriting, and spelling/written expression. Daily components of instruction include:

The lesson cycle must be completed in order for the students to adequately progress.

MTA is broken into 7 kits, beginning with the most commonly used graphemes and phonemes in reading/spelling instruction to the most difficult concepts. Students are provided with scaffolded and differentiated instruction, based on their prescriptive needs. Teachers have the ability to adjust the instructional pacing.

According to the curriculum, MTA is to be delivered in a small group setting (1-6 students) for 45 minutes a day/ 5 days a week, or 60 minutes a day/ 4 days a week. Depending on the severity of the student’s dyslexia, a student could remain in the curriculum for three to five years.

MTA and the Science of Reading

The science of reading (also known as structured literacy) is based on the components of good reading instruction, as outlined by the National Reading Panel’s report (2000). The science of reading is “a body of research that incorporates insights and research from disciplines that include developmental psychology, educational psychology, cognitive science, and cognitive neuroscience. The science of reading has been documented around the world, in all languages and cultures, in studies that cost hundreds of millions of dollars. In short, the science of reading has demonstrated the methods that best help children learn to read, from the earliest steps in spoken language to being able to successfully decode unfamiliar words.” (What Is The Science of Reading? Really Great Reading)

The science of reading includes explicit instruction in the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. MTA contains all of the components mentioned in the National Reading Panel report. These parts are evidenced in the curriculum through Soundations! (phonology), single word decoding (reading practice), fluency in phrase/sentence context, morphology - in both new learning and reading instruction and reading/listening comprehension, and verbal expression. All are presented in a simultaneous and multisensory manner in order to maximize the pathways for reading and spelling for students identified with dyslexia.

Bibliography

MTS Publications https://mtspublications.com/?sfw=pass1628518880

National Reading Panel-Teaching Children to Read: An Evidenced Based Assessment on the Scientific Research Literature on Reading And its Implications on Reading Instruction, 2000. https://www.nichd.nih.gov/sites/default/files/publications/pubs/nrp/Documents/report.pdf

Really Great Reading, What is The Science of Reading? https://www.reallygreatreading.com/what-is-the-science-of-reading-and-phonics