Title: Howard Gardner: ‘Multiple intelligences’ are not ‘learning styles’ - The Washington Post
Headings: Howard Gardner: ‘Multiple intelligences’ are not ‘learning styles’
Howard Gardner: ‘Multiple intelligences’ are not ‘learning styles’
Content: Those who use this term do not define the criteria for a style, nor where styles come from, how they are recognized/assessed/exploited. Say that Johnny is said to have a learning style that is ‘impulsive.” Does that mean that Johnny is “‘impulsive” about everything? How do we know this? What does this imply about teaching—should we teach “impulsively,” or should we compensate by “teaching reflectively?” What of a learning style that is “right-brained” or visual or tactile? Same issues apply. Problem #2. When researchers have tried to identify learning styles, teach consistently with those styles, and examine outcomes, there is not persuasive evidence that the learning style analysis produces more effective outcomes than a “one size fits all approach.” Of course, the learning style analysis might have been inadequate.