Multiple Intelligences

I would like to make a reflection about Multiple intelligences, taking into account that everyone is smart in different ways.  That’s why it is important not only for teacher, but also for everyone to know or identify how we learn better or which are our intelligent strengths, remembering that we can develop all the intelligences, but we need to exploit the ones that are stronger on us in our learning process.

We have schools because we hope that someday when students leave schools they will be able to use what they have learnt.  If students just make a good exam, we usually think they are learning, but the reality is different.  In the other hand, when somebody carries out an experiment, analyzes the data, makes predictions, does interviewing, reads the documents, then the student is not only memorizing a bunch of names, facts, dates, even a bunch of definitions. 

The idea of multiple intelligences comes out of psychology, it’s a theory that was developed to document the fact that human beings have different kinds of intellectual strengths and these strengths are very important  on how people learn, how people represent things in their minds and how people use them. 

If we all have exactly the same kind of mind then there is only one kind of intelligence, then we would teach everybody the same thing, in the same way, and assess the same way, that would be fair.  But we can see that people have different kinds of minds, different kinds of strengths, that people are good at thinking spatial, some people are good at learning language, other people are logical, others need to put hands on to explore actively, then,  we realize that education that treats everybody the same way is actually the  most unfair one.  Because it picks one kind of mind, and the others who don’t think like that have not room in the learning process.   

If we know that one student has a visual spatial way of learning, another students has a very hands on way of learning, the third student likes to ask deep and philosophical questions, another likes stories, then,  we as teachers should provide tools, use technology, we can provide resources which present material to the student in a way that the student will find them interesting and he will be able to use the intelligences productively and show understanding in a way that is comfortable for him or her. 

Everything can be thought in more than one way and anything that is understood can be showed in more than one way.  I don’t believe that because there are eight intelligences we have to teach in eight ways, that would be silly, but we always have to ask ourselves: Are we reaching every student?  or,  Are there other ways we can do it.?  I think education needs to change to have more priorities.
By:  Mónica E. Vaca Cárdenas

Everyone is intelligent in different ways.  How are you smart?  What is your stronger Multiple Intelligence?

Take the test.  You can find the Multiple Intelligence test in your corresponding virtual English class.  http://www.evirtual.espoch.edu.ec/.