Multi-Modal Learning in Action

Louise Jones June 2, 2025

The other day I was watching my close friend’s seven-year-old son do something that completely stopped me in my tracks (if you’ll excuse the pun). 

Nico had his mum’s phone open to Amazon Music, reading the lyrics on the screen while singing along to a song he was hearing only for the second time but obviously liked as soon as he heard it. No one had taught him to “study” the lyrics or practice oracy. But he was picking them up almost instantly: rhythm, melody, timing and words, just by listening and reading together. And he remembered them, too, instantly, even the complex words and concepts for a seven-year-old! 

It made me think more deeply about how we actually learn things. Not through one set style or method, but through rich, layered experiences. In this case, reading lyrics (text), listening to music (sound), singing along (movement and repetition), and emotionally / happily connecting with the song.

That is multimodal learning, and it works.

This moment reminded me why I’ve always been led to dispel learning styles and this blog post reminded me even further of that. The idea that someone is only a visual learner or auditory learner just doesn’t stack up when you see how learning really happens in everyday life (and can be more impactful).

Learning Styles Sound Nice, But They Don’t Help

The idea of learning styles has been around for a long time. It sounds reassuring. You get to identify your “type” and stick with what feels easiest. But research shows that teaching people based on their supposed learning style doesn’t actually improve how much they learn or remember.

Liking a method doesn’t mean it works better for you. I might enjoy listening to music more than reading a textbook, but that doesn’t mean I learn better through sound alone. I actually prefer to read the book and have the audiobook at the same time, and I watch clips of the author talking about it! The Power of Now anyone?!  The real danger is this: when people believe they can only learn one way, they often avoid trying others. That limits growth. Learning becomes smaller, not bigger.

What Actually Helps: Multimodal and Multimedia Learning

What helps isn’t fitting the material to a style. It’s using multiple ways to explore and understand it. This is where multimodal and multimedia learning come in.

Multimodal learning means using more than one sense, like combining sight, sound, and touch. Multimedia learning means mixing forms, like using text, images and videos together. This helps the brain form stronger connections and makes learning more sticky.

That’s what was happening with my friend’s son. He wasn’t just hearing the music. He was reading, singing, watching the screen, and emotionally engaging with it. It wasn’t one mode. It was many, all working together.

ThingLink

One of the tools I really like for imparting this kind of learning is ThingLink, it goes without saying, I’m a super fan, I’ve led ThingLink’s growing community for over 5 years. It allows you to create interactive images, videos, 360 media or even branching scenarios where learners can click on hotspots to explore more. This could include reading / listening to extra text, viewing a diagram, watching a short clip, or hearing a sound.

This kind of experience turns a static image or 360 media with clickable hotspots that act as ‘structural centres of perception’, something that holds layers of meaning in one place, tied to that point in the image, video, 360 media or even 3D object. You can explore ideas visually, verbally, and spatially, all from one starting point and even sequentially. It is perfect for topics where seeing relationships, context, processes or place makes learning more meaningful and memorable. Information presented in multiple forms and in a logical way.

Accessibility and Inclusion for All

Multimodal learning isn’t just more effective. It is also more inclusive. When we present information in different ways, we make it easier for more people to access and understand it. Especially when ways to connect with the topic, course or context are provided. Understanding the journey ahead in learning can really help to do this. Whether someone finds reading difficult, needs visual support, or learns best through action, multimodal strategies plus accessibility tools offer everyone ways to engage.

Interactive Course Overview

My Final Thought

My friend’s seven-year-old son singing lyrics off a phone screen reminded me of something really important. Learning isn’t about having a fixed style. It is about being open to all the ways our brains take in information. Text, sound, image, movement, memory, emotion, connection, it all counts. He loves music too, it’s his interest, so this beautiful and powerful combination ticks all the learning boxes for Nico.

Importantly, it’s exactly the same for adult learners too! 

When we create learning experiences that tap into interests, multiple modes and media, we help people learn more deeply and remember for longer. Those Ta-da, penny-dropping and shiny eyes moments. Tools like ThingLink make this easier than ever.

So let’s stop offering or boxing people into ‘styles’. Let’s give them more ways to connect.

I can’t go without sharing this (with permission). Here’s Nico absolutely tearing the house down, his first ever performance! 💕 🌟

Original Hey Soul Sister – By Train