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The concept of multiple intelligences was first defined by developmental psychologist Howard Gardner. Gardner felt that students learned in many different ways and that traditional intelligence testing was too limited in its definition of intelligence. In education, multiple intelligences refer to the different modes of learning, or learning styles, that students learn best through.
This lesson discusses these different learning styles and offers tips for incorporating them into your classroom.
In any given classroom, students are going to have preferred learning styles. Once you recognize and understand them, you can design lessons and activities that incorporate various intelligences. Different learning styles fall into 7 broad modalities.
These modalities are:
It might seem daunting to attempt to design your lessons to include all multiple intelligences or preferred learning styles. However, it's not as difficult or complicated as it seems. There are a few simple guidelines to follow that will allow your students to learn in whichever style they prefer.
The most important thing you need to do to teach to multiple intelligences in your classroom is to get an idea of which learning styles your students prefer. This can be done through a simple questionnaire and observations during the first few weeks of school. Once you know what learning styles are present in your classroom, you can begin to tailor your lessons to those styles.
Next, you need to offer alternative ways of completing assignments for students. Since you know that your students prefer learning in different ways, allowing them to work in their preferred medium will help them learn better. For example, if students need to complete a book report, give them the option to write it, create a visual piece, or act it out. Providing more options will cover different learning styles, leading to a more successful classroom.
Another guideline for teaching to multiple intelligences is to vary your lessons. This is something you're probably already doing, meaning you might not have to change much of your teaching. Varying your lessons to include reading, moving around, drawing, listening to and watching videos, and group work will allow your students to be exposed to different learning styles and also work in their preferred modes.
Finally, you should attempt to present the same information to students in a variety of ways. For example, when teaching a lesson about plants, allow students to not only read about plant biology but see pictures of plants, touch real plants, and create their own work about plants. This will help students process the information about plants to the best of their ability because they will be seeing it in their preferred learning style.
Multiple intelligences or learning styles are different ways in which students process information and work. In order to help your students be more successful in school, it's important to both understand the different learning styles and tailor your teaching to the preferences of the students in your classroom. By making the few simple changes mentioned in this lesson, you can help every student process information more clearly in their preferred learning style.
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