1. 96 Ways
to Teach and Learn
Suggestions using
Multiple Intelligences
Alice Macpherson
Allen Stevens
2. 96 Ways of Learning (or Teaching) Anything
Using Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
“The process is often as important as the content.” – anon.
These suggestions will fit in more than one category and they are by no means
comprehensive. The lists are arranged alphabetically.
Verbal/Linguistic
Analyzing Life Experience – Learning from the analysis of a significant life experience
with others.
Formal Debate – Learning by putting forward arguments from both sides of an issue,
concern or question.
Group Discussion – Learning by verbal interaction with other learners.
Humour – Learning from looking at situations from new or surprising points of view.
Impromptu Presentation – Learning by giving or listening to impromptu presentations on
a variety of topics.
Lecture – Learning by listening to experts. Most common method of learning in
education and one of the least effective as measured by enduring effect.
Metaphor – Learning from pictures or stories that symbolically depict new ideas and
concepts. The most used method of Jesus Christ in biblical teachings is through
parable.
Poetry – Learning by reading or creating a variety of poem and prose forms.
Question/Answer – Learning from question-answer sessions with instructors or other
learners.
Reading – Learning by reading books, pamphlets, magazines and other printed
material.
Storytelling – Learning by listening to, telling or talking about stories or narratives.
Writing – Learning by writing down experiences of self and others including creative
writing, journalism, documenting historical facts, etc.
Logical/Mathematical
Abstract Symbols and Formulas – Learning through deciphering and extrapolation of
symbolic representations of phenomena. Includes codes, calculations, number
sequences, etc.
Behaviour Modification – Learning by using a planned stimulus-response effort of
reward and consequences. This method works better in training animals than
educating human beings, but is often found in many classrooms.
Case Study and Problem Based Learning – Learning by solving problems or discussing
life dilemmas based on real situations.
3. Classroom Seatwork – Learning from supervised study like doing the “questions at the
end of the chapter.” Second most common method used in education. This method
is often used for expediency rather than efficacy of the method.
Deductive Method – Learning from planned presentations that reduce information to
concrete conclusions and logical categories useful in high-level thinking. The
deductive method uses an if-then approach to problem solving and learning.
Demonstration – Learning by observing and analyzing an expert performance.
Inductive Teaching/Learning Method-A method of learning that expands new
information into categories and concepts and promotes intellectual reasoning and
theory building.
Laboratory Method – learning from experimentation using social or science research
models as well as action research and experience,
Logic – Learning through logical analysis of arguments, relationship and associations.
Operant Conditioning – Learning from scientific teaching methods which connect new
learning with immediate reward and consequences.
Project Method – Learning from designing and executing individual or group projects as
both development and demonstration of learning.
Research – Learning from individual inquiry through social interviews, library research,
or laboratory pursuits as in the experimental method of science.
Visual/Spatial
Audio-Visual – Learning from listening to radio, audio tape, or through instructional film
or slide tape.
Colour – Learning through the use of colour.
Exhibitions – Learning by observing exemplary products or performance (like a
museum, bulletin board, or display).
Graphic Organizers – Learning through organizing information visually, including mind
maps, graphs, tables, flow charts, etc.
Models of Excellence – Learning from observing and emulating exemplary performance.
What you do speaks so loudly I can't hear what you say. Learners can subtly model
incompetence and mediocrity as well as excellence. “Example is not the best way to
influence people, it is the only way.” – Albert Schweitzer
Patterns / Designs – Learning from creating or recognizing patterns or designs within a
product or situation.
Pictures – Learning through visual representation including, photographs, video,
drawing, painting, etc.
Purposeful Redundancy – Learning from planned and repeated activity using multiple
modes or sensory activities (visual, auditory, kinesthetic).
Sculpture – Learning through the skills of creating or appreciating three dimensional
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4. models and objects representing a variety of knowledge, concepts and attitudes.
Super-Learning – Learning by using a series of new-brain research techniques that rely
on subliminal sounds, sights, and pacing.
Television – Learning from watching television. Like instructors or books, some
television programs are more educating than others.
Visualization – Learning from an individual mental process of visualizing new levels of
performance or new ways of being ... may be similar to mental rehearsal or neuro
linguistic programming.
Body/Kinesthetic
Active Practice – Learning from experiential activity in a safe, controlled situation such
as a lab environment.
Brain Based Learning – Learning by planned efforts based on new brain research by
identifying the unique processing style of each learner (includes Neuro Linguistic
Programming).
Dance – Learning through the interpretive movement of dance in a variety of styles.
