Incorporating Multiple Intelligences into Your Classroom By: Chris Basil and Sarah Hoenig

We all know the importance of differentiated instruction, but fully understanding the significance of the different learning styles that children can possess is where the translation from good teacher to great teacher begins. Since learning styles differ from student to student, it is up to the educator to incorporate as many approaches as possible into each lesson. A multi-sensory approach improves a student’s comprehension and retention. As we can all see, society is an ever changing entity and the diversity of our students’ needs is rapidly changing along with it. Thus, it’s fairly obvious that our pedagogical styles must adapt as well. Teachers must quickly recognize that each child is an individual and also realize the notion that what works for one may not work for all. More than ever, present day schools contain students with diverse backgrounds, interests and strengths and educators are faced with the task of motivating students towards curriculum topics. As with adults, children need to be interested to be engaged.

Teachers not only encounter students’ academic difficulties, but many students possess a lack of motivation as well. Howard Gardner coined the theory of multiple intelligences. This theory proposes that individuals possess strengths in eight various domains. These domains include: Bodily/Kinesthetic, Intrapersonal, Musical/Rhythmic, Verbal/Linguistic, Interpersonal, Logical/Mathematical, Naturalist and Visual/Spatial. Gardner suggests instruction should focus upon providing students with opportunities to discover their interests and unique talents in the pre-school and elementary years. It is highly critical to create an environment in which students can become active learners and enjoy the process of learning. By utilizing his Multiple Intelligences theory, the path has already been laid down and it is now up to the teachers to follow it.

In this particular article, the author, Mustafa Serdar Koksal, describes a study on the effectiveness of Multiple Intelligences in the classroom. The focus was to see if 10th grade high school students will demonstrate higher motivation, academic success and information recall when being taught through multiple intelligence-based methods. Koksal explains how “effective biology teaching is the most important part of biology education.” The decision to try a multiple intelligence-based approach stemmed from the conclusion that the traditional approaches being used in this school had not yielded effective instruction. In addition, traditional methods had not demonstrated long-term information recall for students.

The study was conducted with two classes. The first class was an experimental group that was taught using the new Multiple Intelligence-based activities. The second class was a control group that was taught through the traditional methods. Both groups consisted of 25 students. The research study took 9 weeks in total. The first two weeks contained the pre-tests, four weeks were for instruction, two weeks were designated for the application of the post-test and one week was for application of the permanence test. The students in the experimental group received instruction through methods that related to their intelligence domains, with activities that provided them information about their areas of strength and allowed for student reflection and discussions relating to their intelligence strengths.

Study results found that the multiple intelligence-based instruction had a considerable affect upon the academic success of the students and the retention (permanence) of information when compared with the control group, which was taught through the traditional methods. The author points out that there were no differences in the students’ attitudes towards the course.

The results of studies like these continue to open eyes to new avenues of thought concerning the importance of the multiple intelligences and how they should be utilized. However, there are still many factors to be considered. For starters, how much would the results vary if the fieldwork was performed on a greater number of students? What about the issue of varying economic classes among children? Would the value of incorporating M.I.’s into lessons hold more importance for elementary age children as opposed to high school or college students? These are valid questions and concerns that could greatly affect the outcome of the research. However, one factor remains clear. In order to develop and grow as a teacher, we all need to continually adapt and change. It is clear that utilizing data collection and customizing methods to fit students’ needs will lead us on the path to becoming a valuable and effective teacher. As educators, we owe it to our students to utilize the most successful forms of instruction.

Article Reference

Mustafa Serdar Koksal. (2007) M.A. Karaelmas University, Education Faculty, Department of Science. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 7 (1) 231-239, from http://cwplib.proxy.liu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=24374469&loginpage=Login.asp&site=ehost-live