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According to Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence, each person has different ways of learning and different intelligence they use in their daily lives. Each person possesses each of the nine intelligences to an extent, but there is always a primary, or more dominant, intelligence. The focus of this essay is to discuss each intelligence and how a teacher can accommodate each intelligence in his or her lesson plan. The first intelligence is the verbal-linguistic intelligence. This means that the person has the ability to think in words and to use language to express and appreciate complex meanings. Someone with this intelligence enjoys writing, reading and telling stories. The second intelligence is the logical-mathematical intelligence which means the person has the ability to calculate, quantify and carry out complete mathematical operations. They are interested in patterns, categories, and relationships and are drawn to arithmetic problems, strategy games and experiments. The third intelligence is musical intelligence and this is the ability to produce and appreciate rhythm, pitch and timbre. The fourth intelligence is the visual-spatial intelligence and this means the ability to think in images and pictures, to visualize accurately and abstractly. Someone with this intelligence kind of intelligence may be interested in jigsaw puzzles, or spend free time drawing and daydreaming. The fifth intelligence is the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence and this is the ability to control body movements and to handle objects skilfully. The sixth intelligence is interpersonal intelligence which is the capacity to detect and respond appropriately to the moods, motivations and desires of others. These people have the ability to understand and interact effectively with others. These people are usually leaders among their peers, good at communicating, and seem to understand others’ feelings and motives. The seventh intelligence is intrapersonal intelligence. This means the ability to be self-aware and in tune with inner feelings, values, beliefs and thinking processes. The second last intelligence is naturalist intelligence which means to recognize and categorize plants, animals and other objects in nature. The last intelligence is existential intelligence and this is the sensitivity, understanding and ability to answer deep questions about human existence, such as the meaning of life, why we die, and how did we get here. As explained above, there are different intelligences therefore different learning styles. When a teacher does not reach a learner, he or she automatically assumes there is a problem with the learner instead of evaluating their teaching style or lesson plan. To accommodate all or most of the intelligences in one’s lesson plan, there are a variety of methods and strategies one can implement to interest learners. In lessons, teachers can make use of visual representations, sound or audio, different colours, the use of bodily motions or any form of physical activity, real objects, the way the instruction is presented, using performance in the lesson for learning retention, making using of reflections or social experiences and so on. Therefore having an understanding of the different teaching approaches and methods from which we all can learn, as well as a variety of ways to present content to students, is valuable for increasing the inclusivity of learning experiences for all students.
