Topic

4
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Cognitive Learning Theories 2

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to: Explain the main principles of Ausubels learning theory; Apply Ausubels deductive thinking in teaching science; Explain the main principles of Gagnes Mastery Learning; Apply Gagnes Mastery Learning in teaching science; Discuss the main principles of the Multiple Intelligences theory; and Apply Multiple Intelligences theory in teaching science.

6.

INTRODUCTION

We will continue exploring cognitive learning theories in this topic. Can you remember what these theories are? Yes, cognitive learning theories focus on the mental processes of learning. The cognitive theorists focus on the workings of the human brain. They view people as active processors of information and study how learners acquire and reorganise mental structures as they process and store information. The cognitive learning theories that will be discussed in this topic are Ausubels Deductive Learning theory, Gagnes theory of Mastery Learning and the Multiple Intelligences theory. We will look at the main elements of each theory and study how they can be applied in the teaching of science.

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4.1

AUSUBELS DEDUCTIVE LEARNING

The first theory that we will be looking at is Ausubels Theory, which uses the deductive approach. A deductive approach is different from an inductive approach as used by Bruner in Topic 3. Look at Figure 4.1 to see the steps in deductive science teaching.

Figure 4.1: Deductive science teaching

Now, study the three sentences given in the box below. Close this module and try to remember the three sentences. Which one do you find the easiest to remember? (a) (b) (c) Enso flrs hmen matn snoi teha erso iakt siae otin tnes esna rae . Easier that nonsense information to makes then sense is learn. Information that makes sense is easier to learn than nonsense. Adapted from Slavin, R.E. (1994)

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You would have found sentence (c) easiest to remember. Why is this so? It is because sentence (c) is the one that would have made sense to you. You could remember (c) because it was meaningful to you. It is the same with Ausubels deductive learning which stresses the importance of meaningful learning. Let us read further to learn more.

ACTIVITY 4.1
Study Figure 4.1. What is the difference between the inductive and deductive approaches in teaching science? Explain your answer using a specific science example.

4.1.1

Meaningful Learning

David Ausubel stressed on the importance of meaningful learning in his learning theory. Any material that needs to be learned such as concepts, principles and ideas should be presented in an organised way so that the learners can make connections to existing knowledge and understand it better. To remember sentences (a) and (b) you would be required to memorise them because the sentences would have had no meaning to you. Ausubel calls this type of learning rote memorisation. Rote memorisation is not considered meaningful learning because the material is not connected to existing knowledge. Ausubel suggests an Expository Teaching Model to encourage meaningful rather than rote learning. Expository means explanation or the presentation of ideas and concepts. Expository teaching methods present information in an organised form rather than having students discovering it for themselves. So, what do you think would be the difference between Bruners theory and Ausubels theory? According to Ausubel, students acquire knowledge mainly through reception rather than discovery. He calls his approach reception learning. Here, the teacher needs to organise all the required information logically, systematically and meaningfully so that the students can receive it in the most efficient way. Can you see now that Ausubels teaching approach is deductive in nature? The teacher plays the role of an organiser of subject matter and presents information through lectures and tasks. Materials are presented from general to specific or from a rule or principle to specific examples.

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ACTIVITY 4.2
1. Explain in your own words what you understand by meaningful learning. What is the role of the teacher in meaningful learning?

2.

4.1.2

Advance Organiser

According to Ausubel, for meaningful learning to occur, students must relate new knowledge to what they already know. Ausubel suggests the idea of an advance organiser as a way to help students link their ideas with the new material that will be presented. An advance organiser is a general statement or analogy given in the beginning of the lesson to relate new information to prior knowledge of students. What is the purpose of an advance organiser? It provides the structure for a new topic by relating it to what students already know. It helps the learner place the material to be learned in context. Read the introduction for Topic 4 again. Is there an advance organiser for this topic?
Yes No If Yes, which one?

An advance organiser is a set of ideas or concepts presented before the material is learned. It is meant to provide a stable cognitive structure to which new learning can be anchored. This means that an advance organiser acts like an intellectual scaffolding. Advance organisers provide an overview that shows students what to expect and summarises all aspects of the unit or lesson in advance. Advance organisers can be charts, concept maps, definitions or generalisations and need not be very long. For example, you can list, pronounce and discuss science terms like producers and consumers before starting the lesson on Food Chain. Concept maps can be used as advance organisers. Figure 4.2 shows a concept map for the topic on The Five Senses. You can start the lesson by using this organiser which shows students what they will be learning for the lesson.

