Multiple Intelligence: The different ways a child learns
From birth, your child learns by playing and exploring in a safe and stimulating environment. The relationship your child develops with others helps him develop communication skills, thinking patterns, and problem-solving skills. The difference between learning style and multiple intelligences is one common misconception. Multiple intelligences are sometimes confused with learning styles. Instead, they represent different bits of intelligence. In Howard Gardner's view, learning styles are the ways in which an individual approaches a range of tasks. Hence proving there is a vast difference between learning style and multiple intelligences. You might be wondering does each student have all of these multiple intelligence?
Each person possesses all eight types of intelligence, and perhaps even more which have yet to be discovered - and there are many different ways to learn. Those who are skilled at learning a new language may not necessarily prefer lectures if they can learn other languages as well. It is because there is a Difference between learning style and multiple intelligences. Your child learns best if he is engaged in learning, active participation in the environment and tries out a variety of activities which will help him/her explore the possibilities of life!
Difference between learning style and multiple intelligences
Most children have a variety of different intelligences and learning styles and can participate in different ways. If you don't find a strong predilection for certain toys or games, it means that your child has more than one primary intelligence or is not old enough to develop a strong predilection. The burning question, how does intelligence affect learning ? Well the answer is really clear, without intelligence, learning is impossible. The degree of intellect influences the effectiveness of learning. It is a well-known fact that high-intelligence pupils are simpler to educate, direct, and guide than low-intelligence students.In most cases around the age of two, you may begin to notice a taste for certain styles. By then, your child will most likely be able to respond better to certain activities and types of experiences. You might be wondering how does intelligence affect learning ? Respecting individual intelligences and learning styles means offering your child a wide range of learning activities. That doesn't mean you should be ashamed to help him learn certain skills: almost anything can be taught to work well for particular intelligence. When you recognize and respond to your child's intelligence and learning style, you help him approach the world on his own terms. When you play to his/her strengths, learning new skills can be less frustrating and help you develop a lifelong love of learning. Learning styles are how we approach different tasks, whereas multiple Intelligences are a representation of different intellectual abilities. That is the exact difference between learning style and multiple intelligences.
How does intelligence affect learning?
You might be wondering does each student have all of these multiple intelligence? It is a theory first posited by Harvard developmental psychologist Howard Gardner in 1983 that suggests human intelligence can be differentiated into eight modalities. Multiple intelligences refers to a theory describing the different ways students learn and acquire information. These multiple intelligences range from the use of words, numbers, pictures and music, to the importance of social interactions, introspection, physical movement and being in tune with nature. Accordingly, an understanding of which type(s) of intelligence a student may possess can help teachers adjust learning styles, and suggest certain career paths for learners. These would be benefits of multiple intelligence
There are eight types of Multiple Intelligences:
- Visual-Spatial Intelligence- picture smart
People with visual-spatial intelligence are good at visualizing things. These individuals are often good with directions as well as maps, charts, videos, and pictures.
- Linguistic-Verbal Intelligence- word smart
People with linguistic-verbal intelligence are able to use words well both when writing and speaking. These individuals are very good at writing stories, memorizing information, and reading.
- Logical-Mathematical Intelligence- number/reasoning smart
People with logical-mathematical intelligence are good at reasoning, recognizing patterns, and logically analyzing problems. These individuals think conceptually about numbers, relationships, and patterns.
- Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence- body smart
People with bodily-kinesthetic intelligence are said to be good at body movement, performing actions, and physical control. People who tend to have excellent hand-eye coordination and dexterity.
- Musical Intelligence- music smart
People with musical intelligence are good at thinking in rhymes and sounds. They are strong in the musical sense and are good at musical compositions and performance.
- Interpersonal Intelligence- people smart
People with interpersonal intelligence are good at understanding and interacting with other people. These individuals are skilled at assessing the emotions, motivations, desires, and intentions of those around them.
- Intrapersonal Intelligence- self smart
People with intrapersonal intelligence are good at being aware of their own feelings and emotions. They do self-reflection analysis.
- Naturalistic Intelligence- nature smart
People with naturalistic intelligence are tune with nature and are often interested in nurturing, exploring the environment, and learning about other species.
Why and How to identify Multiple intelligences in a child?
