The sensory pyramid of learning is a great visual for parents and educators. It shows the importance of the sensory systems as the foundation for learning in kids. When children engage in sensory activities, it optimizes growth and development. A child’s body needs a strong foundation of nourishment for the central nervous system [brain and spinal cord.] This foundation helps a child attend, BEHAVE, function, and learn.
As an occupational therapist, the pyramid of learning has been my absolute favorite visual to use and share! It’s a simple visual aide that I use with teachers and parents. It shows why childhood play, experiences, and learning using the sensory systems are so INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT!
Just like a house needs a strong foundation, children need a strong foundation for their bodies and brains.
A strong foundation of sensory input builds sensory motor and perceptual motor skills. These skills all support learning, behaving, and completing daily tasks.
I’m happy to be able to share this visual on my site.
Pyramid of Learning Original Creators, Taylor and Trott
The pyramid of learning was originally developed in 1991. The creators are occupational therapist Kathleen Taylor and special educator Maryann Trott. It’s often referred to as the Taylor-Trott Pyramid of Learning.
(For clarity, some online articles give credit to Williams & Shellenberger, occupational therapists, who featured the visual of the pyramid in their book, “How Does Your Engine Run?” A Leader’s Guide to the Alert Program for Self-Regulation. Proper credit for creating the learning pyramid goes to Kathleen Taylor and Maryann Trott.]
I was excited (and nervous) to have to contact one of the original developers of the pyramid, Maryann Trott. I had to gain permission to use the Pyramid on my site, and also to slightly edit it.
Could I even find her online? If so, would her contact info be correct and updated? How long would I have to wait for a response?
I was shocked! Maryann Trott, inspirational educator, responded to my email a little over an hour later!! I was so surprised at the quickness of her response, and also super excited she allowed me to edit the pyramid as I desired and use it on my site.
Thank you Maryann for giving me permission to use your lovely visual! I added color around each section of the learning pyramid. Additionally, I added a few words to explain the not so familiar but extremely important sensory systems at the base of the pyramid.
Why the Sensory Pyramid of Learning is Important – An Occupational Therapy Perspective
Children need routine sensory input for their bodies. This is needed from the time they are born, throughout childhood, and into the teenage years. (Most adults process sensory input effectively, but it can depend on the day and other factors such as stress. Many adults need and prefer specific types of sensory input throughout the day.)
However, young children’s brains develop so rapidly! They need very large amounts of sensory input for their developing brains.
Sensory opportunities lay the foundation to help kids develop, learn, and grow.
A child’s nervous system requires sensory input in order for it to develop and mature. It is essential for proper learning and growth in the brain.
The more sensory input and sensory experiences you provide to a child’s body using all of the sensory systems, the more input you give to the brain to maximize the child’s development.
Adequate processing of sensory information creates a very strong foundation for academic learning.
A strong foundation is important when building a large structure or home, and it’s also important when building a child’s brain.
If there are missing or weak building blocks at the base of the pyramid, it impacts other developmental skills on the upper levels of the pyramid.
The Impact of Missing or Weak Building Blocks on the Pyramid of Learning
Difficulty mastering skills in the sensory systems sets off a chain reaction of difficulties for a child.
If a child struggles with processing or integrating sensory input, it will impact some (or more) skills in the sensory motor development and perceptual motor development areas.
Difficulties with sensory motor and perceptual tasks impacts a child’s ability to complete daily living activities effectively.
It also affects how well a child can respond to the world and behave appropriately without dysregulation or frustration.
Ultimately, (as shown at the top of the pyramid) sensory processing difficulties have a negative impact on cognition, intellect, and academic learning.
When children have difficulty with basic building blocks for development, it impacts overall brain organization.
I see this frequently as an occupational therapist. (And I see it getting worse in more children, not better.) If I evaluate a child and find a difficulty with motor planning, posture, ocular motor control, visual spatial skills, or any other skill on the pyramid, the deficit will trace back to a difficulty with processing and integrating of one or more of the sensory systems.
