How to Teach or Learn Anything 7 Different Ways

One of the most remarkable features of the theory of multiple intelligences is how it provides eight different potential pathways to learning. If a teacher is having difficulty reaching a student in the more traditional linguistic or logical ways of instruction, the theory of multiple intelligences suggests several other ways in which the material might be presented to facilitate effective learning. Whether you are a kindergarten teacher, a school teacher, college lecturer, or an adult learner seeking better ways of pursuing self-study on any subject of interest, the same basic guidelines apply. Whatever you are teaching or learning, see how you might connect it with words (linguistic intelligence), numbers or logic (logical-mathematical), pictures (visual-spatial), music (musical), self-reflection (intrapersonal), a physical experience (bodily-kinesthetic), a social experience (interpersonal), and/or an experience in the natural world. (naturalist)

When Planning a Lesson, Ask the Right Questions!

Certain questions help look at the possibilities for involving as many intelligences as possible:

Linguistic: How can I use the spoken or written word?

Logical-Mathematical: How can I bring in numbers, calculations, logic, classifications, or critical thinking?

Visual-Spatial: How can I use visual aids, visualisation, colour, art, metaphor, or visual organisers?

Musical: How can I bring in music or environmental sounds, or set key points in a rhythm or melody?

Bodily-Kinesthetic: How can I involve the whole body, or hands-on experiences?

Interpersonal: How can I engage students in peer or cross-age sharing, co-operative learning or large-group simulation?

Intrapersonal: How can I evoke personal feelings or memories, or give students choices?

Perhaps you won’t always find ways of including every intelligence in your curriculum plans. But if this model helps you reach into one or two intelligences that you might not otherwise have tapped, then it has served its purpose very well indeed!

Verbal/Linguistic Learners:  enjoy activities that involve reading, writing, and speaking.

• writing workshop
• journals; diaries
• debating
• literature circles
• creative writing
• poetry
• teaching others
• humor
• jokes
• readers' theatre
• storytelling
• alphabetizing; dictionaries
• classroom newsletters
• interviews
• class discussions
• library visits
• vocabulary games