The 8 Multiple Intelligences

M Module 4
MOTIVATING YOURSELF TO LEARN
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Learning is not restricted to college. You are constantly exposed to information that you need to remember. Your mind is the most powerful tool you will ever possess. You are smarter than you think. You are accomplished at many skills and can process all kinds of information. Every individual is highly developed in some abilities and underdeveloped in others. Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade. Abraham Lincoln was demoted to a private in the Black Hawk war. Walt Disney was fired from a job and told he had no good ideas.
MOTIVATION
Motivation is the incentive or desire that moves you to take an action. There are mixed opinions as to whether motivation can be internal and/or external. You decide. Can someone motivate you to do something you don’t want to do or keep you from doing something you really want to do? Having seen both sides of the teen issue, my personal belief is that motivation is internal. My parents could strongly encourage or discourage me in any action, but the ultimate decision was mine. I see that in my own teenagers, too. So, for our purposes in this class, we will say that motivation is internal. The motivation to learn lies within you-it is your responsibility, your choice, not anyone else’s. In fact, a quality that is extremely valuable to develop, if you do not already possess it, is personal responsibility. It is essential in college, in your personal life, and in your career.
BEING SMART (MULTIPLE INTELLEGENCES)
There are many different ways of being smart. Howard Gardner, a Harvard University professor, published his theory of multiple intelligences and changed the way people perceive intelligence and learning. He believes there are at least eight distinct intelligences possessed by all people and that every person has developed some intelligences more fully than others. According to the multiple intelligences theory, when you find a task or subject easy, you are probably using a more fully developed intelligence; when you have more trouble, you may be using a less developed intelligence. Following are brief descriptions of the focus of each of the intelligences.
1. Linguistic or Verbal-linguistic intelligence (Word Smart)-the ability to communicate through language (listening, reading, writing, speaking)
2. Logical-mathematical intelligence (Number Smart)-ability to understand logical reasoning and problem solving (math, science, patterns, sequences)
3. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence (Body Smart)-the ability to use the physical body skillfully and to take in knowledge through bodily sensation (coordination, working with hands)
4. Spatial or Visual-spatial intelligence (Art Smart)-ability to understand spatial relationships and to perceive and create images (visual art, graphic design, charts and maps)
5. Interpersonal intelligence (People Smart)-ability to relate to others, noticing their moods, motivations, and feelings (social activity, cooperative learning, teamwork)
6. Intrapersonal intelligence (Me Smart)-the ability to understand one’s own behavior and feelings (self-awareness, independence, time spent alone)
7. Musical intelligence (Music Smart)-ability to comprehend and create meaningful sound (music, sensitivity to sound, understanding patterns)
8. Naturalistic intelligence (Nature Smart)-the ability to understand features of the environment (interest in nature, environmental balance, ecosystem, stress relief brought by natural environments
WHY SHOULD YOU KNOW YOUR LEARNING STYLE?
Most students aim to maximize learning while minimizing frustration and time spent studying. If you know your most and least developed multiple intelligences, you can use techniques that take advantage of your highly developed areas while helping you through your less developed ones. For example, say you perform better in smaller, discussion-based classes. When you have the opportunity, you might choose a course section that is smaller or that is taught by an instructor who prefers group discussion. Remember that you have abilities in all multiple intelligence areas, even though some are dominant. Knowing your learning style does more than help you adjust to different kinds of material. It can also help you make the most of the teaching styles of your instructors. After you assess your instructor’s teaching style, you can decide how well your own style matches up with that teaching style. If it meshes well, great; if not, you can bring extra focus to your weaker learning styles.
ATTITUDE
Attitude is the single most important factor in determining your success in anything-school, job, personal relationships, etc. There are other factors, of course, but with a positive attitude, you have a greater chance of success and fulfillment.
LOCUS OF CONTROL
Your motivation and your attitude-positive or negative-toward college, work, instructors, and your abilities may depend on your locus of control. J.B. Rotter, a psychologist, first explained the concept in 1954 as part of hi social learning theory. Locus means place. Your locus of control is where you place responsibility for control over your life. Do you believe that you are in charge? If so, then you may have an internal locus of control. Do you believe that others more powerful than you are in control of what happens to you? If so, then you may have an external locus of control.
Students who have an internal locus of control-
1. can see a direct connection between their efforts and their grades
2. tend to be self-motivated, positive thinkers
3. believe they can to whatever they set out to accomplish
4. not afraid of change
5. welcome challenges
6. when they make a mistake, they can usually trace it to something they did wrong or something they did not understand
7. they don’t believe in luck or fate
8. are in control of their lives
9. when things go wrong, they try to figure out what they can do to make things right again
Students who have an external locus of control
1. see no connection between their efforts and their grades
2. may believe teachers award grades on the basis of personal feelings
3. tend to be negative thinkers who need someone to motivate them and give them a push to succeed
4. believe that many of the things they want in life are out of reach or that other people are holding them back
5. may be afraid of change and may prefer to follow familiar routines
6. when they make mistakes, they blame others for being unfair or for not giving them the right information
7. believe that they have little control over their lives
8. when something goes wrong, they may believe that they can do nothing about it
Research show that locus of control affects achievement. The more internal your locus of control, the greater your chances for success in college.
KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM
There is a great deal of difference between knowledge and wisdom. To put it simply-knowledge is the acquisition of information and wisdom is the ability to use it-to deriving meaning and significance from knowledge. Wisdom enables you to make good choices about how to lead your life. Make it your goal to not only acquire information, but also derive maximum benefit from that info by learning to use it.

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