Neural organization for learning at the top of the brain is dependent upon the lower brain’s integration of the sensory systems of touch, movement, and position.
The Tiers on the Sensory Pyramid of Learning
The base of the sensory pyramid of learning is the central nervous system. The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord. It’s made up of an extremely sophisticated network of neural connections.
Hundreds of billions of neurons are in this system. A child’s brain rapidly works non-stop to refine and strengthen connections for learning.
Children’s nervous systems are less mature than adults. And SO much more activity occurs.
Reorganization of the brain is purposeful, based on how a child uses the body. (“Use it or lose it!”)
A child’s nervous system takes in information from the sensory systems. Sensory input is received both inside and outside of the body. The body and brain receive the sensory input, process it, and respond to it.
Using the body in as many ways as possible creates new cells and new connections in the brain. Learning pathways are created and strengthened as they are used.
The brain naturally gets rid of connections that are not necessary or important. Just like pruning a plant or tree.
However, if a child is not using the right parts of the body, important learning pathways disappear. If certain areas of the brain are over-strengthened (such as the visual system with excessive screen use,) brain imbalances occur.
A variety of sensory opportunities and experiences help the whole child develop. This input is important brain organization.
A strong sensory foundation with a balance of sensory input is essential for child development.
Sensory Systems on the Learning Pyramid
The seven fundamental sensory systems at the bottom of the pyramid are:
- Tactile System (sense of touch input)
- Vestibular System (movement, balance, and gravity sensations)
- Proprioceptive System (muscle and joint sensations)
- Olfactory System (sense of smell)
- Visual System (sense of sight)
- Auditory System (sense of hearing)
- Gustatory System (sense of taste)
Another sensory system, interoception, is described on The 8 Sensory Systems Explained, Occupational Therapy Intro.
At the base of the pyramid are the tactile, vestibular, and proprioceptive sensory systems. Kids need this foundational input for sensory integration and brain organization.
The Fundamental Sensory Systems and Their Impact on Learning
Occupational therapists refer to the three sensory systems at the base of the pyramid as the fundamental systems. They are the tactile system, the vestibular system, and the proprioceptive system.
The tactile system is located in the skin. It covers the entire body. Our touch system protects us from danger (hot, sharp) and it provides discriminative input (size, location, precision.)
Kids have many sensory receptors for the touch system. A brain learns so much when kids use their hands.
The vestibular system is our movement, balance and gravity sensing system located inside our brain in the inner ear. It gives us info on where our body is in space, it senses movement from a variety of directions and it detects speed of movement.
Vestibular information helps to keep our bodies upright and at midline, and it helps with balance. The vestibular system works closely with our eye muscles so that our brains can properly take in and make sense of what we see.
The proprioceptive system is located within our muscles and joints. Proprioception tells us about where our body parts are and what they’re doing. It gives feedback during movements and helps with timing and force of our movements.
These three systems are the basis for a child’s sensory system. Routine input for these three systems is so important for a child’s brain!
The Other Sensory Systems and Their Impact on Learning
Visual and auditory sensory input are obviously also very important for learning.
Children process what they see through the visual system. They pick up on visual patterns and positions of objects from the time they’re babies and as they play and learn foundational concepts for math, reading, and writing. This builds memory and increases capacity for learning.
The auditory system develops in the womb; a fetus becomes familiar with sounds and voices. The auditory system allows a child to hear and process sounds, patterns, and sequences. This happens during conversations, everyday language, books, songs, and everyday noises. Processing and learning sound patterns support language development and skills for reading.
Our sense of smell and sense of taste protect us, but they also strongly enhance memory, emotions, and learning.
Sensory Motor Development on the Pyramid of Learning
A strong foundation of processing input from the sensory systems helps to build sensory motor skills.