Games – Learning in which players contend with each other according to a set of rules.
May include popular games such as: Jeopardy and various card and board games
that have been adapted for specific learning environment.
Learning by Doing, Apprenticeship – Learning by physical practise of actual tasks with
an expert. Includes: mechanics, surgery, martial arts, architecture, etc.
Mastery Method – Learning through formal, planned process of accommodating learner
uniqueness and adjusting time and method appropriately.
Paradigm and Mind-Set-Shifts – Learning through organizing ideas or activities in a new
context or a new model of reality or a shift in the perception of the learner.
Performance – Learning from performance of a final product.
Practice – Learning from performance. Practice makes better: providing the learner
doesn't repeatedly practice incompetence and mediocrity.
Simulations – Learning from simulations including socio-drama and role-play.
Sports – Learning by engaging in competitive individual or group activities that
emphasize body movement such as gymnastics, basketball, hockey, etc.
Trance States and Hypnosis – Learning from self-hypnosis or externally induced trance
states.
Musical/Rhythmic
Drill and Repetition – Learning from repeated musical or rhythmic performance.
Music Composition – Learning by creating music.
Musical Appreciation – Learning by valuing the nuances of music.
Rhythmic Patterns – Learning by hearing and identifying a variety of rhythmic patterns
5. under various circumstances, such as: mechanical patterns of sound and vibration,
body rhythmic vital signs, etc.
Setting Words to Music – Learning by associating concepts with music or rhythms as a
memory aid, including songs, dub poetry, rap, etc.
Sounds of Group Dynamics – Learning to identify sounds that characterize of stages of
interactions, including: leadership, followership, teamwork, etc.
Singing – Learning about cultural norms through singing.
Playing Music – Learning about various cultures through their music such as
ethnomusicology and other disciplines.
Background sounds – Learning through using sounds to create a specific environment.
Movement or Variation – Learning through the regular recurrence or alternation of
different quantities or conditions such as the rhythm of the tides.
Speech – Learning through the patterned, recurring alternations of contrasting elements
of sound or speech.
Communication Patterns – Learning through specific kinds of metrical patterns or flow of
communication such as: iambic rhythm (written or spoken).
Interpersonal
Socratic – Learning from give-and-take interaction with a instructor or scholar.
Coaching – Learning from an expert through feedback on performance and assistance
to “correct-in-flight”.
Mentoring – Learning from admired and competent models through observation and
analysis. Mentoring is more effective if the learner respects the mentor.
Testing as Teaching – Learning from assessment and performance feedback. Not all
testing results in new learning.
Teaching Others – Learning by teaching others or tutoring. One of the most effective
and enduring methods. Research promises 90% retention of learning which the
learner is required to teach to others.
Cooperative Groups – Learning by participating in groups who assist each other and
compete with other groups rather than individually. Cooperative groups use the
concept of an athletic team as applied to new learning.
Classroom Meeting Method – Learning by including a group of learners in making
decisions about the (What?) and (How?) of learning.
Peer Tutoring – Learning from planned efforts of tutoring and being tutored by peers.
Similar to the cooperative group method and one of the most effective ways of
learning if participants have prerequisite tutoring skills.
Interviewing Experts – Learning by questioning experts about how they became expert.
One-To-One Tutorial – Learning through individualized instruction is highly desirable but
is often not practical or efficient as a method in education.
5
6. Giving and Receiving Feedback – Learning by the empathic and respectful exchange of
information about a specific situation.
Group Dynamics – Learning from the interaction of a group process like brainstorming,
creative problem solving, and synergy.
Intrapersonal
Advanced Organizer Model – Learning from planned instruction which recognizes the
need for prior learning being linked and integrated with new learning. Most students
understand clearly what's expected of them only after they've failed to meet the
expectations.
Challenge Activity – Learning from a first-time or demanding life activity. One of the
most enduring of all learning activities for reorganizing a learner's perception of self
and extending capacity for new action.
Distributed Learning – Learning from specially constructed print, audiovisual, computer,
Internet, etc. materials for self-instruction.
Dream Learning – Learning during sleep or through the analysis of dream activities.
Failure – Learning from analyzing your own life experience and correcting past
mistakes. Learning from failure is easier in environments that value risk taking and
failure at demanding tasks.
Guided Imagery / Mental Rehearsal – Learning from planned activities that stimulate
creativity and invention through free association and cluster thinking. This may also
use mental practise as a rehearsal for life performance, applying a new skill or
knowledge.