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Figure 4.2: Concept map for a topic on The Five Senses Source: http://nikilavoie.blogspot.com/2007/10/exploring-concept-mapping-with.html

Another example of an advance organiser is shown below: The teacher says: Do you remember that during the last lesson we measured the temperature of a glass of water? Well, today we are going to add ice to the water and see what happens to the temperature. As you can see, even if this advance organiser is short it is effectively linked to the prior knowledge of the students.

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ACTIVITY 4.3
Choose a learning area from the primary science curriculum. 1. 2. Prepare an appropriate advance organiser. Discuss the effectiveness of your advance organiser with your coursemates during the tutorial session.

SELF-CHECK 4.1
1. 2. What are the main elements of Ausubels theory? Discuss when it is appropriate to apply Ausubels theory in your science classroom.

4.2

APPLICATION OF AUSUBELS DEDUCTIVE THINKING IN SCIENCE TEACHING

You have studied the main elements of Ausubels Theory. Let us now look in detail how you can use this theory in the teaching of science. Joyce and Weil (1986) explain that a lesson using Ausubels model of teaching, or an expository approach, consists of three principal phases: (a) (b) (c) The presentation of an advance organiser; The presentation of a learning task or material; and The strengthening of cognitive organisation.

The three phases are shown in Table 4.1 with explanations on what happens at every phase.

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Table 4.1: Ausubels Model of Teaching Phase 1 Presentation of the Advance Organiser Clarify the aim of the lesson. The learners should be presented with a set of learning objectives. Present the advance organiser which will prepare learners for the new information. The advance organiser must relate the ideas to be presented in the lesson to information already in students minds. Phase II Presentation of Learning Task or Material Present new material by means of lectures, demonstrations, discussions or student tasks. The material is presented clearly, sequentially and logically. Engage and maintain students attention in meaningful learning. The teaching should be accompanied with good examples following every explanation. Source: Joyce et. al (1986) Phase III Strengthening Cognitive Organisation Relate new information to the advance organiser. Promote active reception learning by questioning students or giving them opportunities to ask questions. Review or sum up at the end of the lesson in order to check the students' understanding of the new information.

As you can see in Ausubels theory, the teacher presents the lesson, sequentially, logically and systematically. An advance organiser is presented at the beginning of the lesson. Student interest is maintained with interactive questioning and lots of examples. Finally, the teacher closes the lesson by reviewing the concepts presented and checking for students understanding. A summary of how you can use Ausubels ideas in your classroom is shown in the following Figure 4.3.

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Figure 4.3: Ausubels ideas for your science classroom

Ausubels approach is often thought to be a traditional way of teaching. However, this approach can be effective for the teaching of science especially if you want to present a broad range of subject matter and if information is not easily accessible. You can also use this approach if you want to present difficult concepts your students might have difficulty understanding.

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ACTIVITY 4.4
1. A science teacher wants to teach the topic Magnets deductively using Ausubels Theory. The steps the teacher is using are given in the box but they are not in order. Arrange them in order according to the three phases below: Steps used by the teacher to teach Magnets 1. Teacher asks students for other examples of materials that are attracted to magnets 2. Teacher demonstrates how magnets attract materials made of iron and steel 3. Teacher tells students that the lesson is about materials that are attracted to magnets 4. Teacher writes on the board Magnets are attracted to metals, mostly those that are made of iron and steel 5. Teacher explains all words and ensures all students understand them 6. Teacher gives students materials and magnets and asks students to predict which materials will be attracted to magnets
Phase 1: Presentation of the Advance Organiser Phase II: Presentation of Learning Task or Material Phase III: Strengthening Cognitive Organisation

2.

Choose a topic from the primary science curriculum. Plan the steps you will use to teach the topic using Ausubels Model of Teaching as shown in Table 4.1. Present your answer in the tutorial session.

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SELF-CHECK 4.2
1. Explain briefly how you can use Ausubels Learning theory in your classroom. The purpose of an advance organiser is to (a) (b) (c) (d) map out new information. make new information meaningful. provide an overview of new lesson content. present new information in the form of analogies.

2.