Each child is different and so is their intelligence and the way they learn. If a teacher uses only one or few ways of teaching without knowing the learning style of the children, he/she might not be able to cater to all. how does intelligence affect learning ?But if a teacher uses various teaching and learning ways then all the children will be able to grasp the lessons, contents etc. If a teacher incorporates all eight intelligences while planning and executing curriculum and activities, children will be able to learn and grasp. how does intelligence affect learning?
As a teacher and parent if we are aware of Multiple Intelligence Theory, we can do much better in teaching, caring and nurturing our children. We can observe and understand more about the child and his/her learning style. But how would one know does each student have all of these multiple intelligence ? One can identify MI in a child by exposing a child to different types of activities like story-time, hand on activities, physical activities, song and music, math activities, art and craft etc. Let the child take his/her own time to explore and experiment. Observe him/her and see which activities the child enjoys doing the most. For how long the child interacts with toys and does the activity. If a child enjoys song and rhymes and responds to the music. He/she has musical intelligence. Any child or individual has more than one intelligence. It is always good to expose children to various types of activities. These are benefits of multiple intelligence
Benefits of multiple intelligence
MI theories have the potential to be adapted into all teaching methods, although there are three main approaches which collaborate with MI theories constructively. They are the Communicative Language Teaching Approach (CLT), Task-based Learning (TBL) and the SAFER model.
MI theories can help students and teachers better understand their abilities. It helps children to build up confidence as it demonstrates how they can use their strengths to address their weaknesses. It motivates children to find where their interest and strength lies and push their abilities further.
All bits of intelligence is required for an individual to live a full life. Therefore, teachers need to attend to all intelligence, not just the ones that the traditional intelligence focuses on. MI theories are suitable for differentiated and individualized learning; providing teachers the potential to develop new and flexible programs which might better meet the learner’s needs.
FAQ’S
Q1. What are the multiple ways of learning?
A1. The four core learning styles include visual, auditory, reading and writing, and kinesthetic.
Visual - Visual learners are better able to retain information when it’s presented to them in a graphic depiction, such as arrows, charts, diagrams, symbols, and more.
Auditory - Sometimes referred to as “aural” learners, auditory learners prefer listening to information that is presented to them vocally.
Reading & Writing - Focusing on the written word, reading and writing learners succeed with written information on worksheets.
Kinesthetic - Taking a physically active role, kinesthetic learners are hands-on and thrive when engaging all of their senses during course work.
Q2. What are the 7 different learning styles?
A2.
- Visual-Spatial Intelligence- picture smart
People with visual-spatial intelligence are good at visualizing things. These individuals are often good with directions as well as maps, charts, videos, and pictures.
- Linguistic-Verbal Intelligence- word smart
People with linguistic-verbal intelligence are able to use words well both when writing and speaking. These individuals are very good at writing stories, memorizing information, and reading.
- Logical-Mathematical Intelligence- number/reasoning smart
People with logical-mathematical intelligence are good at reasoning, recognizing patterns, and logically analyzing problems. These individuals think conceptually about numbers, relationships, and patterns.
- Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence- body smart
People with bodily-kinesthetic intelligence are said to be good at body movement, performing actions, and physical control. People who tend to have excellent hand-eye coordination and dexterity.
- Musical Intelligence- music smart
People with musical intelligence are good at thinking in rhymes and sounds. They are strong in the musical sense and are good at musical compositions and performance.
- Interpersonal Intelligence- people smart
People with interpersonal intelligence are good at understanding and interacting with other people. These individuals are skilled at assessing the emotions, motivations, desires, and intentions of those around them.
- Intrapersonal Intelligence- self smart
People with intrapersonal intelligence are good at being aware of their own feelings and emotions. They do self-reflection analysis.
Q3. What is the most common learning style?
A3. The most common unimodal preference was kinesthetic, followed by visual, auditory and read and write. The most preferred teaching methodology was practical/dissection (39%) and tutorial was the least preferred one (12%).
Q4. What is the best way to learning?
A4. Right from birth, your child learns by playing and exploring in a safe and stimulating environment.
- Your child’s key relationships help her learn communication, thinking and problem-solving skills.
- Your child learns best by being involved in learning, actively engaging with the environment, and trying lots of different activities.
At wonderLearn, we incorporate multiple intelligence in our curriculum and activities. Each activity caters to one or more intelligences. Toys and materials are also designed in a way that each toy caters to various intelligences. Interactions, rhymes and music, hand on activities, story-time etc. are well incorporated in lesson plans.
