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Learning Styles

Journal activity: Observational record    Signs of learning styles
 

Multiple Intelligences

The concept of seven intelligences

(This section is taken from Multiple ways of teaching and learning: Concept and application strategy, a guidebook for primary teachers published by the National Curriculum and Text Book Board of Bangladesh.)

Children and adults learn in different ways. They have different learning styles that correspond to the intelligences in which they are particularly strong. Some children learn best through reading and taking notes, others through visuals, still others through body movement or musical activities. Some like to work on problems individually while others like to interact to find solutions.

Professor Howard Gardner, a cognitive psychologist at Harvard University, stated in his book, Frames of Mind: The theory of multiple intelligences, that a human being has at least seven intelligences. Humans usually rely on one intelligence as their main way of learning; however, they often use more than one, or use different intelligences for different purposes. Depending on the situation and the content to be learned, a person may rely on his/her reading and writing ability. However, in a different situation with different content to be learned, he/she may rely on body movement to learn.

Often the type of intelligence a person is using to learn a new skill o acquire new knowledge can be determined through the person's behavior or personality traits. For example, if a person like to read and write, that person uses verbal/linguistic intelligence to learn; or if a person likes to use manipulative (objects) to learn or explain a concept, that person uses body/kinesthetic intelligence to learn. By observing a child, a teacher can determine what his/he primary style for learning is. Knowing a child's primary learning style, a teacher can make the lesson material me readily accessible to the child. Thus, children will learn more easily and have joyful learning experiences in the classroom.

The seven intelligences are: - verbal / linguistic - logical / mathematical - visual / spatial - musical / rhythmic - body / kinesthetic - interpersonal - intrapersonal

Signs of learning styles

(The ideas in this section are taken from Multiple ways of teaching and learning: Concept and application strategy, a guidebook for primary teachers published by the National Curriculum and Text Book Board of Bangladesh and Gardner, Howard. (1983) Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.)

Each person favors specific styles of learning, or intelligences. As teachers, we can observe learners in our classes and determine some of the ways that they learn best. With this knowledge, when we are designing lessons or projects we can be alert to the needs of all the children in our classes.

Thinks and learns through written and spoken words: - likes to listen, read, and write - spells easily - good debater - good orator - has good memory for trivia

Thinks deductively; deals with numbers; and recognizes abstract patterns: - likes being precise - enjoys counting - prefers orderly note taking - likes to solve math problems - likes being organized

Thinks in, and visualizes images and pictures: - likes art, such as drawing, painting, sculpture - easily reads maps, charts and diagrams - has good color sense - remembers with pictures - creates mental images

Learns through rhyme, rhythm and repetition: - sensitive to pitch, rhyme, timbre - sensitive to the emotional power of music - writes to music - learns easily with music - sensitive to different sounds of nature

Learns through body movement, games and athletics easily: - learns best by moving - likes to touch - likes to act - learns by participating in the learning process

Learns easily in groups; can develop relationships with others easily: - relates well, mixes well - has many friends - enjoys group activities - always ready to co-operate - easily understands social situations

Likes to work alone: - sensitive to one's own values - deeply aware of one's own feelings - deeply aware of one's own strengths and weaknesses - listens attentively

Journal activity: Observational record

Observe and record the learning styles in your class.

Make a list of all the children in your class along the left side of a page or pages in your journal. Over the course of the next week, observe the children in your class as they are working and playing. When you notice a child demonstrating a trait tied to one of Gardner's seven intelligences, write down the kind of intelligence you've observed and the activity that sparked your observation. At the end of your observation period, review your notes. How many children did you record engaging in each kind of intelligence? How does this result reflect on the teaching practices and learning styles practiced in your classroom