Independent Study – Learning from an individual effort at mastery. Preferred by learners
who consider themselves unique and distinctive or prefer working alone.
Inquiry – Learning by initiating one’s own questions.
Intuitive Insights and Psychic Experience – Learning from any combination of extra
sensory perception or sudden intuitive insight. Occurs most often with right brain
learners.
Reflection – Learning from quiet thought and reflection and contemplation, which
includes analysis of past experience or fantasy about the future. May also include
meditation or spiritual practices.
Self-Directed Learning – Learning by designing and directing one's own learning. 80%
or 4/5 of all we learn is a result of self-initiated efforts rather than formal schooling.
Self-Education – Learning from independently planned efforts using informal sources.
Self-instruction is more engaging and enduring than other-directed learning.
Naturalistic
Discovery Learning – Learning from informal experience and exploratory activities
through trial and error in a variety of natural environments. The 'ah-hah' reaction so
essential in new learning often results from groping and exploring as an integral act
7. of learning.
Field Trips – Learning by visiting the natural environment to learn in that context.
Geomancy – Learning through analyzing the interactions of natural elements in a
specific environment.
Intuition – Learning from following non-systematic organization of information and
feelings about natural situations.
Nature Appreciation – Learning through awareness of natural surroundings.
Observation – Learning by observing and describing patterns in the natural
environment.
Predicting – Learning by examining and then predicting futures trends or events from
the natural world.
Process Application – Learning by choosing and applying natural processes to various
situations.
Relationship Analysis – Learning by connecting the relationship between and among
elements of the environment.
Serendipity – Learning from life experiences through analyzing “the happy accidents of
life”, including identifying the interconnections of various natural phenomena.
Sorting and Classifying – Learning by exploring natural taxonomies.
Travel – Learning from observing and experiencing natural environments.
This is not the end.
Invent and add your own favourite methods of learning.
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8. Lesson Planning Checklist
Using Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
Building MI strategies into each lesson
Verbal/Linguistic
Analyzing Life Experience.
Formal Debate.
Group Discussion
Humour
Impromptu Presentation
Lecture
Metaphor
Poetry
Question/Answer
Reading
Storytelling
Writing
Logical/Mathematical
Abstract Symbols and Formulas
Behaviour Modification
Case Study and Problem Based Learning
Classroom Seatwork
Deductive Method
Demonstration
Inductive Teaching/Learning Method
Laboratory Method
Logic
Operant Conditioning
Project Method
Research
9. Visual/Spatial
Audio-Visual
Colour
Exhibitions
Graphic Organizers
Models of Excellence
Patterns / Designs
Pictures
Purposeful Redundancy
Sculpture
Super-Learning
Television
Visualization
Body/Kinesthetic
Active Practise
Brain Based Learning
Dance
Experience
Games
Learning by Doing, Apprenticeship
Mastery Method
Paradigm and Mind-Set-Shifts
Practice
Simulations
Sports
Trance States and Hypnosis
9
10. Musical/Rhythmic
Drill and Repetition
Music Composition
Musical Appreciation
Rhythmic Patterns
Setting Words to Music
Sounds of Group Dynamics
Singing
Playing Music
Background Sounds
Movement or Variation
Speech
Communication Patterns
Interpersonal
Socratic
Coaching
Mentoring
Testing as Teaching
Teaching Others
Cooperative Groups
Classroom Meeting Method
Peer Tutoring
Interviewing Experts
One-To-One Tutorial
Giving and Receiving Feedback
Group Dynamics
12. Lesson Plan: Date:
Bridge-in:
Learning Objective:
Pre-Assessment: Materials:
Participatory Learning for Multiple Intelligences:
time Learner Activities Instructor Activities Lesson Aid
Post-Assessment:
Summary/Conclusion:
Suggestion: plan the lesson in this order – Learning Objective, Post-test, Learner Activities, Instructor Activities, Bridge-In,
Pre-test, Conclusion
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13. LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE
Lesson Plan: ABC101 Date: this time
Bridge-in: Explains the value of the lesson to the learner. Provides motivation.
Learning Objective: What the learner must do. The conditions under which it must be done.
How well it must be done.
Pre-Assessment: Identifies any prior knowledge and Materials: The equipment necessary to conduct the
whether or not the learner can already accomplish the lesson.
objective.
Participatory Learning for Multiple Intelligences:
time Learner Activities Instructor Activities Lesson Aid
min What the learner does to actively learn What the Instructor does to materials or
facilitate learning equipment used
Post-Assessment: To determine if the learner can demonstrate the skill described in the learning objective.
