“It’s not how smart you are, it’s how you are smart”
~Howard Gardner, founding father of Multiple Intelligences Theory
There is no question that all children are smart in their own way but do you know how your child is smart? Your child’s teacher may be able to give you some insight into how your child learns best. Parents and teachers alike have always recognized that children learn in different ways but understanding your child’s primary intelligence and particular learning style can have an intense impact both on classroom performance and study habits at home.
Howard Gardner, the founding father of Multiple Intelligences Theory, defines eight different intelligences-also known as “smarts”.
linguistic - word smart
logical-mathematical - number smart
bodily-kinesthetic - body smart
musical - music smart
spatial - picture smart
naturalistic - nature smart
interpersonal - people smart
intrapersonal - self smart
These intelligences all work together to create a whole learner but some smarts will be stronger in your child than others. The dominant intelligence for your child will define how your child learns best in the classroom and at home. Does your child learn easiest by viewing pictures and charts or is it through movement and music? Does your child enjoy snuggling in your lap for a story or does he want to act it out as you read? You can help determine your child’s strongest intelligences by talking with the classroom teacher, reflecting on how your child plays and completes activities at home, and by utilizing multiple intelligences learning surveys. By understanding your child’s primary intelligence you can support your child’s educational performance and help him or her approach learning situations in a more positive way.
It is also important to understand which smarts your child shows a weakness in. You can engage your child in targeted activities that will encourage him or her to strengthen that particular intelligence. This will be especially useful if your child’s teacher does not have a clear plan for addressing varying learning styles in the classroom. It is also helpful for you (as the parent) when you conference with your child’s teacher to address classroom performance as it relates to these smarts. You can ask the teacher how your child’s unique learning style is being addressed and give some personal insight into how your child learns.
Below is a brief description of each of the intelligences. As you read each one, see if you can identify some that fit your child’s habits and personality.
- Word Smart: Children with this strength have a broad vocabulary and express themselves well. They use language to remember and think. These children enjoy reading aloud, word games such as Scrabble, and writing poems or stories.
- Number Smart: Children with this smart easily manipulate numbers, are logical and see patterns in everyday objects. They enjoy using measurement, experimenting with cause and effect, number games or puzzles such as Sudoku.
- Body Smart: Children with strengths in this area have excellent fine and gross motor skills. They are physically active and tend to move when they learn (appear fidgety). These children enjoy things involving experimentation and discovery learning, outdoor activities, and anything hands-on.
- Music Smart: These children have outstanding listening skills and detect rhyme and rhythm easily. They are interested in any type of sounds. Children who are music smart enjoy listening to music and singing. They are also good with grammar and learning languages. These are the children who love deciphering symbols and secret codes.
- Picture Smart: Children with this intelligence can visualize in their head and have a very active imagination. They express themselves through drawing or creating physical forms. These children will enjoy seeing or making models, drawing and painting, taking objects apart to see how they work, and visiting museums.
- Nature Smart: Children who are nature smart appreciate anything related to organisms. They can see minute differences between living or nonliving things. They appreciate nature and enjoy organizing collections of objects, recycling and preserving nature, and using scientific tools such as a microscope or magnifying glass.
- People Smart: Children with a strength in this area show concern and empathy for others. They enjoy interacting with people. This is your collaborator and your leader. They love to talk with others, work together as a team, and help others.
- Self Smart: Children who are Self Smart recognize their own strengths/weaknesses and are effective at goal-setting. They are very concerned about fairness and have strong likes and dislikes. These children enjoy journaling or scrapbooking and are self-directed both in play and school. They relate what they have learned to real life.
By recognizing the intelligences that your own child possesses, you can help them to relate to life and to learning in a way that enhances each experience.