4.3

GAGNES MASTERY LEARNING

Have you heard of the term mastery learning? What do you understand by this term? You might be thinking of someone who has mastered what he or she is supposed to learn. That is in essence what mastery learning is all about. Mastery learning is based on the assumption that all students, if given appropriate instruction and time, can master any learning outcome (Bloom, 1968). That should be the goal of all teachers. Robert Gagne (1916-2002) was a psychologist who was concerned with learning and instruction. He believed that learning must proceed from the simple to the more complex in well-defined stages. According to him, mastery learning can be designed into the instructional process. Let us now study Gagnes theory to see how this can be done. Gagnes learning theory incorporates three distinct components: categories of learning, hierarchy of intellectual skills and the nine events of instruction. This is summarised in Figure 4.4.

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Figure 4.4: Components of Gagnes learning theory

4.3.1
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

Gagnes Categories of Learning

Gagne identified five major categories or domains of learning, which are: Intellectual skills Cognitive strategies Verbal information Attitudes Motor skills

Each category has different abilities and performances and is learned in different ways. The significance of this is that different categories of learning require different types of instruction. For example, if you want to teach your students an intellectual skill like the properties of light, you will instruct them in a different

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way as compared to teaching them an attitude like honesty. Figure 4.5 shows Gagnes categories of learning.

Figure 4.5: Gagnes categories of learning

ACTIVITY 4.5
Gagne identified five categories of learning as shown in Figure 4.4. For each of these categories, provide examples using the primary science curriculum. Think about how you will teach these categories in your science classroom. Discuss your answers during the tutorial class.

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4.3.2

Gagnes Hierarchy of Intellectual Skills

Gagne focused on one category, that is, intellectual skills. He suggested that these skills be arranged in a hierarchy from the simple to the more complex. For learning to occur, the student would need to learn the more simple tasks before the more complex tasks. This means the simpler tasks become prerequisites or building blocks that should be completed before higher level learning can occur. Study Figure 4.6 which shows how the different learning types are arranged in a hierarchy.

Figure 4.6: Gagnes Hierarchy of Learning

Learning hierarchies can help teachers plan their teaching or instruction. So the first question you should ask is, What are the intellectual skills that are needed in order to master the learning outcomes? Once you know the final objective, you can plan backwards and make sure the simpler skills are mastered first before teaching a new skill. Table 4.2 shows examples of Gagnes Hierarchy of Learning Skills.

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Table 4.2: Example of Gagnes Hierarchy of Learning Skills Gagnes hierarchy of learning Problem Solving What is it? Applying rules to the solution of a problem and learning something new. Chain of two or more concepts that make up knowledge. Grouping and categorising. Examples Experimenting on the effect of heat on solubility. Water when heated will boil. Characteristics of animals and plants or metals and nonmetals. Using our five senses to identify substances. Mg magnesium, Fe iron. How to reduce and increase the bunsen burner flame to suit experiment. When the bunsen burner heat is too high, reduce it. When a bunsen burner is lighted, ask students to give a response.

Rule Learning Concept Learning

Discrimination Learning Verbal Association Chaining

Learning to make different responses to different stimuli. Verbalisation e.g. naming, reciting. Learning of chains or connection. Requires stimulus response learning sequences. Ability to perform a particular behaviour when a certain stimulus is present. Learning how to make a response to a signal.

Stimulus-Response Learning Signal Learning

ACTIVITY 4.6
Gagnes theory states that learning hierarchies can be constructed by working backwards from the final learning objective. Choose a concept, rule or principle from the primary science curriculum. What are the intellectual skills your students need to master first in order to learn the concept that you have chosen?

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4.3.3

Gagnes Nine Instructional Events

Gagne introduced nine instructional events that need to be part of the learning situation. The nine instructional events are shown in Table 4.3 and Figure 4.7.
Table 4.3: Gagnes Nine Instructional Events INSTRUCTIONAL EVENT Gain attention x x Inform learner of objectives Recall prior learning Present stimulus material x x x x Provide learning guidance Elicit performance x x LESSON ACTIVITY Use multimedia technology to grab attention. Tell a story. Make learners aware of what to expect so they are aware and prepared to receive instruction. Ask questions or do activities that help students recall prior knowledge. The learning content is meaningfully organised and explained and then demonstrated. A variety of strategies should be used. Teacher facilitates the learning process by giving hints and cues when needed. Teacher asks students to demonstrate new knowledge using questions, worksheets or activities Teacher gives feedback to students. Provide exercises to assess students. Provide test to check if learning outcomes were achieved. Provide activities where students can transfer their learning and review lesson. Applying learning in real-life situations is a step towards mastery learning.