Summary/Conclusion: Process and evaluate the lesson information and interaction.
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14. Multiple Intelligences and Adult Education
Trends and Issues Alert No. 17 by Sandra Kerka
(Websites updated June 2005)
ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, 2000
Howard Gardner and others have continued to expand on Gardner's theory of multiple
intelligences (MI), a broad range of abilities people use to learn, solve problems, and
create. However, as Ferro (1999) discovered, most of the research, writing, and practical
applications focus on K-12. Recent projects are extending MI to adult education. Shearer
(1998), who developed an instrument for measuring MI, has published a version for adults
that adds to the scales for the eight intelligences three assessments of intellectual style. In
1996, the Adult Multiple Intelligences Project began the first systematic investigation of MI
in adult literacy education. Action research projects by literacy teachers (chronicled in
Focus on Basics 1999) formed the basis of a sourcebook of articles, lessons, and
research reports to be published in 2001. Much of the work on MI for adults addresses
three areas:
Adult literacy learners and adults with learning disabilities, who may have experienced
early schooling failure by being labelled by earlier, more limited conceptions of intelligence
(Christison and Kennedy 1999; Cohen 1997; Merson 1995; Shelton 2000). As Hogan (in
Merson 1995) notes, the identification of "learning disabilities" typically emphasizes verbal
and logical-mathematical intelligences.
The use of MI in the workplace to increase creativity and productivity by enabling workers
to use their strengths (Gardner 1999; Gaston 2000; Weber 2000; Williams 1995).
Goleman's (1998) "emotional intelligence" and Lessem and Baruch's (1999) "spectral
management theory" focus particularly on interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences
needed in the contemporary workplace.
The connection between MI and multimodal learning using technologies such as the
World Wide Web (Coil 1998; Nelson 1998; University of Rio Grande 2000; Weiss 2000).
MI theory is not prescriptive, and adult educators must use their own experience to decide
how to apply it (Viens in Focus on Basics 1999). MI techniques are not intended to replace
but enhance existing activities and strategies (Coustan and Rocka in Focus on Basics
1999). The following print and Web resources can help educators use multiple
intelligences in working with adults.
Adult Multiple Intelligences Project. 2000.
http://pzweb.harvard.edu/Research/AMI.htm; http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ncsall/ .
A collaboration between Harvard Project Zero and World Education/National Center for
the Study of Adult Literacy and Learning in which teachers are conducting action research
projects to examine how MI theory can support and enhance learner-centered instruction
and assessment in adult basic education, English for speakers of other languages, and
adult secondary education programs.
15. Brougher, J. Z. "Creating a Nourishing Learning Environment for Adults using Multiple
Intelligence Theory." Adult Learning 8, no. 4 (1997): 28-29.
Gives examples of the application of MI theory in the adult classroom by describing
activities for each intelligence.
Christison, M. A., and Kennedy, D. Multiple Intelligences: Theory and Practice in Adult
ESL. NCLE Digest. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Literacy Education,
Center for Applied Linguistics, 1999. http://www.cal.org/ncle/digests/MI.htm
Outlines the basic tenets of MI theory and describes how it has been applied in teaching
English as a second language (ESL) to adults. Concludes that teachers who use MI
theory to inform their curriculum development gain a deeper understanding of students'
learning preferences and strengths.
Cohen, L. R. "I Ain't So Smart and You Ain't So Dumb: Personal Reassessment in
Transformative Learning." New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education no. 74
(Summer 1997): 61-68. (EJ 554 985)
Adults who have internalized negative messages about their intelligence and ability must
re-examine their personal meaning perspectives before they can engage in critical
reflection. A multiple intelligences framework provides a structure for this reassessment.
Coil, R. A. "Multiple Intelligences and Computer Assisted Learning with Adult Learners."
Ph.D. diss., Union Institute, 1998. (Dissertation Abstracts International 58, no. 12, 4523A,
UMI No. AAT 98-17952)
Combining adult learning theory (andragogy), MI, and computer-assisted learning
theories, an alternative approach to teaching adults was developed. Achievement gains
and positive attitudes resulted from the use of computer tutorials and hypermedia
instructional materials as well as the MI-based activities.
Diaz-Lefebvre, R. Coloring Outside the Lines: Applying Multiple Intelligences and
Creativity in Learning. New York: Wiley, 1999.
Applies the Multiple Intelligences and Learning for Understanding model to teach for
retention and understanding in a community college setting.
