Find out about multiple intelligences to improve your learning

Admin — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:15:24 +0000

Have you ever wondered why on some occasions you can remember information easily while on other occasions you aren`t able to recall it at all?

Well it could have to do with the fact that in one situation you are in an environment which is compatible with your personal learning style, while in the other case the teaching is just not presented in a manner which is right for you. Every human being has a certain learning style which is connected with a certain strength. In order to make your learning as effective as possible anyone should know the own learning style which is based on his strongest intelligences and talent structure.

His intelligences? There’s only one intelligence in the person, right?

Well, following the theorie of Harvard professor of education Howard Gardner there are seven different intelligences. Those are:

Linguistic : good in reading, writing, listening and talking, spells easily Logical-Mathematic Intelligence: good in abstract thinking, counting, performing calculations, orderly note-taking Spatial Intelligence: thinking in pictures, good in reading map, likes arts, good sense of colour, uses metaphors Musical Intelligence: sensitive to rhythm, the composing and singing Bodily-Kinaesthetic Intelligence: good in control of one’s body, good timing, good reflexes, learns good by moving, skilful and purposeful movements (dancers, athletes and surgeons) Intrapersonal Intelligence: good negotiator, empathy, enjoys company, likes to mediate disputes, good self-understanding Interpersonal functioning: good understanding of others and one’s relations to others, intuitive, self-motivated wants to separate from mainstream, being high in social skills (psychologists, teachers and politicians are often equipped with this type of intelligence).

Gardner states if we all had exactly the same kind of mind and there was only one kind of intelligence, then everybody could be taught the same things in the same way and assess them in the same way and that would be fair. Once it is realised though that people have very different kinds of minds, different kinds of talents, like some people are good and thinking spatially, some in thinking language, others are very logical, other people need to be hands on and explore actively and try things out, then education, which treats everybody the same way, is the most unfair education.

He adds, then we have this myth that the only way to learn something to read in a textbook or hear a lecture on it.

Gardner admits himself and those seven intelligences are not definitive, but can show the facets of the human mind and each human will have combinations of those. Not all experts agree with this theory as you can read yourself here (Howard Gardner Under Fire: The Rebel Psychologist Faces His Critics).

Each reader may find out for himself whether this knowledge about the different intelligences helps understanding and learning a new subject in the future better.

So knowing about your special talents and intelligences is the first step in helping you to advance your learning. Obviously it would be helpful to use as many of those talents while learning as possible. At the same time you should leave out the channels which don’t fit your preferred intelligences, may it be reading, hearing or something else.

The second step to improve the learning would be finding out about the own learning style. For that we need to acknowledge three different sectors which are relevant for the learning:

how do you receive information easily (kinesthetic, auditory, visual for instance)? how do you organise and implement information more easily (step by step approach or big picture)? what circumstances would help you to receive and implement information you are learning (being alone in library, study buddies, calm or music playing?

How do you find your own learning style while using your strongest intelligences?

Actually there are several tests available these days to find out about your preferred learning style. Here I found a site for you where you can take the test and find out your learning style for free and print it out; simply click this link (click on learning styles in the second paragraph of the site).

Its is pretty close to the intelligence types Gardner is using with slight differences, but you will be able to find out your strength easily.

Anyone interested in improving his learning exponentially should go and take that test now, because it brings valuable insight for the rest of the life.

People who are interested in finding out even more about Gardner and his seven intelligences finds some excellent references here:

By: dirk tietjen

Learning Mathematics » Psychologists

Find out about multiple intelligences to improve your learning