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Mary Kate Bosson

Sherrell

Teaching as a Profession

8 May 2017

Learning Styles

The theory of multiple intelligences was developed in 1983 by Dr. Howard Garner. He

suggested that there are eight different intelligences. Each student has a specific learning style or

possibly multiple that best help them comprehend information. The different learning styles are:

verbal, logical, visual, bodily, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist. Different

methods of teaching as necessary to appeal to different intelligences. For students with verbal

intelligence, teachers should use speech to teach, such as developing rhymes or memory devices,

and assign projects that involve writing. For students with logical intelligence, teachers should

appeal to logical and mathematical reasoning, such as assigning math problems and developing

logical reasoning for facts being taught. Visual learners will learn best from being assigned

projects involving drawing and can be taught well using diagrams or visual representations of

information. Bodily intelligence learners will comprehend information best when they can

physically involve themselves in the learning through touch such as creating models. For

students with musical intelligence, teachers should occasionally play music while students are

working and assign projects involving the creation of songs. Students with interpersonal

intelligence learn best from working in groups, so teachers should assign group projects where

they can help organize the groups efforts. Students with intrapersonal intelligence are the

opposite and prefer to work alone, so teachers should allow these students to do independent
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work and allow them to contribute uniqueness to any group projects that are assigned. Lastly,

students with naturalist intelligence learn best from interacting with the environment as well as

classifying information, so teachers should allow them to do projects centered around the

environment and projects that involve classifying and categorizing.

It is important for teachers to understand multiple intelligences and apply them to the

classroom to ensure each student is being given opportunities to learn. When a teacher only

applies a couple different teaching strategies to the classroom, only a limited number of children

are benefitting and learning to the fullest. Therefore, teachers should alternate between methods

of teaching that appeal to each type of intelligence. My type of intelligence is interpersonal. This

means that I learn best through working with others. In group environments, I learn the most by

leading the group and helping to instruct others on the best methods of accomplishing the task.

Therefore, I gain the most knowledge through group work and group projects.