Ferro, T. R. "Multiple Intelligences and Adult Learning: A Review of the Literature." In
Proceedings of the 18th Annual Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult,
Continuing, and Community Education, edited by A. Austin, G. E. Hynes, and R. T. Miller,
pp. 109-114. St. Louis: University of Missouri, 1999.
Explores the extent to which MI theory has been applied in the field of adult education,
finding primarily action research but few analytical studies.
Florida Community College. From Theory to Practice: Adult Instructional Methodologies
[and] Train-the-Trainer for Adult Education. Quality Professional Development Project.
Jacksonville: FCC, 1998. (ED 430 100 and ED 430 104)
Part of a set of professional development manuals for adult educators, these two modules
include information on using MI in adult education.
Focus on Basics 3, issue A. Cambridge, MA: National Center for the Study of Adult
15
16. Literacy and Learning, March 1999. (ED 436 680)
http://gseweb.harvard.edu/~ncsall/fob/1999/fobv3ia.htm
Special issue articles include "MI, the GED, and Me" (Martha Jean); "Understanding
Multiple Intelligences: The Theory behind the Practice" (Julie Viens); "'I Can't Learn This!':
An MI Route around Resistance" (Wendy Quiones, Betsy Cornwell); "Adding a Dimension
to Career Counseling" (Jean Mantzaris); "Emerging Themes in Adult Multiple
Intelligences" (Silja Kallenbach); "Putting Theory into Practice" (Terri Coustan, Lezlie
Rocka); and "Multiple Assignments for Multiple Intelligences" (Meg Costanzo, Diane
Paxton).
Gardner, Howard (1999) Intelligence Reframed. Multiple intelligences for the 21st century,
New York: Basic Books. 292 + x pages. Useful review of Gardner's theory and discussion
of issues and additions.
Gardner, Howard (1999) The Disciplined Mind: Beyond Facts And Standardized Tests,
The K-12 Education That Every Child Deserves, New York: Simon and Schuster (and
New York: Penguin Putnam).
A section on "MI Theory and the Workplace" explains how the application of MI could
change recruitment, hiring, promotion, and training practices and college admission
criteria.
Gaston, N. A. "Different Kinds of Smart: Multiple Intelligences and the Training of Adults."
Journal of Volunteer Administration 18, no. 2 (Winter 2000): 28-37.
Outlines a train-the-trainer workshop to prepare trainers of volunteers to incorporate
understanding of multiple ways of knowing into their training activities.
Goleman, D. P. Working with Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam, 1998.
Extends Goleman's concept of emotional intelligence into the workplace. Suggests that
business leaders and outstanding performers are not defined by their IQs or even their job
skills, but by a set of competencies that distinguishes how people manage feelings,
interact, and communicate. Lessem, R., and Baruch, Y. "Colour Your Managerial Type,
Colour Your Organization." Career Development International 4, no. 1 (1999): 11-18. (EJ
578 932)
Spectral Management Theory describes eight management styles in terms of cognitive,
affective, and behavioral characteristics: innovator, developer, analyzer, enterprising,
manager of change, people manager, action manager, and adoptive manager. It
incorporates multiple intelligences theory and can be applied to managing across cultures.
Merson, M., ed. "The Learning Disabilities/Lack of Progress Issue." Connections: A
Journal of Adult Literacy vol. 5. Boston, MA: Adult Literacy Resource Institute, Winter
1995. (ED 407 493)
Articles include "Reaching ESL Students: The Multiple Intelligences Instrument"
(Katherine Dullea Hogan); and "Finding the Key: The Educational Autobiography and
Theory of Multiple Intelligences" (Cara Streck).
The MIDAS (Multiple Intelligences Developmental Assessment Scales)
http://www.angelfire.com/oh/themidas/index.html
18. development of individual abilities at work.
Weiss, R. P. "Howard Gardner Talks about Technology." Training and Development 54,
no. 9 (September 2000): 52-56.
Technologies readily address the multiple ways of knowing that humans demonstrate.
However, the person-centered intelligences still require human interaction.
Williams, M. "Playing Is the Thing: Three Activities for School Leaders." Paper presented
at the Annual Meeting of the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration,
Williamsburg, VA, August 8-12, 1995. (ED 387 911)
Presents a leadership development game based on multiple intelligences.
This project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the U.S. Department
of Education under Contract No. ED-99- CO-0013. The content of this publication does
not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Education nor does
mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the
U.S. Government. Trends and Issues Alerts may be freely reproduced and are available at
http://ericacve.org/fulltext.asp.