paper and supplies for creating graphs to show learning strengths
Lesson Plan
What are your students' learning styles? Which of Howard Gardner's multiple
intelligences best applies to each of them? Those are things any teacher
might want to know in order to differentiate instruction for his or her
students -- but this activity also can provide eye-opening information
for the students themselves!
An inventory of students' learning styles can build self-esteem by helping
them discover their strengths; learn about areas in which they might need
to make more effort; and appreciate the differences among themselves.
Published inventories are readily available to help teachers and students
determine their learning strengths. You also can find some excellent free
resources online:
How
Many Ways Are You Smart?
This simple printable (pdf) page provides an easy tool for discovering
which of eight intelligences students favor. Students can do the activity
on their own by simply folding the inventory sheet in half and making
a checkmark next to each of the 24 statements that describe them. Then,
they unfold the paper and tally the results. Be sure students share the
results with you!
Multiple
Intelligences Inventory
If you're looking for a more in-depth MI inventory, this one provides
ten statements that relate to each of nine intelligences. Students identify
the statements that describe them as learners. They then tally and graph
the results on their own. If you're looking for additional statements
related to each of the intelligences, you might use the Web page What
Are My Learning Strengths?
You might also share with students some of what the inventory
means. The Multiple Intelligences Kids' Page offers some kid-friendly explanations.
With older students, you might want to turn this activity into a research
project in which they research "multiple intelligences" and learn more
about the intelligence(s) they favor.
You also can learn more about a teacher who has used learning inventories
in the classroom in the Education World article Your
Students: No Two Are Alike
Those are just a few of the many resources you'll find online that can
help you (and your students) learn more about the learning styles your
they favor. Following are some additional resources:
Note: The informal inventories above represent only a small sampling
of the available tools; the results should not be used as a sole measure
of students' learning strengths or abilities.
Assessment
Students share (in words, pictures, or writing -- depending on their
learning strengths) what they learned about how they learn.
