how you learn

Trevor Jones
Professor. Gagliardi
AAA101
September 29, 2014
The Misconception Growing up as a kid I thought I was a pure kinesthetic learner, because I was good at sports. My father constantly reminded me that I was a natural athlete. Both of my parents were gymnasts growing up and participated in lots of sports through high school. Unfortunately I found out I was not a kinesthetic learner whenever I reached my junior year of high school. I assumed I was a pure kinesthetic learner. I thought I could only learn best when my body was in motion or doing something hands on. My entire life was a misconception until I reached adolescence. Transitioning from my sophomore year into my junior year I realized something. Out of all the different types of multiple intelligences the naturalistic intelligence fits me best because I like to have things well-ordered and structured. I came to the conclusion that I appreciated being organized. Not only did I appreciate being organized I was a very conservative human being. I would frequently attempt to conserve EVERYTHING. When my mother got home from the grocery store I would find myself constantly sprinting to the kitchen and hiding all the grocery’s that I classified as “the good stuff”. I would do this so my brother would not eat what I considered my food. In class I would cram as many notes on to a single page to help conserve my class spiral, and make it last the entire year. A secondary intelligence that I have is kinesthetic intelligence. Though it is not near as strong as the primary intelligence, it still exists in me. I seem to be in the right place at the right time quite frequently while on the lacrosse field. Growing up playing all different kinds of sports was very pleasurable for me. I was very coachable, so whenever a coach told me how to do something I was a sponge and absorbed it. There is one more intelligence that I can relate to and that is intrapersonal intelligence. Growing up I enjoyed having many friends and thought I needed every single one of them. As I matured I came to the realization that it was a misconception, and I did not need an abundance of friends all I needed was my family, myself, and a handful of close friends. I understand myself extremely well, and do not mind being alone. I know how long it will take me to study for certain exams, as well as getting class assignments done too. In 1983 Dr. Howard, a professor from Harvard University, developed a theory of multiple intelligences. The theory is based on the premise that the traditional notion of human intelligence is very limited. In the theory there are eight different kinds of intelligences. The first kind of intelligence is verbal/linguistic, which states that you like to read, write and tell stories. These kind of people are also good at memorizing information. The second intelligence is logical/mathematical simply defined by learning well with numbers and good at problem solving. Next on the list is the visual/spatial intelligence. This intelligence means that someone is good at solving puzzles and maps and enjoys drawing and playing with machines. The fourth intelligence is one I can relate to, it is a bodily/kinesthetic intelligence which allows the learner to learn well when their body is in motion. Athletes typically have kinesthetic intelligence in addition to dancers and actors. People that like to sing and play instruments have musical/rhythmic intelligence. They are also decent at remembering melodies and pitches from songs. Interpersonal intelligence is defined as someone who enjoys having many friends and marvelous at understanding people. They mediate conflicts well; the kind of people that you would go to when you have problems and need someone to talk to. Second to last on the list of multiple intelligence is intrapersonal intelligence, which I can relate to as well. Intrapersonal intelligence is a complete 180 turn from interpersonal intelligence. People that have intrapersonal intelligence like to be alone while they do their work. They understand themselves extremely well and are original thinkers. Last but not least naturalistic learners like to be outside and like to preserve things in addition conserving items as well. They live in a very organized environment too. Aside from the previse eight multiple intelligences mentioned above, there is one more kind of intelligence. Emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is how well you can manage your emotions when you are under stress. The better emotional read you have on a situation, the more appropriately you can handle the situation. Students with high overall emotional intelligence have a significant advantage when it comes to graduating college. They will be able to handle the stressful weeks of constant studying and test taking. I can use emotional intelligence in college to my advantage, because I manage my time correctly. I make sure I get all my assignments finished before I got out and have fun with my friends. Much like the multiple intelligences theory the VARK learning style focuses on how learners prefer to use their senses to acquire information. VARK is an acronym for “Visual”, “Aural”, “Read/Write”, and “Kinesthetic”. I can relate to the visual aspect of VARK, because I learn best when I am highlighting notes or reading graphs. With me being a visual learner it helps a tremendous amount whenever my coach draws up the plays on the white board for me. I came to the conclusion that I was a visual learner when I was eight years old. I was so young I did not know I was a visual learner at the time, but thinking back on the situation now it all makes sense. My father and I were outside our house in the front yard. It was a warm summer evening when he was trying to explain football routes to me. He was teaching/trying to explain to me all different kinds of routes the receivers run. I wanted to learn these routes because I was going into my first season of pop warner football, and I wanted to be ahead of the game. Except I didn’t understand anything he was saying, until he started drawing them up on a piece of paper. That was my first interaction with VARK. The second he started drawing up the routes I instantly knew what he was saying. In conclusion, I went through an early misconception in my life, but soon figured it out when I reached adolescence. I will use emotional intelligence to keep me calm during those stressful weeks of test taking. Also with me being a visual learner it will be easier for me to read and analyze graphs and charts for my business major. Lastly I am naturalistically intelligent so I will be organized and have a proficient work space.