In the Classroom: Learning Styles at Work
Elementary Concept: Simple Machines
| VAK | Visual | Look for pictures of simple machines in newspapers or movies |
| Auditory | Listen to and watch a construction worker explain how he or she uses simple machines at work | |
| Kinesthetic | Build a simple machine from clay | |
| Left Brain/Right Brain | Left Brain | Follow step-by-step directions to build a simple machine |
| Right Brain | Discuss the role that machines play in our lives | |
| Multiple Intelligences | Logical-Mathematical | Break complex machines down into simple machines |
| Linguistic | Write as essay or make a speech describing the importance of a machine | |
| Spatial | Create a presentation showing the different ways in which a simple machine is used. | |
| Musical | Compose a song about a simple machine that uses the appropriate vocabulary | |
| Bodily-Kinesthetic | Use everyday objects to create a simple machine | |
| Interpersonal | Work with a group to make a video about simple machines for pre-school children | |
| Intrapersonal | Keep a journal reflecting on how your learning about simple machines is progressing | |
| Naturalist | Find examples of simple machines in nature, such as birds’ beaks as levers |
Secondary Concept: Interpretation of Allegories in Literature
| VAK | Visual | Watch one of the Lord of the Rings movies and interpret it as an allegory |
| Auditory | Listen to a sermon on parables or allegories from a religious perspective | |
| Kinesthetic | Make a video of an allegory | |
| Personality Types | Introvert | Find an allegory that is especially meaningful to you and write an essay explaining its meaning. |
| Extravert | Participate in a discussion of the allegory in Lord of the Flies | |
| Sensing | Compose an allegory based on something you have observed in your school | |
| Intuitive | Look at allegories from different cultures and identify patterns | |
| Thinking | Apply the components of an allegory to specifics of daily life | |
| Feeling | Write an allegory addressing an aspect of human experience that affects people’s happiness | |
| Judging | Write a detailed project plan for developing an animated allegory | |
| Perceiving | Generate a list of possible projects related to allegories and select one to work on in more detail | |
| Multiple Intelligences | Logical-Mathematical | Interpret an allegory and discuss the consequences of its assumptions in a different context |
| Linguistic | Write an original allegory | |
| Spatial | Make a model that represents an allegory | |
| Musical | Analyze the allegorical components of a song | |
| Bodily-Kinesthetic | Perform an allegory | |
| Interpersonal | Work with a group to produce a multimedia presentation about an allegory | |
| Intrapersonal | Apply the meaning of an allegory to your own life | |
| Naturalist | Write an allegory inspired by the behaviour of animals in the wild |
References
Campbell, B. (2003). The naturalist intelligence. Seattle, WA: New Horizons for Learning. www.newhorizons.org/strategies/mi/campbell.htm*
Cotton, K. (1998). Education for lifelong learning: Literature synthesis. ED 422608. Washington, DC: OERI.
Dunn, R. (1995). Strategies for educating diverse learners. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa.
Ennis, R. H. (2000). Goals for a critical thinking curriculum and its assessment. In A. L. Costa (Ed.), Developing minds: A resource book for teaching thinking, (pp. 44-46). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
ERIC (1996). Multiple intelligences: Gardner's theory. ED 410226. Washington, DC: OERI.
Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: The theory in practice. New York: Harper Collins.
Miller, P. (2001). Learning styles: The multimedia of the mind. ED 451340.
