citation

Giles, E., Pitre, S., Womack, S. (2003). Multiple intelligences and learning styles. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved , from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/
Retrieved from "http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Multiple_Intelligences_and_Learning_Styles"

What is learning style?

A learning style is a method of educating, it proposes that each person has its own way to learn.

There are different types of Learning Styles and they are related with expesific habilities:

Visual learner
Auditory Learners
Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners

Teachers that rely on learning styles have opened their classrooms to more than one approach to intellectual work. The activities planned by these teachers are more student-centered than traditional activities and have engaged in learning-style based instruction.
The first step in implementing learning style-based instruction is diagnosing the individual learning styles of each student. A variety of methods exist for testing learning styles in a relatively quick manner. Many are available online, like the VARK Questionnaire.
The second step is profiling group preferences and weaknesses. Are most of the students visual learners? Does your class have very few kinesthetic/tactile learners?
The third step is assessing current instructional methods to determine whether they are adequate or require more flexibility. If modifications need to be made, various activities can be developed and/or adapted to conform with learning styles. Three techniques have been proposed.
1. Teachers can add alternative activities that could replace or supplement ones. This could create increased opportunities for students to use different styles. For example, hands on activities can be conducted after a lecture to confirm abstract concepts.
2. Teachers can also challenge students to develop skills in other areas by completing assignments that utilize all learning styles. For example, the students can complete multidimensional packets, which contain activities from each learning style.
3. Another approach to include learning styles in an education curriculum is to organize activities around complex projects. These projects would require that students use all learning styles. An example of a complex activity would be a project-based learning project.
When teaching an individual, teachers should present the most difficult concepts in the preferred style. Easier concepts should be introduced in a different style. When teaching an entire class, teachers should use all learning styles in their presentations if they are to reach every student. This can be fairly simple.
For example, a fifth grade teacher is going to teach a unit on the Web. In order to accommodate all learning styles, he or she will have the students read sections of the book silently and out loud to others, act out various scenes, and complete a timeline of events on the bulletin board. Mrs. Erwin understands that students must be exposed to the concepts in a variety of ways to ensure full comprehension.

What is multiple imtelligences?

"Multiple Intelligences" is an educational theory developed by Haward Gardner, it is about the cognititve profile and the relation that it has with the learning process, Multiple Intelligences states that each person has different abilities to understand the world and to learnd about it.

There are eight diferent kinds: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal and intrapersonal and Naturalistic

Multiple Intelligences main goal is to help the teachers to understand that every person has different ways to learn and those ways are related with expecific abilities that each one can have, it is necesary to understand that those abilities are developed in different levels for each person.

Using Multiple Intelligences theory in the classroom has many benefits:
As a teacher and learner you realize that there are many ways to be "smart"
All forms of intelligence are equally celebrated.
By having students create work that is displayed to parents and other members of the community, your school could see more parent and community involvement.
A sense of increased self-worth may be seen as students build on their strengths and work towards becoming an expert in certain areas
Students may develop strong problem solving skills that they can use real life situations