Thank You So Much for Participating in My Project. in an Effort to Reach All Their Students

September 24, 2002

Dear Sarah,

Thank you so much for participating in my project. In an effort to reach all their students and provide them the very best education, teachers need to know about their students. One very powerful piece of information is how the student best apprehends or gets to know something. After explaining more about multiple intelligences, I will provide you with some information on your intelligences and some ways you can use them. This information is valuable to you so you can take advantage of the ways in which you learn well and apply them to your studies for maximum effectiveness.

The first assessment you took was titled “The Eight Ways of Learning,” also known as multiple intelligences. Researchers have found that the brain apprehends information in different ways. The ways in which you learn are dependent on many different factors like your environment, your personality, and your previous experiences. You may be strong in some areas, yet find it difficult to access other areas of intelligence. This combination of abilities is what makes you uniquely and appropriately you. There is no one correct way of thinking or learning. When we learn through the written and spoken world, as we predominately do every day, we are using our verbal/linguistic intelligence abilities. Another traditional way is often called scientific thinking that uses inductive and deduction reasoning with numbers and abstract ideas is also called logical/mathematical intelligence. Visual/spatial intelligence uses your sense of sight to create mental images and visually map the world about you. Learning through physical movement, activating your brain’s motor cortex is called body/kinesthetic intelligence. Being able to recognize tonal patterns and sounds with an internal sense of rhythm is characteristic of musical/rhythmic intelligence. Intrapersonal intelligence refers to our inner state of awareness about ourselves while the interpersonal intelligence relates to our relationships with other people. These two intelligences can be interpreted as how we learn from ourselves (intra) and other people (inter.) I attached a summary sheet explaining the multiple intelligences in further detail.

Your essay responses were able to give me a description of your relative comfortableness with using the different intelligences. Your responses indicate strength in logical/mathematical intelligence. Working with numbers comes naturally to you as does pattern recognition. You like to calculate problems by working thorough the deductive and inductive thinking. Word problems are preferred because of you have a corresponding verbal/linguistic intelligence dominance as well. You have many accomplishments in writing and reading.

Your propensity for musical expression is strong. Consider fostering your musical/rhythmic intelligence by developing study techniques using music. Memorization can be aided by music, rhythmic and tonal patterns. Use oral tapes when possible and consider using musical expression for projects when given the option.

Perhaps your greatest demonstrated preference is to the naturalist intelligence. Your love of the outdoors, animals and growing things means you are more observant of the natural environment. You learn well through field trips and visits to natural settings. Try incorporating nature and biology into your activities when selecting projects.

I hope you enjoyed learning about yourself. As you learn and experience more throughout your life your intelligences will change. Stay in touch with yourself. Listen to what you are doing and saying and learn from it. Strive for using several intelligences when learning new things to increase your enjoyment of the subject. Developing all of your abilities will create a balance that you will benefit from throughout a lifetime of learning.

Sincerely,

Sheryl K. Setter