Sensory-motor development areas listed on the pyramid of learning are:
- Postural Security
- Awareness of Two Sides of Body
- Motor Planning
- Body Scheme
- Reflex Maturity
- Ability to Screen Input
Postural Security
When a child appropriately processes and integrates movement and proprioceptive sensory input, they develop postural security. They become confident moving and maintaining positions so that they keep their balance and don’t fall. With adequate core stability and postural control, children develop postural security so that they don’t avoid or they aren’t afraid to complete new movements tasks.
Awareness of Two Sides of the Body
With touch, pressure and movement input, awareness of the two sides of the body develops. Babies initially move both arms at the same time with large movements. Older babies and toddlers start to separate the sides of the body and use the arms or hands differently for play and daily tasks. Bilateral coordination develops and they start to show a preference and use one hand more consistently, and eventually develop hand dominance before or during their kindergarten year.
Motor Planning
Motor planning is the ability to create a mental idea of a movement, plan the steps needed for the movement, and then execute the movement successfully. Feedback occurs during this process for improved connections and success with the motor task. Movements then become natural and automatic such as when a child successfully learns to ride a bike. They can hop on the bike and ride successfully without thinking of each step.
Body Scheme
Body scheme is the awareness of the body which is developed through movement and experience. It’s the understanding of the body parts and their position in space. Body awareness is needed when we are still and when we are moving.
Reflex Maturity
Babies are born with reflexes for survival, protection, and to support development. With proper sensory and sensory motor experiences, reflexes disappear and are replaced by functional and purposeful movements. If the reflexes don’t mature and are retained, they can significantly interfere with motor development.
Ability to Screen Input
Another part of sensory motor development is the ability to properly screen input. Children’s brains are busy taking in so much information, they need to develop the ability to pay attention to what is necessary and to tune out what is not.
Perceptual Motor Development on the Pyramid of Learning
Perceptual motor development relies on adequate sensory processing and sensory motor development. Higher level skills continue to develop based on the previous skills.
The perceptual motor development areas listed on the pyramid are:
- Eye-Hand Coordination
- Ocular Motor Control
- Postural Adjustment
- Auditory Language Skills
- Visual Spatial Perception
- Attention Center Functions
Eye-Hand Coordination
Children develop eye-hand coordination through play and everyday activities. The more they practice tasks over and over, the better their motor coordination gets. This is important for many school skills.
Ocular Motor Control
Proper vestibular processing and postural security supports ocular motor control. (The control of the eye muscles.) I see many regular education students struggle with this.
They have difficulty focusing their eyes on one thing. And they can’t visually track objects or successfully look back and forth between objects. This significantly impacts learning!
Postural Adjustment
Postural adjustment is the ability to maintain balance and stability throughout the entire body. For example, if we are bumped off balance, our muscles automatically activate to keep us upright. The leg muscles and core muscles constantly react to disturbances in our upright posture to prevent falling.
Auditory Language Skills
Auditory language skills are the higher level abilities in the hearing system. They support understanding of language for communicating. The brain processes what is heard. Then, it can detect, give meaning to, discriminate, tune out extra, remember, and sequence different sounds and words. Feedback is also given to the brain when children talk.
Simple auditory activities help develop this building block for the brain.
Visual Spatial Perception
Visual spatial perception skills are higher level abilities in the visual system. Again, the eyes see things but the brain has to make sense of what it sees. The brain recognizes what is sees and also has to make sense of the position and locations of objects, as well as the physical relationships between them.
Attention Center Functions
Attention center functions in the brain help children pay attention and maintain appropriate attention to tasks. As they grow and develop, their ability to attend for longer exponentially increases.
Cognition and Intellect – The Top of the Pyramid of Learning
The pyramid of learning shows that a strong foundation of integrating sensory input ultimately supports daily living activities, behavior, and academic learning.
When children have adequate sensory opportunities, they build sensory and perceptual motor skills so that they can perform daily tasks more efficiently. Executive functioning skills and problem solving develop with appropriate play and learning center activities.
