How exactly do we learn?
Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to that question. That is of course unsatisfying when addressing teachers whose job is to help people learn.
Over the years, many people have sought to understand how people learn. Academicians and organizations have proposed frameworks for how to think about learning. There is universal agreement that people are different. Some people appear to pick up physical movement more easily than others. Some appear to take a special liking to math or language or nature. Some people seem to be more at ease than others when handling social and emotional situations. However, understanding the mechanisms for these differences and the optimal way for teachers to differentiate instruction is still a work in progress.
This article discusses two frameworks regarding how we learn: “learning styles” and “multiple intelligences.” These are not the only frameworks, for example multisensory learning is another way to frame the abstract process of learning. These frameworks not only come with deep insights about how people think but also myths that are sometimes retold to this day.
The theory of multiple intelligences
One theory about the way we think is that people have multiple intelligences. This theory is generally traced back to psychologist Howard Gardner, starting in the 1970s and notably in the 1983 book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. He challenges a common monolithic view of “intelligence” that can be adequately measured by IQ. Instead, Gardner posits that “individuals possess eight or more relatively autonomous intelligences.” We then draw on these intelligences, both individually and collectively, to solve different problems we encounter.
Current multiple intelligence theory lists the following eight intelligences.
- Interpersonal
- Intrapersonal
- Logical-Mathematical
- Naturalist
- Spatial
- Bodily-Kinesthetic
- Linguistic
- Musical
Of these intelligences, only two of them line up with what’s generally most valued and assessed in U.S. K–12 education: math (“logical-mathematical”) and ELA (“linguistic”). In Frames of Mind, Gardner calls attention to the disservice this seems to give children who are, for example, far exceeding their peers in bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: “The fact that some individuals prove skilled at this kind of learning, but that it is accorded a low priority, may help explain why many promising young performers and dancers in our culture become alienated from school at an early age.”
Learning styles vs. multiple intelligences
While “multiple intelligences” is a theory with a substantial, ever-growing research base, the same cannot be said for “learning styles.” People sometimes refer to having at least three styles of learning—visual, auditory, and kinesthetic—with people predominantly learning from one style over another. On the whole, however, this theory does not hold up to scientific scrutiny. In another article, we present the myth of learning styles, debunked. There is a difference between a child having high bodily-kinesthetic intelligence and being a “kinesthetic learner.”
A landmark publication on this topic is the article “Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence” by Harold Pashler et al (2009). There, the researchers rigorously test this hypothesis and concluded that “the literature fails to provide adequate support for applying learning-style assessments in school settings.” That is, people who believe they are a “visual learner” do not in fact learn better using techniques focusing on visuals, relative to other styles of learning or relative to their “non-visual learner” peers.
It is perhaps worth contrasting learning styles to multisensory learning, which refers to engaging all of the students’ senses when teaching. This speaks to the fact that most of us have visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (and other!) memories, and using them helps with the learning process. Learning scientist Dr. Rachel Schechter explains that we all have our strengths associated with these types of memory, yet “these strengths don’t hold up when we put meaning to the sound or image or motion that relies on other parts of the brain to hold, recall, and apply to new situations.” In other words, our brains are complex, and no matter how the information is being presented, we’re still using many and overlapping parts of the brain.
The difference between multiple intelligences and learning styles
The multiple intelligences theory is one that views human intelligence as something multifaceted and hard to fully describe. The theory specifically furthers the view that IQ tests are “highly limited” and describes a model of intelligence in which people who are adept at, say, sticking to a beat in music or having conversations with strangers, are drawing on intelligences as valid as being able to multiply fractions or write a persuasive essay. Teachers can take advantage of this theory by thinking of how to tap into different intelligences when teaching the same lesson.
By contrast, “learning styles” is specific to a classroom and not about intelligence. It usually refers to a debunked theory that we are not only a “visual,” “auditory,” or “kinesthetic” learner, but that we can tell which one we are. However, the same principle regarding tapping into different kinds of intelligence does apply then thinking about learning styles! It helps learners to tap into different senses and present lessons using visuals, audio, and movement. This is part of a more general approach known as multisensory learning, where engaging students with all of their senses helps generally with learning.
Ultimately, there is no simple way to describe intelligence, nor is there a simple tactic that will maximize learning. The human mind is practically limitless in what it can learn, and all students benefit from teaching in multiple ways that appeal to everyone’s unique skills and experiences.
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