Hey everyone,

Lately I’ve been learning a lot about, well, how I learn best! As a student, and a future high school teacher, knowing what my strengths and weaknesses are is extremely important if I want to be successful, and the same goes for all of you. So, how exactly do we find out what are strengths are; and, how do we apply them to our school work?

Well, the way we learn effectively is by using our multiple intelligences. Theorists tell us that there are numerous different types of intelligences that we use, but there are eight intelligences that are considered to be the most common:

1. Linguistic and verbal intelligence: good with words
2. Logical intelligence: good with math and logic
3. Spatial intelligence: good with pictures
4. Body/movement intelligence: good with activities
5. Musical intelligence: good with rhythm
6. Interpersonal intelligence: good with communication
7. Intrapersonal intelligence: good with analyzing things
8. Naturalist intelligence: good with understanding natural world

(Of course, this is not a psychology lecture, just a little information to keep us all on the same page.)

Anyway, the first thing I did to figure out my strengths was search online for a multiple intelligence quiz. After answering the questions, I learned my top three intelligences and ways to help me apply them to my learning, and how much I use each of the eight intelligences in general. Each of the intelligences on this quiz are rated on a point scale of usage from 1-5 (5 points being the most) For example, my top three intelligences are body movement, interpersonal, and intrapersonal.  And, according to the quiz, any of the intelligences that are scored with a 3 or higher are probably being used a lot to help with learning. Take the quiz to see which intelligences you use the most!

After finding out which intelligences I use the most, I read over the list of activities that the quiz offers to help me learn a little easier. Some of the suggestions I was given were to take a walk while discussing or coming up with ideas for a story and changing the place where I write, doing team learning or writing notes instead of talking, and journal writing or working on the computer. Of course, some of the activity ideas that were suggested were of no interest to me, and some of them I already do, but the great part was realizing that there are dozens of different ways to get my brain working so learning can be fun and easy for me. Now you try it!

Remember: You know yourself the best! Not everyone learns the same way or at the same speed, and it is up to you to try and figure out what works best. The quiz I suggested can be a great tool to start understanding how you learn, but it’s not the only way. I encourage you to try out some of the activity suggestions the quiz results offer and see if they work well for you (some will and others won’t), and even to research other activities that might appeal to your interests. Who knows, maybe you’ll find something that really works for you!

Until next time,
Kendra