written by Dan Sarian

One Teaching Style Does NOT Fit All

Are you smarter than a 5th grader? The answer isn’t as easy as you might think. According to Harvard psychologist and researcher Harold Gardner there’s more to one’s intelligence than an IQ score. Almost 80 years after the original intelligence tests were developed (credited to Alfred Binet in 1904) Gardner’s research led him to the conclusion that we’ve defined intelligence too narrowly. In his 1983 book Frames of Mind, Gardner proposed that there existed at least seven distinct intelligences, and he recently added an eighth. The eight intelligences Gardner identified are:

1. Linguistic

These students use words effectively. They have highly developed auditory skills and often think in words. They like reading, playing word games, making up poetry or stories. They can be taught by encouraging them to say and see words and by reading books together.

2. Logical-Mathematical

These students are good at reasoning and calculating. They think conceptually, abstractly and are able to see and explore patterns and relationships. They like to experiment, solve puzzles, ask cosmic questions. They can be taught through logic games, investigations, mysteries.

3. Visual-Spatial

These students think in terms of physical space, as do architects. They are very aware of their environments. They like to draw, do jigsaw puzzles, read maps, daydream. They can be taught through drawings, verbal and physical imagery.

4. Bodily-Kinesthetic

These students can use their body effectively, like a dancer or a surgeon. They have a keen sense of body awareness. They like movement, making things, touching. They communicate well through body language and can be taught through physical activity, hands-on learning, acting out, role playing.

5. Musical

These students show sensitivity to rhythm and sound. They love music, but they are also sensitive to sounds in their environments. They may study better with music in the background. They can be taught by turning lessons into lyrics, speaking rhythmically, tapping out time.

6. Interpersonal

These students learn best through understanding and interacting with others. They have many friends, empathy for others, street smarts. They can be taught through group activities, seminars, dialogues.

7. Intrapersonal

These students are more in tune with their own interests and goals and tend to shy away from others. They’re in tune with their inner feelings; they have wisdom, intuition and motivation, as well as a strong will, confidence and opinions. They can be taught through independent study and introspection.

8. Naturalist

This is the eighth intelligence that Gardner added to his list. Students have the ability to discriminate among living things (plants, animals) and are sensitive to other features of the natural world (clouds, rock configurations).

As you read through this list you probably identified several intelligences that you considered to be yours. We’ve all described ourselves at one time or another as “right-brained” or “left brained” due to our aptitude or propensity for certain tasks or abilities that come naturally to us. Gardner took this concept several steps further by identifying specific ways in which individuals come to know or understand their world. “We are able to know the world through language, logical-mathematical analysis, spatial representation, musical thinking, the use of the body to solve problems or to make things, an understanding of other individuals, and an understanding of ourselves. Where individuals differ is in the strength of these intelligences – the so-called profile of intelligences – and in the ways in which such intelligences are invoked and combined to carry out different tasks, solve diverse problems, and progress in various domains.” (Lane)

So what’s the big deal? Well, the big deal is that about 70% of all instruction in the United States is lecture or linguistically-based with the second most utilized mode of instruction appealing to logical-mathematical learners (Slavin, 2012). But if Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences is true then as instructors we need to re-think how we deliver instruction to students. Gardner says that these differences [in intelligences] “challenge an educational system that assumes that everyone can learn the same materials in the same way and that a uniform, universal measure suffices to test student learning…Gardner argues that ‘a contrasting set of assumptions is more likely to be educationally effective.’ Students learn in ways that are identifiably distinctive. The broad spectrum of students – and perhaps the society as a whole – would be better served if disciplines could be presented in a numbers of ways and learning could be assessed through a variety of means.” (Lane)

One of the challenges for educators is delivering instruction that takes into account these different intelligence types within their classes. The more popular term for delivering instruction in this way is “differentiation.” It means that when preparing lessons a teacher considers multiple ways of communicating the lesson to the multiple intelligences within their class. This can certainly involve lecture and problem solving, but should also take into account those students who are visual-spatial, kinesthetic, etc.

So we challenge our teachers to consider the multiple intelligences that receive instruction from them because “one teaching style does not fit all (students).”

Something to Consider: Based on the list of 8 Intelligences, what do you consider to be your children’s most prominent? How about yours?

References

Slavin, R. (2012). Educational psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Publishing.
Lane, C. (n.d.). Multiple intelligences. Retrieved from http://www.tecweb.org/styles/gardner.html