How Multiple Intelligences Shape Learning

You may have heard the term "learning style" used to describe how a child learns (as in, one child learns best visually while another learns best through movement). The problem with such characterizations is that all kids learn through various methods—sight, touch, etc.

While a child may absorb information better through one approach at one point in time, that same child may learn something else better through another approach. Labeling children as having just one learning style is inaccurate and limiting. A much better way to understand the individuality of how kids learn is to apply the concept of "multiple intelligences."¹

Professor Howard Gardner from Harvard University founded the "multiple intelligences." He asserts that people have unique and distinct intelligence profiles that are shaped by biological and environmental factors. For example, one child may have stronger musical intelligence and mathematical intelligence while another may have a stronger linguistic or interpersonal intelligence. These distinct MI profiles are different because of individual experiences and genetic variations.

What Are the Multiple Intelligences?

Gardner defines the eight types of MI as the following.³ Everyone has all of them, but they exist on a spectrum of weak to strong ability in a combination that is unique to each person.

1. Spatial: Visualizing, creating, and manipulating something in a space, such as what an airplane pilot, architect, or chess player may do.

2. Bodily/Kinesthetic: Using one's gross motor skills or fine motor skills to express oneself or to create, learn, or solve problems; involves coordination and dexterity and the use of one's whole body or parts of the body, such as the hands.

3. Musical: Expressing oneself and understanding and creating through music⁠—by singing, playing musical instruments, composing, conducting, etc. Involves musical abilities such as sensitivity to rhythm, pitch, tone, and timbre.

4. Linguistic: Being attuned to the meaning of words and the sound, rhythms, inflections, and meter of words, the way a poet might. May involve reading, writing, speaking, an affinity for foreign languages.

5. Mathematical/Logical: Understanding and recognizing the patterns and relationships between numbers and actions or symbols; possessing computing skills; having the ability to solve various problems through logic.

6. Interpersonal: Being attuned to other people's feelings, emotions, and temperament. Individuals with high interpersonal intelligence are often associated with leadership and tend to be good at communicating with and understanding other people and are good at working with others. Sometimes referred to as social intelligence.

7. Intrapersonal: Awareness of one's own feelings, thoughts, anxieties, and traits, and the ability to use that understanding of oneself to control one's own impulses and behavior and make plans and decisions.

8. Naturalist: Understanding nature⁠—plants, animals, the environment, etc.⁠—and identifying, observing, categorizing, and understanding distinguishing features. This intelligence helps us use elements and patterns in the natural world to create products or solve problems.

The Creative Learning + Music program focuses on the development of multiple intelligences (MI) as the activities are specially crafted to build each child's learning style.

Stay tune for next article on How Parents Can Use the MI.

extract of article from Katherine Lee from very well family.com

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