Think back to the first time you heard about Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. "Aha!" you probably said. "Now that makes sense. Finally, a theory that explains why Keisha loves manipulatives, Davis doodles in his notebook's margins, and Christopher prefers to work alone for hours on end."

What you might not realize is that understanding MI theory or Bloom's taxonomy can yield similar benefits for your students. For example, knowing about the multiple intelligences can help students understand how they learn best and see that each person has a unique set of strengths and abilities. Understanding Bloom's taxonomy can help students take charge of their learning and measure how far they're extending their thinking. Read on to find out more on how to share these theories with your students.

MI theory at work

Try using newspapers and the steps below to teach your students about the different ways they are smart.

1. Capture the students' curiosity. Give students newspapers and ask them to choose the elements that interest them most: articles, graphics, comics, photos, classified ads, television and movie listings, advertisements, or headlines. The students don't yet know that this is their introduction to MI theory.
2. Do a hands-on activity. Next, have students work alone or in small groups to create current-events projects based on the newspaper clippings they've selected. These projects tap into the range of intelligences and might include speeches, skits, pantomimes, collages, 3-D displays, drawings, rewritten news articles, redesigned graphics or cartoons, or combinations of the above. (For younger students, you might want to provide a list of suggested projects and let each student choose one.) For example, a student could create a pop-up book introducing local elected officials. Another student might draw an editorial cartoon inspired by the start of the new baseball season.
3. Share the projects. Once students finish their projects, use them as examples of how each student naturally gravitates toward a different type of activity.
4. Introduce the terminology. Finally, introduce the language of MI theory. Pick a project that shows each intelligence and then explain what each one is. For example, you might pick a collage or a pop-up book to show spatial intelligence, an improvisation to show bodily/kinesthetic intelligence, or a group project to show interpersonal intelligence. With each type of intelligence, discuss with your students what the terminology means.

Students quickly realize that some projects involve more than one intelligence—and that individuals might want to choose activities that strengthen an intelligence they often ignore. Tell your students it's like exercising your pitching arm. You can work it and get really good, or you can never use it and not be able to pitch at all.

Bloom's taxonomy: new twist on an old favorite

Ever find yourself struggling to fit everything into your busy days? Do you also want to make sure your students take time to develop their higher-level thinking skills?

Try a solution to this problem by teaching your students about an updated version of Bloom's taxonomy, the theory that describes the levels of thinking from basic recall to more advanced skills such as analysis and evaluation. Even though this theory may have led to a few yawns in your basic education courses, your students find it a useful and understandable framework for focusing on the different levels of thinking.

Getting started

Create a chart that breaks down Bloom's taxonomy into straightforward verbs and phrases describing the six levels of thinking. Use a different color to write the terms for each level to help students remember which level they're using even if the word for it isn't on the tips of their tongues.

Post the chart and explain to your class that Bloom's taxonomy is a theory that breaks down the types of thinking they do into categories, from the basic to the most advanced. Discuss with your students why learning to think at advanced levels is important. Then review the chart and discuss the words on it.

Explain to students that they'll be using a learning contract in conjunction with the chart to help them use both lower and higher levels of thinking. Model how to fill out the learning contract and suggest types of projects. (You might want to provide a list of suggested projects.) Small groups of students then start working on their own contracts for projects in a particular subject.

Once students have become familiar with Bloom's taxonomy, they'll begin to realize when they're working at a lower level of thinking and push themselves to try a higher level—even when they're not working on their learning-contract projects.

Students in the lead

By sharing learning theories with your students, you're putting them in the driver's seat. They understand how they learn best, and they are in charge of their learning—leaving them better prepared to learn even more.

The Intelligences in Short

Here's a review of Gardner's eight intelligences:

verbal/linguistic: sensitivity to meaning in spoken and written language
musical: ability to recognize and create patterns in music
logical/mathematical: ability to handle long chains of reasoning to solve problems
spatial: ability to perceive the world accurately and to re-create or transform aspects of that world
bodily/kinesthetic: awareness and accurate use of body movements
interpersonal: ability to understand others and act successfully in group situations
intrapersonal: awareness of and ability to learn about oneself
naturalist: ability to observe, identify, and classify plants and animals

Bloom's Taxonomy

Level 6: Creating
create, design, rearrange, blend, invent, combine, predict, pretend, make, imagine, suppose, plan, change, build, construct

Level 5: Evaluating
rate, score, select, evaluate, judge, decide, defend, choose, support

Level 4: Analyzing
compare, divide, separate, criticize, include, simplify, examine, look into, search, uncover, reason, study

Level 3: Applying
apply, practice, experiment, use, give an example, solve, write, demonstrate

Level 2: Understanding
describe, tell in your own words, explain, discuss, classify, report, select, paraphrase

Level 1: Remembering
define, say, match, research, locate, name, repeat, show, find, list, memorize, recall

©1997 The Education Center, Inc. ⋅ Learning®