Proximal and Distil Modalities are those in which the transducer comes in contact or does not come in contact with the referent respectively.
The Tactile, Kinesthetic and probably Gustatory (taste) modalities are good examples. On the other hand, few of us would think of touching something with our eyeballs.
The Distil Modality, then includes those transducers that do not come into contact with the referent. The visual, auditory and olfactory senses are good examples.
Kephart describes a concept as developing through seven stages. The first stage starts at birth, but we can go through these stages again and again later on in life, as new concepts are acquired.
I don’t actually recall Kephart sayaing that in particular, but it has been my observation and experience.