Kids increase independence and success with daily tasks from the time they wake up until they go to sleep.
Proper sensory processing and sensory modulation help kids fall asleep and stay asleep.
If their bodies are integrating sensory information adequately, they feel good. When their bodies and brains feel good, children behave better.
And more importantly, in addition to behaving well, they can attend to everything around them. A brain that is nourished with a balance of basic sensory input attends well and learns well!
Well nourished sensory systems and balanced brains learn best.
Activities to Support the Sensory Pyramid of Learning
It’s so important to routinely provide sensory, sensory motor, and perceptual motor activities for kids.
So many children lack this strong sensory foundation. They haven’t had important sensory experiences early on. It impacts their development.
And for those who do have a good foundation, they still need the activities! Their nervous systems are still maturing. Exercise and hands on play experiences encourage brain growth for all children.
In my experience as an OT, I see increasing numbers of kids that need more sensory input. And our never-ending changes in society don’t help.
Develop Learn Grow offers a course for parents, educators, and professionals. It’s designed to help you better understand the sensory systems. Additionally, hundreds of activities and strategies are shared to support children’s development.
The Sensory Systems & Learning 2 Hour Course – Brain Boosting Sensory Activities for All Children
In addition to increasing your understanding of the sensory systems, I strongly encourage you to be mindful of screen use.
Children were raised for centuries without screens. They negatively impact sensory, motor and perceptual development. Screens overstimulate a child’s developing brain. Check out Screen Time Alternatives to Support Development in Kids for more information.
The 8 Sensory Systems Explained post discusses the seven foundational senses on the pyramid in more detail. It also talks about the 8th hidden sense, interoception (sensing hunger, thirst, and other internal signals.) This article also shares activities for each of the sensory systems, and it discusses sensory processing difficulties and sensory processing disorder in children.
Sensory Toys for Kids – Top Occupational Therapy Recommendations
If you’re looking for occupational therapy sensory toys for kids, navigate these pages with ideas for young children and school-age children.
- Top Sensory Toys for Toddlers and Babies
- Sensory Systems and Learning – Toys for Preschool Kids
- Occupational Therapy Sensory Toys for School-Age Children
For more activities to support sensory, sensorimotor, and perceptual motor development, as well as fine motor skills for school, check out the three categories on the blog for more articles and resources. You have the power to mold children’s brains and to help create connections for learning.
Develop Learn Grow Educational Website Categories
The following categories are offered on this educational website.
Sensory Learning Activities
This category shares articles that support sensory skills in children. Click the category title above for all posts or check out these examples of posts in this category:
- 25 Brain Breaks for Kids: Improve Focus and Attention (free printable)
- 30 Fun Movement Activities to Enhance Learning
- Simple DIY Math Manipulatives for Your Elementary Classroom
- Easy Sensory Diet Activities to Help Kids Focus on Homework
- How to Improve Reading Skills: 50+ Sensory Strategies (free printable)
OT Activities for Kids
This category shares a variety of occupational therapy activities for kids that support skills for sensory motor and perceptual motor development. (Click the title above or any of the sample posts below.)
- 40 Fun Core Strength Exercises for Kids (free printable)
- 81+ Outdoor Games for Recess & Sensory Activities for Kids
- 42 Easy Visual Perceptual Activities That Enhance Learning
- Best Flexible Seating for the Classroom – OT & Kid Approved
- Learning Centers in the Classroom Using OT Activity Ideas.
Fine Motor Activities and Writing Skills
Some of the highlights in this category are
- 93 Best Toys for Fine Motor Skills – 6 OT Skill Areas
- Easy Educational Art Projects for Kids in Elementary School
- 107+ Easy OT Hand Strengthening Activities & Games for Kids
- Improve Scissor Skills +39 Worksheets for Cutting Practice
- Teach Kids to Form Letters Properly with 9 Helpful Tips