Provide feedback Assess performance

x x x

Enhance retention and transfer

x x

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Figure 4.7: Gagnes Nine Instructional Events Source: http://eet.sdsu.edu/eetwiki/index.php/Gagne's_Nine_Events_of_Instruction

ACTIVITY 4.7
Choose a topic from the primary science curriculum. 1. 2. Plan how you will teach the topic you have chosen using Gagnes Nine Instructional Events. Specify clearly the activities you will carry out for each event. Prepare your answer in the form of a table.

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4.4

APPLICATION OF GAGNES MASTERY LEARNING IN SCIENCE TEACHING

You have just studied the three main components of Gagnes theory namely categories of learning, hierarchy of intellectual skills and the nine events of instruction. As a teacher, you need to first determine the category of learning as the type of instruction you will use will depend on this. Then, plan your instruction based on the nine events of instruction. If you want to teach intellectual skills, then determine the prerequisite skills needed and make sure students have mastered them before teaching the new skill. As a summary, keep the following principles in mind on how you can apply Gagnes Mastery Learning in science teaching (see Figure 4.8).

Figure 4.8: Application of Gagnes mastery learning in science teaching

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SELF-CHECK 4.3
Answer the following questions. 1. Students are able to solve problems using the formula for speed. According to Gagne, what type of learning category is shown in the learning outcome above? (A) (B) (C) (D) 2. Verbal information Intellectual skills Cognitive strategies Attitude

Which of the following is NOT one of Gagnes instructional events ? (A) (B) (C) (D) Present material Enhance retention and transfer Promote discrimination learning Stimulate recall of prior knowledge

3.

According to Gagnes theory, what is the first event of instruction teachers should use? (A) Stimulate prior learning (B) Enhance retention (C) Present the stimulus

4.5

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES THEORY

Howard Gardner suggests a new way of thinking about intelligence. According to him, there are eight different intelligences that he believes everyone has in different degrees (Figure 4.9). These intelligences make people perceive and understand the world differently. One or more of these intelligences may be more dominant for different individuals.

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Figure 4.9: Gardner's eight intelligences

Study Table 4.4 to understand the main characteristics and skills for each intelligence.
Table 4.4: Multiple Intelligences the Characteristics and Associated Skills Intelligence Logical / Mathematical Characteristics Ability to use reason, logic and numbers. These learners think conceptually in logical and numerical patterns making connections between pieces of information. Ability to use words and languages. These learners have highly developed auditory skills and are generally good speakers. They think in words rather than pictures. Skills Problem solving, classifying and categorising information, working with abstract concepts, performing complex mathematical calculations, working with geometric shapes. Listening, speaking, writing, storytelling, explaining, teaching, using humour, remembering information, convincing someone of their point of view.

Verbal / Linguistic

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Musical

Ability to produce and appreciate music. These musically inclined learners think in sounds, rhythms and patterns. This intelligence is the ability to perceive the visual. These learners tend to think in pictures and need to create vivid mental images to retain information. Ability to control body movements and handle objects These learners skilfully. express themselves through movement. They have a good sense of balance and eye-hand co-ordination. Ability to relate and understand others. These learners try to see things from other people's point of view in order to understand how they think and feel. Ability to reflect and analyse oneself. These learners try to understand their inner feelings, dreams, relationships with others, strengths and weaknesses. Ability to identify and classify patterns in nature. These learners have a sensitivity and appreciation for nature.

Singing, whistling, playing musical instruments, recognising tonal patterns, composing music, remembering melodies. Puzzle building, reading, writing, understanding charts and graphs, a good sense of direction, sketching, painting, manipulating images, constructing, fixing, designing practical objects, interpreting visual images. Dancing, physical co-ordination, sports, hands-on experimentation, using body language, crafts, acting, miming, using their hands to create or build, expressing emotions through the body. Listening, using empathy, understanding other people's moods and feelings, counselling, co-operating with groups, noticing people's moods, motivations and intentions. Recognising their own strengths and weaknesses, reflecting and analysing themselves, awareness of their inner feelings, desires and dreams, evaluating their thinking patterns. Good at nurturing and growing things, ability to care for and interact with animals, enjoys gardening and keeping pets, likes to camp and hike, conscious of environmental issues.

