No, they are not the same!
Simply put, Multiple Intelligences refer to the different intellectual abilities while Learning Styles alludes to the varying approaches that a person tackles a task.
Multiple Intelligences
Howard Gardener, a psychologist, came up with the theory that we all have varying intellectual strengths across key areas. That is, we are ALL smart in at least one area:
- Linguistic- Verb (word smart)
- Logical- Mathematical (number/logic smart)
- Bodily-Kinesthetic (body movement smart)
- Visual- Spatial (picture smart)
- Musical- Auditory (music smart)
- Interpersonal (people smart)
- Intrapersonal (self-awareness and self-control smart)
- Naturalist (nature smart)
- Existential (life smart)
The link below let’s you access a simple Multiple Intelligence assessment. What I like about this free tool is that it does not only analyse an individual’s intelligence strengths, but also, the site provides ideas to practice and build upon the remaining intelligences. Why not give it a try!
Learning Styles
These refer to the different ways individuals prefer to learn.
- Visual/Spatial
- Auditory/Musical
- Kinesthetic/Physical
These approaches to learning are closely linked to the Multiple Intelligences. For example, a person, whose strength is Linguistic, will most likely rely on words and sentences for understanding and retaining information. In comparison, a person with Visual intelligence strength will ultimately rely on images for their learning. Visual learners are the most common, making up about two-thirds of the population.
To maximise learning in the classroom, teachers would benefit from conducting the Multiple Intelligences test at the beginning of each year to gather data about their cohort of students, and effectively plan inclusive curricula.