Multiple Intelligence

The Multiple Intelligences is based on the belief that we all possess at least seven unique intelligences through which we are able to learn/teach new information.  Although we each have all seven, no two individuals have them in the same exact amounts.

I strongly believe no one set of teaching strategies will work best for all students at all times.  All children have different natural tendency in the seven intelligences, so any particular strategy is likely to be successful with several students, and yet, not for others.  Because of these individual differences among students, we are best advised to use a broad range of teaching strategies with our students.  All students can learn and succeed, but not all on the same day in the same way.

How can applying M.I. theory help students learn better?

Students begin to understand how they are intelligent.  Learning is both a social and psychological process. When students understand the balance of their own multiple intelligences they begin

• To manage their own learning
• To value their individual strengths

Teachers understand how students are intelligent as well as how intelligent they are. Knowing which students have the potential for strong interpersonal intelligence, for example, will help you create opportunities where the strength can be fostered in others. However, multiple intelligence theory is not intended to provide teachers with new IQ-like labels for their students.

Students approach understanding from different angles. The problem, "What is sand?" has scientific, poetic, artistic, musical, and geographic points of entry.

Students that exhibit comprehension through rubrics, portfolios, or demonstrations come to have an authentic understanding of achievement.

Students become balanced individuals who can function as members of their culture. Classroom activities that teach to the intelligences foster deep understanding about the essential questions of life, such as: Where do we come from? What's the world made of? What have humans achieved? What can we achieve? How does one lead a good life?

The theory of multiple intelligences suggests that there are a number of distinct forms of intelligence that each individual possesses in varying degrees.  Multiple intelligences and their varying degrees is what make each individual different from each other. This theory could impact the vast array of instructional medium and styles we employ in our classrooms to teach the same lesson to a given group of students. The multiple intelligence factor calls on the teacher to be prepared multiple channels of delivering the lesson. For instance, while teaching a lesson on "space", mere printouts or books may not be as efficient for a student who has a lower linguistic ability but possesses great kinesthetic or visual capacities. Still or working models may work for some students. The acceptance of multiple intelligence goes a long way to boost up the motivational levels of the students, especially in building up the self-esteem of the child.