Learning Styles and Intelligences

 "The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice." - Brian Herbert




Learning about learning is metacognition at its finest. There are many different ways in which people learn and not all of them are promoted equally. It might even be said that an elitism exists about the 'best' way to learn or the 'best' type of intelligence; and these would be what are usually catered to in general education situations. 

But the truth is, the only 'best' is what's best for you. Expecting everyone to learn in the same way is like expecting all fruit trees to bear the same fruit - your theory has no place in reality and if it did, what a boring world we would be living in.


Even now there is a lot of discrepancy on the internet about how many learning styles there are and many resources still point to there being only four styles. However, more recent work points to six different learning styles. 

As well as learning style, types of intelligence exist and these are generally based on Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence theory from his 1983 book Frames of Mind.

To be clear, learning styles and multiple intelligences are not actually the same thing, despite the fact they often get used interchangeably. 

Learning styles describe how a person prefers to learn (in the same way they prefer to use their right or left hand to write - they could use the other but have a preference) and how someone approaches a task to understand the information given. 

These are taken to be:

  • visual learning
  • auditory learning
  • tactile learning
  • kinaesthetic learning
  • group learning 
  • individual learning


Although related to learning styles, multiple intelligences equate to the actual intellectual capabilities of a person, not simply how they prefer to approach information. 

These are taken to be:

  • linguistic/verbal intelligence
  • visual/spatial intelligence
  • kinaesthetic/bodily intelligence
  • logical/mathematical intelligence
  • musical/rhythmic intelligence
  • interpersonal intelligence
  • intrapersonal intelligence
  • naturalistic intelligence
  • existential intelligence


There is definitely some overlap between learning styles and multiple intelligences - hence why there is often confusion and misguided use of the two phrases. The preferred learning style is generally the result of stronger abilities in a particular intelligence, as according to Gardner an intelligence includes skills for problem solving and/or creating something. 


Applying the different intelligences to dance is interesting as it is generally expected that a dancer would be predominantly working in kinaesthetic and visual intelligence domains, however all nine intelligences have a place in this learning. 



LINGUISTIC  

Learns best through one or a combination of linguistic skills - reading, writing, listening, speaking.

Applied to dance:

  • hearing choreography steps called out as you do them (eg. step, kick, turn, drop)
  • saying counts while doing the movement
  • using tone of voice to equate to dynamics of steps
  • following written choreography instructions to learn it
  • verbal correction
  • writing down notes of choreography 
  • reading articles/blogs/books to help further knowledge 


VISUAL/SPATIAL

Learns best with visual aids like diagrams, pictures, graphs etc, and tends to be technically orientated,

Applied to dance:

  • visualising choreography
  • using the mirror
  • being in clear view of the instructor or seeing it demonstrated
  • watching a dance from audience perspective, then making changes to it
  • drawing out steps in a notebook
  • making maps (eg. if being a swing)
  • colour coding (people, dances, props etc)
  • watching recordings of class or performance 
  • visualising a sequence 'to the left' or reversing movement as a teacher


KINESTHETIC/BODILY

Learns best by physically doing something and interacting with objects to learn about them.

Applied to dance:

  • physically doing choreography - ideally full out
  • experimenting with movement to create choreography or motifs
  • doing a performance
  • taking a class
  • body maintenance & awareness - eg, doing yoga/stretching/rolling out
  • physically working through notes you've been given
  • thinking about notes whilst exercising or dancing (eg, running on treadmill or during dance warmup)
  • teaching the choreography to someone else
  • physical correction
  • working with a partner



LOGICAL/MATHEMATICAL

Must classify or categorise things to make sense of them; tend to see relationships or patterns and use numbers or equations.

Applied to dance:

  • separating choreography into chunks/sections
  • seeing patterns in choreography/sequences 
  • thinking about the geometry - ie. floor patterns, shapes (especially in social dancing, National Dance etc)
  • understanding the piece as a whole, not just your role in it
  • solving choreography problems
  • using counts for movement
  • adjusting yourself as needed to meet your partner - analysing and adapting to changes you need to make because every time is unique
  • having agendas for class/rehearsal/day



MUSICAL/RHYTHMIC

Learn best using rhythm or melody - eg, music, humming, toe-taping, whistling. Music is an aid, not a distraction.

