As an average teacher whose been through the common trainings for the role, I was aware that there are multiple forms of intelligence, but not well versed in how detailed the multiple intelligences are outlined to be by Howard Gardner. The image below depicts the eight agreed upon intelligences.

While I knew some of the students I work with are visual spatial learners, others musically inclined and some logical mathematical, to see bodily kinesthetic and interpersonal intelligence depicted above is new. To improve my own learning, I looked into bodily kinesthetic intelligence. Author and researcher, Thomas Armstrong (2009) defines bodily kinesthetic intelligence to be the capacity to manipulate objects and use a variety of physical skills; an intelligence that focuses on mind-body union. Folks who display this intelligence type include: athletes, dancers, surgeons, and those involved in crafting.

This is quite interesting for me because connecting this type of intelligence, this type of learner, to the traditional classroom is rare. I can see how courses like physical education may offer the optimal space and time for bodily kinesthetic learners to practice and grow their skills, but that time is so limited and oftentimes not considered valuable. A traditional classroom usually requires students to stay seated for long periods of time, demanding unwavering attention & concentration. This does not provide for bodily kinesthetic learning or improvement and instead reduces it. In classrooms such as mine where there are breaks for movement and activities that utilize some exercise, I recognize even this is not truly meeting bodily kinesthetic learners.

This is all to say that the traditional schooling system is only built for the success of some types of students, those who likely possess logical-mathematical intelligence or linguistic-verbal intelligence. Much of this is due to how we assess. Nearly all forms of traditional assessments as students to prove their knowledge by reporting or regurgitating the course information without taking into account that some students would be able to prove their skills differently. The traditional assessments only recognize and produce a certain type of learner. This leads to individuals having to seek spaces outside of school to pursue learnings that better match their intelligence and interests, for example, extra curricular activities like joining a dance company, sports teams, etc. However, the participation on these teams often is only allowed when the student is successfully meeting (traditional) school demands first. Moreover, the privilege to seek out diverse intelligence spaces like extracurriculars is not held by all students. This makes me wonder how much damage and limitation is really forced on the marginalized communities in the education system.

Armstrong, T. (2009). Multiple intelligences in the classroom, (3rd ed). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development