Multiple Intelligences

Multiple Intelligences
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Multiple Intelligences and the Impact on Learning

Have you ever looked at one of your family members and just been so amazed at all the differences you have, to the point that you are even amazed that you are related? Did you ever wonder why someone is so gifted in one area and completely lacks in another area? This can all be explained through Howard Gardner’s theory on Multiple Intelligences, which states there are eight different ways we learn and process information. Gardner believed an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) was not an accurate assessment of an individual and in fact true intelligence was based on 8 factors: Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Musical, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Spatial and Naturalist. The different intelligences will be discussed first, I will then explain my intelligence, followed by the impact of multiples intelligences on learning. Dauphinais (2005) frequently compared the intelligences and believed we use a combination of intelligences and one is no more important than any other. The first comparison will be between musical and linguistic intelligence. People with a high linguistic intelligence have a great ability with the use of words both in the writing form and in the spoken form. These people are great at writing, reading and memorizing information. People with a high musical intelligence have a great ability to think in sounds, melodies and rhythms. These people are great at musical composition and performance. As you can see, the two are complete opposite ends of the spectrum, one is great with words and the other excels in sounds. The next two I will compare is logical and spatial intelligence. Logical intelligence tends to focus on the ability to logically analyze and solve problems typically math problems; on the other hand spatial intelligence perceives problems visually and can imagine problems in three dimensional. The next two are interpersonal and intrapersonal, which is the difference in understanding others and the ability to understand one’s self. The last two are kinesthetic and the naturist, these aren’t two far removed from each other; kinesthetic focuses on body movement and the ability to express yourself through dance and movement, the naturist attempts to understand the world. I recently took several different types of the multiple intelligence tests and my intelligences scored over three in the following areas: interpersonal, intrapersonal, kinesthetic and nature. The results of this test are not surprising to me in the least bit, I love to teach and help people and hence have chosen a career field that meets that intelligence aspect. In my free time I am very active with my children and like to play sports and be in the outdoors. One must also take the learning style preference into account, I scored highest in the kinesthetic, which means I do best with hands on learning. The intelligence levels that I scored the lowest in with a score of one was musical and spatial, which explains a lot to me as I have no musical ability whatsoever and no desire. Also, the spatial intelligence is interesting as I get lost frequently and thereby have two separate GPS’s. But, I don’t think everything in life is just that simple and straightforward. For example, I am great at memorizing because I feel that I have learned some great tricks, just because I am not high with a musical intelligence creating a song to memorize something can actually work to my advantage. Just because you may score low in one area you shouldn’t try to shut yourself off to the intelligence all together. We need to be open to different intelligence aspects especially if you are in the field of instruction and teaching. The important aspect that needs to be addressed is how to make the connection between the different learning styles and aspects of intelligence. In the article by Griggs et all (2009) most universities have always traditionally taught in the same manner lecture based learning, which is the linguistic intelligence level, followed by a formal based assessment made up of question and answer, however this is not the strength of the majority of students. The linguistic intelligence is actually the lowest level intelligence. If instructors could engage students in their strengths, students could actually learn more and be more receptive to new information, thereby making the learning experience more valuable. Griggs et all (2009) believed the majority of students actually work from three intelligence levels: interpersonal, intrapersonal and kinesthetic. The most an instructor can incorporate the top three levels of intelligence the more effective instruction will be for students. It isn’t necessary to address the needs of every student, nor is it realistic, but if an instructor is able to meet the needs of the majority of the students the instructor is then that more effective in the classroom. In conclusion, we may not be able to customize instruction for each and every student we have. However, if we put a little time in, we can reach the majority of the students. It may take some outside of the box thinking, but in the end, we can all improve the educational process.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kristen A. Dauphinais, VALUING AND NURTURING MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES IN LEGAL EDUCATION: A PARADIGM SHIFT, 11 Wash. & Lee Race & Ethnic Anc. L. J. 1 (2005).
Available at: http://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/crsj/vol11/iss1/3
Felder, Richard and Brent, Rebecca, Understanding Student Differences, Journal of Engineering Education (2005).
Griggs, LeeAnn; Barney, Sally; Brown-Sederberg, Janet; Collins, Elizabeth; Keith, Susan; and Iannacci, Lisa (2009) "Varying Pedagogy to Address Student Multiple Intelligences," Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge: Vol. 7: Iss. 1, Article 6.
Available at: http://scholarworks.umb.edu/humanarchitecture/vol7/iss1/6

APPENDIX A

Your top three intelligences:

Intelligence Score (5.0 is highest) Description 3.86 Self: You have a very good sense of self. You like to spend time by yourself and think things over. You will often take in information from another person, mull it over by yourself, and come back to that person later to discuss it. You like working on projects on your own. You often prefer to learn by trial and error. Effective techniques to enhance your learning include keeping a journal and giving yourself time to reflect on new ideas and information. More ideas:

3.71 Social: You like to develop ideas and learn from other people. You like to talk. You have good social skills. Effective techniques of enhancing your learning using your social intelligence include taking part in group discussions or discussing a topic one-to-one with another person. Find ways to build reading and writing exercises into your group activities, such as:

3.43 Body Movement: You like to move, dance, wiggle, walk, and swim. You are likely good at sports, and you have good fine motor skills. You may enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together. Incorporating body movement into your learning will help you process and retain information better. Here are some ideas.

The scores for your other five intelligences: 3.14 2.57 2.14 1.14 1

Just because these five are not in your top three doesn’t mean you’re not strong in them. If your average score for any intelligence is above three, you’re probably using that intelligence quite often to help you learn. Take a look at the Practice section to see how to engage all your intelligences.

Learning Styles Preferences for angela
30% Visual 30% Auditory 40% Kinesthetic

Bibliography: Kristen A. Dauphinais, VALUING AND NURTURING MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES IN LEGAL EDUCATION: A PARADIGM SHIFT, 11 Wash. & Lee Race & Ethnic Anc. L. J. 1 (2005). Available at: http://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/crsj/vol11/iss1/3 Felder, Richard and Brent, Rebecca, Understanding Student Differences, Journal of Engineering Education (2005).