Module 5: Learning/Thinking Styles and Multiple Intelligences (MIDTERM/2ND SEM)

Learning/Thinking Styles 

• Learning/Thinking styles refer to the preferred way an individual processes information. 

Learning/Thinking Styles 

• They describe a person's typical mode of thinking, remembering, or problem solving.

Styles

• are usually considered to be bipolar dimensions.

Sensory Preferences

• Individuals tend to gravitate toward one or two types of sensory input and maintain a dominance in one of the following types:

Visual Learners

• These learners must see their teacher's actions and facial expressions to fully understand the content of a lesson.

Visual Learners

• They tend to prefer sitting in front, so no one would block their view. 

Visual Learners

• They may think in pictures and learn best from visual aids including diagrams, illustrated text books, overhead transparencies, videos, flipcharts, and handouts. 

Visual Learners

• During a lecture or classroom discussion, visual learners often prefer to take detailed notes to absorb the information.

Ri Charde

He further breaks down visual learners into Visual Iconic & Visual Symbolic

Visual-Iconic

• Those who prefer this form of input are more interested in visual imagery such as film, graphic displays, or pictures in order to solidify learning. 

Visual-Iconic

• They usually have good "picture memory," a.k.a. iconic imagery, and attend to pictorial detail. 

Visual-Iconic

• They would like to read a map better than to read a book.

Visual-Symbolic

• Those who prefer this form of input feel comfortable with abstract symbolism such as mathematical formulae or the written word. 

Visual-Symbolic

• They would prefer to read a book than a map and would like to read about things rather than hear about them. 

Visual-Symbolic

• They tend to be good abstract thinkers who do not require practical means for learning.

Auditory Learners

• They learn best through verbal lectures, discussions, talking things through, and listening to what others have to say. 

Auditory Learners

• Auditory learners interpret the underlying meanings of speech through listening to the tone of voice, pitch, speed, and other nuances. 

Auditory Learners

• Written information may have little meaning until it is heard.

Auditory Learners

• These learners often benefit from reading text aloud and using a tape recorder. 

Auditory Learners

• They can attend aurally to details, translate the spoken word easily into the written word, and are not easily distracted in their listening ability. 

• Listeners

• Talkers

2 Auditory Learners

The "Listeners"

• This is the more common type of Auditory Learners

The "Listeners"

• most likely do well in school.

The "Listeners"

• Out of school too, they remember things said to them and make the information their own. 

The "Listeners"

• They may even carry on mental conversations and figure out how to extend what they learned by reviewing in their heads what they heard others say. 

The "Talkers"

• They are the ones who prefer to talk and discuss. 

The "Talkers"

• They often find themselves talking to those around them. 

The "Talkers"

• In a class setting when the instructor is not asking questions, auditory-verbal processors (talkers) tend to whisper comments to themselves. 

The "Talkers"

• They are not trying to be disruptive and may not even realize that they need to talk.

Analytic Thinkers

• tend toward the linear, step-by-step processes of learning. 

Analytic Thinkers

• They tend to see finite elements of patterns rather than the whole; they are the "tree seers." 

Analytic Thinkers

• They are more comfortable in a world of details and hierarchies of information. 

Global Thinkers

• lean towards non-linear thought and tend to see the whole pattern rather than particle elements. 

Global Thinkers

• They are the "forest seers" who give attention only to the overall structure and sometimes ignore details.

Left-Brained

• dominant individual is portrayed as the linear (analytic), verbal, mathematical thinker.

Right-Brained

• person is one who is viewed as global, non-linear, and holistic in thought preferences. 

Left-brain

• Analytic in approach

Right-brain

• Holistic or Global

Left-brain

• prefers to learn in a step-by-step sequential format, beginning with details leading to a conceptual understanding of a skill.

Right-brain

• prefers to learn beginning with the general concept and then going on to specifics. 

Howard Gardner in Frames of Mind (1983)

The theory of multiple intelligences (MI) was first described by

Howard Gardner

• defines intelligence as "an ability or set of abilities that allows a person to solve a problem or fashion a product that is valued in one or more cultures.". 

Howard Gardner

• He believes that different intelligences may be independent abilities; a person can be low in one domain area but high in another.

1. Visual/Spatial Intelligence (picture smart)

2. Verbal/Linguistic (Word Smart)

3. Mathematical/Logical (Number Smart/Logic Smart)

4. Bodily/Kinesthetic (body smart)

5. Musical (Music Smart)

6. Intrapersonal (self-smart)

7. Interpersonal (people smart)

8. Naturalist (Nature Smart)

9. Existential (Spirit Smart)

9 Kinds of Intelligences

Visual/Spatial Intelligence (picture smart)

• learning visually and organizing ideas spatially. 

Visual/Spatial Intelligence (picture smart)

• Seeing concepts in action in order to understand them. 

Visual/Spatial Intelligence (picture smart)

• The ability to "see" things in one's mind in planning to create a product or solve a problem. 

Verbal/Linguistic (Word Smart)

• learning through the spoken and written word. 

Verbal/Linguistic (Word Smart)

• This intelligence is always valued in the traditional classroom and in traditional assessments of intelligence and achievement. 

Mathematical/Logical (Number Smart/Logic Smart)

• learning through reasoning and problem solving. 

Mathematical/Logical (Number Smart/Logic Smart)

• Also highly valued in the traditional classroom, where students are asked to adapt to the logically sequenced delivery of instruction. 

Bodily/Kinesthetic (body smart)

• learning through interaction with one's environment. 

Bodily/Kinesthetic (body smart)

• This intelligence is the domain of "overly active" learners. 

Bodily/Kinesthetic (body smart)

• It promotes understanding through concrete experience. 

Musical (Music Smart)

• learning through patterns, rhythms, and music. 

Musical (Music Smart)

• This includes not only auditory learning but also the identification of patterns through all the senses.

Intrapersonal (self-smart)

• learning through feelings, values, and attitudes. 

Intrapersonal (self-smart)

• This is a decidedly affective component of learning through which students place value on what they learn and take ownership for their learning. 

Interpersonal (people smart)

• learning through interaction with others. 

Interpersonal (people smart)

• Not the domain of children who are simply "talkative" or "overly social." 

Interpersonal (people smart)

• This intelligence promotes collaboration and working cooperatively with others. 

Naturalist (Nature Smart)

• learning through classification, categories, and hierarchies. 

Naturalist (Nature Smart)

• The naturalist intelligence picks up on subtle differences in meaning. 

Naturalist (Nature Smart)

• It is not simply the study of nature; it can be used in all areas of study. 

Existential (Spirit Smart)

• learning by seeing the "big picture": "Why are we here?" 

Existential (Spirit Smart)

• "What is my role in the world?" 

Existential (Spirit Smart)

• "What is my place in my family, school, and community?" 

Existential (Spirit Smart)

• This intelligence seeks connections to real-world understanding and application of new learning.