Visual / Spatial

Bodily / kinesthetic

Interpersonal

Intrapersonal

Naturalist

Source: http://www.ldpride.net/learningstyles.MI.htm#Multiple%20Intelligences%20Explained

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Are you interested to find out what intelligences you have? Visit the website below and try doing the test to find out how your mind works: http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_i nt/questions/choose_lang.cfm. If you have difficulty accessing the Internet, try the test given in Appendix 1 at the end of this topic. Have you discovered how your mind works? The intelligence that you scored the highest will generally be the best way that you study or do things. Look at the intelligences where your score was low and think of how you can increase that particular intelligence.

4.6

APPLICATION OF MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES THEORY IN SCIENCE TEACHING

According to Gardners theory, each child can be viewed as having these eight intelligences in different degrees. What does this mean to you as a science teacher? It means your teaching should have experiences for as many of the multiple intelligences as possible so every student has an opportunity to learn. First, you need to find out the multiple intelligences your students have. You can do this by observing students when they are studying, observing activities students like to do during their free time, looking at students achievement records and reports, or using the above link to test your students. How can you incorporate multiple intelligences in the teaching and learning process? Look at each of the intelligences and think of what activities will help each of these intelligences. A few ways you can incorporate multiple intelligences in your science classroom are given below: Ways to Incorporate Multiple Intelligences in The Science Classroom (a) Multiple Intelligence Stations You can set up different multiple intelligence stations in your classroom. Each station can have certain elements for each intelligence. The stations can be created using themes or intelligences in rotation if the space is not enough. E.g.: Naturalist station can have flora and fauna. The Intrapersonal Station should be away from noise and disturbance. Pupils can be given ear plugs so it is quiet and they can read, write, think and do self-reflection.

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(b)

Classroom Decorations You can decorate the classroom with information that can be appreciated by each intelligence. Get the students involved in this activity. E.g.: Verbal-linguistic students can prepare posters about science concepts and definitions. Logical-mathematical students can prepare models of shapes and formulas. Field Trips You can take students out for trips to different places to observe and understand nature. E.g.: For naturalist learners, you can ask them to collect and classify leaves. Musical learners can be asked to compose and sing science-themed songs during the field trip. Classroom Resources You can incorporate many different types of resources in a lesson to increase students interest. E.g.: For kinesthetic learners, you can use balls, building kits, stop watches, robotic kits. For interpersonal learners, you can use board games, role play cards and science games.

(c)

(d)

ACTIVITY 4.8
1. Identify a science topic from the primary science curriculum. Discuss activities you can use to teach the concepts using the different multiple intelligences. There is now a ninth multiple intelligence, that is, existentialist intelligence. Research this and discuss the implications for science teaching.

2.

SELF-CHECK 4.4
What are the advantages of using multiple intelligences theory in the classroom? What are some of your concerns? Discuss.

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Cognitive theories view learning as involving the mental processes through which humans acquire, process and store information. Ausubel suggests that teachers use a deductive approach. That is, they should introduce a topic with general concepts, and then gradually include specific examples. Information that makes sense and has meaning to the student is more meaningful than unrelated information learned by rote memorisation. The expository teaching model stresses on a teacher-planned, systematic presentation of meaningful information. The purpose of expository teaching is to transmit knowledge and skills from those who know (e.g. teacher and workbook) to those who do not know (e.g. students). Reception learning is a teaching method in which the teacher structures the learning situation to select materials that are appropriate for students and then presents them in well-organised lessons that progress from general to specific details. An advance organiser is an initial statement or an outline about a subject to be learned that provides a structure for the new information and relates it to information students already possess. The purpose of an advance organiser is to activate as much of the students existing knowledge to help them understand new information. Ausubels model of teaching or an expository approach consists of three principal phases: the presentation of an advance organiser, the presentation of a learning task or material and strengthening the cognitive organisation. Mastery learning means that all students if given appropriate instruction and time can master any learning objective. The three main components of Gagnes theory are categories of learning, hierarchy of intellectual skills and the nine events of instruction. Gagne identified five major categories or domains of learning, which are: verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, motor skills and attitudes. Different categories of learning require different types of instruction.

