Without a doubt, one of the most valuable things I learned in teacher training was Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence. It’s something I have gone back to time and time again, have used in every lesson I’ve planned, and encouraged staff working with me and under me to incorporate into their own work. By incorporating Gardner’s theory into your lesson plans, you can differentiate easily, get your classes engaged, and create a really modern, interactive learning environment. 

Gardner’s Theory

Howard Gardner researched intelligence, and arrived at the conclusion that there is more than one way of being smart. Some students can learn and express themselves well in writing, while some do better by discussing and presenting. Some students can pick up their times tables by writing them repeatedly, while some get it more quickly by singing the times tables songs. His theory is that we all learn in different ways, and so we should be taught in different ways too. He narrowed it down to eight different learner types, and we can be solely one type or a combination of more than one. Here they are:

• Word Smart/Linguistic – students who learn through spoken or written word.
• Picture Smart/Visual or Spatial – students who learn through images, art and colour. 
• Body Smart/Kinesthetic – students who learn by interacting with their environment. 
• Reasoning Smart/Logical and Mathematical – students who learn through reasoning and problem solving.
• People Smart/Interpersonal – students who learn through interaction with others. 
• Music Smart/Musical – students who learn through patterns, rhythm and music.
• Nature Smart/Naturalistic – students who learn through classification, hierarchies and categories.
• Self Smart/Intrapersonal – students who learn through feelings, values and attitudes.

 

If you think back to when you were in school, there will have been methods that you preferred to study for exams and activities you preferred in class. Maybe you learned better in groups than you did alone, or through doing activities instead of answering written questions. You could be one of the above, or more likely a combination of several. Imagine how different your education could have been if the teaching methods were adapted to the way that you preferred to learn. 

 

Classroom Application

The theory sounds great right, but how can we adapt our lessons to meet the needs of these different learner types? Trying to include all eight in a lesson is impossible if you work on a routine of scheduled 40 minute classes, but there is a way around it. 

If you cover a topic in several lessons, you can do a few learner types in each lesson. Just choose activities to suit these types, but spread them out over the days it takes you to teach the topic. If it’s a one-off lesson, just choose a few and see how your class respond. You don’t have to do every learner type in every lesson, but by adapting your teaching strategies to suit a few, you are making progress.  You may find that certain types of activities work better in your class then others, and even if they are received equally by your class, varying your methods creates a more engaging class environment and staves off boredom. Including MI into your lessons is a quick way to vary your methods while at the same time meeting the needs of your students. 

Check out some ideas of class activities below, to see what you can add into your lessons this week to create a more differentiated, interesting lesson. 

 

Note: This post is a ‘here’s what you need to know to get started’ post, but the content online is huge. If you’re interested to learn more, there is plenty online and more in-depth discussion on MI Theory.