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Throughout our lives, we are faced with many different learning experiences. Some of these experiences have made a better impact than others. We can attribute this to our learning style. A persons learning style is the method through which they gain information about their environment. Research is going on all over the world to help explain learning styles. As teachers, it is our responsibility to learn about these different learning styles so that we can appeal to every type of learner in our classrooms.
Howard Gardner has elaborated on the concept of learning style through what he calls multiple intelligences (Gardner 3). Understanding these intelligences will help us to design our classrooms and curriculum in a way that will appeal to all of our students. We may even be able to curb negative behavior by reaching students in a different way. If we implement activities that call upon the use of all these intelligences (Gardner 2) we will get the best out of all of our students (Santrock 311). Their grades will improve and they will retain more information for a longer period of time. Learning styles can also help us to determine possible career paths so that we can help to steer children in the right direction.
Discovering our own learning styles can potentially maximize our own information processing and teaching techniques. Howard Gardner is a professor at Harvard who has studied the idea of intelligence in a way that links research and personal experience (Traub 1). He began speaking about multiple intelligences in 1983. Since then, he has won a MacArthur genius grant, he has written books which have been translated into twenty languages, and he gives about seventy-five speeches a year (True 1).
His ideas have been backed and popularized by many groups seeking to reform the current educational system. The idea is that we know a child who scores well on tests is smart, but that doesnt mean a child who does not score well is not getting the information or is incapable of getting it (Traub 1). Gardners goal is to turn what we normally think of as intelligence into a mere aspect of a much wider range of aptitudes (Traub 1). Most of us believe that doing well in school requires a certain amount of intelligence. School work usually focuses on only two avenues of intelligence. Traditional teaching focuses on verbal and mathematical skills.
A person who is weak in both of these will probably do poorly in school. Gardner suggests that their is eight different aptitudes or intelligences (Gardner 3). Each individual has the eight intelligences in various amounts. Our strengths and weaknesses in the intelligences influence how we learn (Gardner 5). They may even affect how successful we are in life. Verbal- linguistic is the first of Gardners proposed intelligences (Gardner).
A linguistic learner thinks in words. This person uses language to express and understand meaning (Gardner 24) Linguistic learners are sensitive to the meaning of words, their order, and their inflection (Gardner 24) This type of person uses writing to express themselves, often through poetry, stories, and letters. Verbal linguistic (Gardner 24) learners are usually very skilled readers. Speaking is another strength that they possess.
Oral communication is used often for persuasion and memorization (Gardner 133). They are often eloquent speakers and have wonderfully developed auditory skills. This type of intelligence tends to pick up foreign languages with ease. Identifying a verbal linguistic (Gardner 24) learner in your classroom is not difficult. Because of their talents at expressing themselves their class work will stand out. They tend to do well at expressing themselves through writing.
The will often speak their mind and can easily explain an event that happened through words, both speaking and writing. Planning lessons that appeal to the verbal linguistic (Gardner 24) learner is very easy. The traditional curriculum appeals best to this kind of learner. They are very good at reading and writing which is already the main method of teaching in most classrooms. Some activities that appeal to this kind of learner are storytelling, writing essays, joking, debating, story problems, and crossword searches. These activities will allow the student to use words to learn material and express what they have learned through words.
The visual spatial intelligence has the ability to think in pictures (Gardner 65). They perceive the visual world accurately and are able to think in three dimensional terms. According to Gardner visual learners can easily recreate something that they have seen (Gardner 67). Art is usually a strong area for a student who learns this way. Constructing things is another activity that come easily to this type of learner. They have a knack for turning ideas into concrete examples (Gardner 67).
An example of this type of student is some one who can bring an architectural design from their minds to paper and then into a model. A person strong in this type of intelligence (Gardner 133) has a keen awareness between space and objects. The student who learns best visually will most often sit near the front of the class. They need to see the teachers body language and facial expressions to fully understand the content of a lesson. This type of learner learns best from visual display. Diagrams, illustrated text books, videos, flipchart's, and handouts are crucial to the learning of this type of intelligence (Gardner 24).
Activities that this type of learner will excel at include: creating collages and posters, story boarding, painting, and photographing. People who are strong in the visual spatial (Gardner 17) type of intelligence are indispensable when it comes to professions. We rely on them to be aware of the big picture with the knowledge that each element relies on another. They seem to have an instinctual awareness of what is going on around them and are wonderful navigators, mechanics, engineers, architects, interior designers, and inventors. Body kinesthetic (Gardner 88) learners have the ability to control body movements and handle objects skillfully (Gardner 88).
These learners express themselves through movement. They have a good sense of balance and hand eye coordination. Interacting with the space around them is the way that the body kinesthetic (Gardner 144) learner processes information. This learning style involves a sense of timing and coordination. Michael Jordan, for example would most likely have a well developed body kinesthetic intelligence (Gardner 144). His ability to move quickly across a basketball court, while dribbling a ball, with a roaring crowd, while processing the whereabouts of five opponents and four teammates shows that there is a specific intelligence in his movement and perception of the basketball courts layout (Santrock 292).
The body kinesthetic (Gardner 2) learner can often be a handful in the classroom. As a student it may be difficult for this person to sit still. This learner will do best if they are able to work while moving around or standing. This type of learner will do well with activities that involve acting out skits, directing movement, and playing charades. They will often excel in physical education and delight at becoming involved with sports. Logical mathematical intelligence (Gardner 6) is another intelligence that is already heavily implemented in our current school system.
It involves the ability to use numbers, logic, and reason. These learners think conceptually, in logic and number patterns (Gardner 112). They are often able to perform complex mathematical problems. This type of intelligence involves deductive and inductive reasoning skills, as well as critical and creative problem solving (Gardner 122). Children who use logic and mathematics as a primary way of learning tend to be obvious in the classroom. This child will ask a lot of questions and enjoys doing experiments.
They will often excel in mathematics and science. Finding ways to help this person succeed in language arts and social studies can often be a challenge. This person will do well if we help them to focus on categorizing information. Grouping concepts together and then finding a relationship between them will help this type of intelligence to understand concepts not related to math or science. Helping a child master these techniques will no doubt help them tackle issues in their everyday life. Musical Rhythmic (Gardner 121) learners have the ability to produce and appreciate music.
These musically inclined learners think in rhythms, sounds, and patterns. They immediately respond to music either appreciating or criticizing what they hear. Many of these learners are extremely sensitive to environmental sounds such as; crickets, dripping, bells, and trains (Santrock 345). They are also very sensitive to patterns and pitch in sound.
Musical rhythmic (Gardner 121) learners are able to recognize, create, and recreate sound using their voice or instruments (Gardner 125). An understanding of the connection between music and emotions is prevalent in these types of learners (Gardner 125). Identifying a person who is a musical learner can be tricky. They often play an instrument and are involved in some kind of extracurricular activity involving music. This type of learner will recreate a sound by tapping on their desk or humming the tune. Accommodating this type of leaner in the classroom can be challenging for teachers.
This person will benefit from being able to bring music in to their lessons. Their homework may include writing songs about periods of history and literary events. Musical learners may need to create songs in order to memorize operations and sequences. They should be encouraged to make up songs to help them memorize things like planets and mathematical formulas. Gardner is especially interested in the musical intelligence...
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Research essay sample on Verbal Linguistic Gardner Musical Rhythmic Gardner Intelligence