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Intellectual skills can be arranged in a hierarchy; with the simpler tasks being prerequisites for the more complex tasks. Nine instructional events that need to be part of the learning situation are gaining attention, informing learner of objective, recalling of prior information, present stimulus material, provide learning guidance, elicit performance, provide feedback and assess performance. Howard Gardners Multiple Intelligences theory consists of eight different intelligences. The eight multiple intelligences are logical-mathematical, verbal-linguistic, visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, musical and naturalist. Each child can be viewed as having these eight intelligences in different degrees. The teacher should provide experiences for as many of the multiple intelligences as possible so every student has an opportunity to learn. Ways to incorporate multiples intelligences in the classroom include having multiple intelligence stations, classroom decorations, field trips and using a variety of learning resources.

Advance organiser Bodily-kinesthetic Categories of learning Deductive learning Expository Learning Hierarchy of intellectual skills Instructional events Interpersonal Intrapersonal Logical-mathematical

Mastery Learning Meaningful Learning Multiple intelligences Musical Naturalist Reception Learning Rote memorisation Verbal-linguistic Visual spatial

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Abruscato, J. (2000). Teaching children science: A discovery approach. USA. Allyn & Bacon. Bloom, B. (1968). Learning for mastery. Evaluation Comment 1(2). Los Angeles: University of California, Center for the Study of Evaluation of Instructional Programs. Hassard, J. (1992). Minds on science Middle and secondary school methods. USA. Harper Collins. Joyce, B., Weil, M., & Showers, B. (1992). Models of teaching (4th ed.). USA. Allyn & Bacon. Joyce, B., Weil, M., & Showers, B. (1986). Models of teaching (3rd ed.). Allyn and Bacon. USA.) Retrieved 1/6/11 http://lrc.binus.ac.id/downloads/TE/Gagne.pdf Retrieved 1/6/11 http://questgarden.com/12/56/4/060120212752/credits.htm Retrieved 12/5/11.http://surfaquarium.com/MI/ Retrieved 20/5/11 http://my-coach.com/project.php?id=12152&project_step= 28465 Retrieved 20/5/11. Presents http://tip.psychology.org/gagne.html Retrieved 30/5/11 http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/what.cfm Retrieved 31/5/11 Naturalist http://lth3.k12.il.us/rhampton/mi/lessonplanideas.htm#

Retrieved 31/5/11 http://www.ldpride.net/learningstyles.MI.htm#Multiple%20 Intelligences%20Explained Santrock, J. W. (2001). Educational psychology. USA. McGraw-Hill. Slavin, R. E. (1994). Educational psychology. Theory and Practice. USA. Allyn and Bacon. Woolfolk, A. ( 2001). Educational psychology. USA. Allyn and Bacon.

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APPENDIX 1: EVALUATING MYSELF ON GARDNERS EIGHT TYPES OF INTELLIGENCE

Read the following items and rate yourself on a 4-point scale. Each rating corresponds to how well a statement describes you: 1 = Not like me at all 2 = Somewhat unlike me 3 = Somewhat like me 4 = A lot like me
Verbal Thinking 1. 2. 3. I do well on verbal tests I am a skilled reader and read a lot I love the challenge of solving verbal problems 1 2 3 4

Logical / Mathematical Thinking 4. 5. 6. I am a very logical thinker I like to think like a scientist Maths is one of my favourite subjects

Spatial Skills 7. 8. 9. I am good at visualising objects and layouts from different angles I have the ability to create maps of spaces and locations in my mind If I had wanted to be, I think I could have been an architect

Bodily-Kinesthetic Skills 10. 11. 12. I have great hand-eye coordination I excel at sports I am good at using my body to carry out an expression, as in dance

Musical Skills 13. 14. 15. I play one or more musical instruments well I have a good ear for music I am good at making up songs

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Interpersonal Skills 16. 17. 18. I am very good at reading people I am good at working with other people I am a good listener

Intrapersonal Skills 19. 20. 21. I know myself well and have a positive view of myself I am in tune with my thoughts and feelings I have good coping skills

Naturalist Skills 22. 23. 24. I am good at observing patterns in nature I excel at identifying and classifying objects in the natural environment I understand natural and man-made systems

Scoring and Interpretation Total your scores for each of the eight intelligences and place the totals in the blank that follows the label for each kind of intelligence. Which areas of intelligence are your strengths? In which area are you the least proficient? It is highly unlikely that you will be strong in all eight areas or weak in all eight areas. By being aware of your strengths and weaknesses in different areas of intelligence, you can also identify which areas of teaching will be easiest or hardest for you.