In our classrooms every student incorporates a different way of learning. Psychologist Howard Gardner suggests that people possess a variety of intelligences instead of one single mental ability. He uses the term of "Multiple Intelligences" (MI) to include all possible intelligences people might have. His theory states that there are eight multiple intelligences which I outlined below in more detail (Nolen, 2003). Parents and educators should use this theory of multiple intelligences to understand how children may have different abilities and how they need to learn differently. In my classroom, this MI theory reminds me of differentiating instruction for the variety of students' learning abilities .
Click here to take a Muitiple Intelligencies quiz to know what type/s of strengths you have!
Click here to take a Muitiple Intelligencies quiz to know what type/s of strengths you have!
1. Linguistic and Verbal Intelligence: Verbal-linguistic children love to vocalize words and ideas verbally and mainly use this method of communication to express their way of thinking and solving problems. They are good writers (who communicate more effectively through writing), good speakers (who use words and language effectively to persuade, argue, entertain, and/or teach others. Activities - Creating poems for a personal poetry book. - Retelling a story that they have read to you through oral or written communication. 3.Spatial intelligence: Children strong in spatial intelligence think and process information in pictures and images. They have excellent visual receptive skills and excellent fine motor skills. Students with this intelligence use their eyes and hands to make artistic or creatively designed projects. They are able to locate information or destinations using maps and therefore are good at following directions and visualize the images from a variety of angles. Activities - Draw pictures to illustrate poems or stories for the personal poetry/story book . - Using pictorial models such as flow charts, visual maps, Venn diagrams, and timelines to connect new material/concepts to known information. - Activate prior knowledge through visualizing information. 5. Musical intelligence Musical children think, feel, and process information primarily through sound. They have a superior ability to perceive, compose, and/or perform music. Activities - Encourage your child to write their own songs and music about concepts learned in the content subjects: English, Math, Science, and Social Studies.. - Students can present project assignments through written and oral music 7. Intrapersonal intelligence People with a strong intrapersonal intelligence have a deep awareness of their feelings, ideas, needs, and goals. Students with this intelligence usually need time alone to process and create. Activities - Making a scrapbook for their poems, papers and reflections - Writing goals for the future and planning ways to achieve them |
2.Logical Intelligence: Logical or mathematical children enjoy working with numbers. They can easily interpret data and analyze abstract patterns. They have a well-developed ability to reason and can think in terms of cause and effect. Activities Searching for patterns in the classroom, school, outdoors, and home. 4.Body/movement intelligence: Students with intelligence are good at physical activities. Bodily-kinesthetic students are highly aware of the world through touch and movement. There is a special harmony between their bodies and their minds. They can control their bodies through a variety of physical activities. The usually have good gross motor skills. Activities - Performing skits or acting out scenes from books or key historical events. - Using charades to act out characters in a book, vocabulary words, animals, or other content-area topics. 6. Interpersonal intelligence Students with strong in interpersonal intelligence have a natural ability to interact with, relate to, and get along with others effectively. They are usually good leaders. They use their insights about others to negotiate, persuade, and obtain information. Activities - Encourage your child to work in cooperative groups to design and complete project. - Tutoring younger students or classmates - Be a reading buddy to student in lower grades or those experiencing difficulties in social or communication skills. - Expose students to a variety of classroom /school/ community leadership opportunities. 8. Naturalist intelligence: This intelligence refers to a person's natural interest in the environment. Students with this intelligence are good at understanding the natural world. They are deeply connected with nature. They enjoy being outside the natural world and want to protect it from pollution. Students with strong naturalistic intelligence easily recognize, categorize, and analyze plants, animals, lakes, rivers, ocean, rocks, soil, mineral , and many other features related to the natural world. These students may perform well in Geography and other subject strands that are related to nature. Activities -Take a walk outside with your child/ren and have them observe their natural surroundings. - Encourage them to get involved in activities and projects relate to preserving natural resources. |
Watch this video to understand more on multiple intelligencies!
It is important for parents and educators to understand that, no intelligence is better than or superior to the other. It is also crucial for us to identify our children's and students' intelligences so that we can
effectively plan and use tools and resources that will help them to utilize their intelligences to enhance their learning and overall development.
effectively plan and use tools and resources that will help them to utilize their intelligences to enhance their learning and overall development.
References
1. Nolen, J. (2003). Multiple intelligences in the classroom. Education. 124(1), 115-120.
2. http://www.lauracandler.com/free/misurvey
3. http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/clip-save-checklist-learning-activities-connect-multiple-intelligences
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBbmerzR2JI
5. http://www.literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html