Applied to dance:

  • putting choreography to music
  • humming/singing song or counts when working with choreography
  • listening to music to get inspired
  • finding emotional connection between movement and music
  • making rhymes for movement (eg, time steps in Tap)
  • verbalising rhythms with noises (eg, 'bah', 'bam', 'ta', 'pop' etc) 
  • understanding style via music (eg, lyrical)
  • learn movement, practice with music, learn more, etc
  • recognising highlights and dynamics in music and translating that to movement
  • using music for improvisation


INTERPERSONAL

Learns by relating to others, bouncing off ideas of others, comparing and sharing ideas.

Applied to dance:

  • working in a cast of dancers
  • contact improvisation
  • group goals
  • group class
  • teaching each other steps/style and sharing experiences
  • learning from each other as you watch/interact in class/audition
  • partnerwork
  • creating choreography collaboratively with a choreographer 


INTRAPERSONAL

Learns and works best when alone, sets individual goals, motivated by internal rather than external forces, often introverted but not always.

Applied to dance:

  • digesting and going over choreography on your own
  • stretching/rolling/exercising on your own
  • meditating before a performance
  • reflecting on own performance/progress
  • one-to-one lessons
  • personal goals as primary focus
  • focusing on thoughts/feelings and how they may help you succeed 


NATURALISTIC

Learns best by experiencing and working with nature, observing the world and interacting with it.

Applied to dance:

  • differentiating sounds made with different parts of the feet in Tap
  • classifying movements of different body parts
  • finding inspiration in nature
  • using naturalistic movements 


EXISTENTIAL

Learns best by asking questions and thinking deeply about topics, asking questions of spiritual or transcendent nature, the basic unanswerable but explorable questions of life.

Applied to dance:

  • choreographing from inspiring thought, music, concept
  • asking what the purpose behind the movement is
  • asking what the effect on the audience is
  • asking what the meaning of it is and why it is being done
  • asking what responsibilities the dancer has towards the audience



Generally people identify strongly with at least one of the intelligences but often to a combination of them. In my practice, I identify strongly with linguistic, visual and kinaesthetic intelligence the most, as well as intrapersonal elements.


In Joan Walton's 1999 research paper 'The Art and Science of Teaching/Learning Dance', she describes how Engineering students applied their multiple intelligence factors to their learning in Social Dance classes, and she attributes their success to the students being in a "comfort zone" where they are being mentally and physically challenged but with a "recognition of familiar language" that made it possible for them to excel. 

They applied their kinaesthetic, visual and logical intelligence characteristics to learn and develop new skills by linking new knowledge to previous knowledge, transferring the skills set they had, and codifying steps in a way that made sense to them.

In this way, understanding yourself as a learner and recognising your dominant intelligence presumably enhances efficiency and quantity of learning and strengthens confidence in exploring new skills by making an unfamiliar environment equate to familiar thinking and logic.

As a dancer, understanding your dominant intelligence may mean you are better able to pick up and process choreography, learn new styles, continue personal progress, develop creativity, or create enhanced classes that cater to students of multiple intelligences. And, of course, transfer these skills to things outside of the industry.


Above all, understanding how you think and how you learn is key to recognising that there is no 'elite' or superior intelligence, for once you understand how you learn, there is really no limit to what you can learn. 






References:


Celebrity Dance Studio (2018), 'WHAT'S YOUR LEARNING STYLE?' http://celebritydancestudio.com/new-blog/2018/7/25/whats-your-learning-style

Clark, A. (2019), 'Learning styles vs. multiple intelligences: Related, but not the same' https://www.classcraft.com/blog/features/learning-styles-vs-multiple-intelligences/

SKILLS YOU NEED (2020), 'At Your Fingertips: The 8 Types of Learning Styles' https://www.skillsyouneed.com/rhubarb/fingerprints-learning-styles.html

Walton, J. (1999), 'THE ART AND SCIENCE OF TEACHING/LEARNING DANCE' http://www.joanwalton.com/Home/Essays/the-art-and-science-of-teachinglearning-dance



Comments

  1. Alice Pettini26 October 2020 at 10:55

    Hi Roanne, I love how you have applied each intelligence to dance. I also have found it interesting how you have compared learning styles with multiple intelligences. This post has given me some food for thought! Thank you for sharing! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Roanne Cox26 October 2020 at 13:12

      Thank you Alice! It was an interesting process to explore where the different intelligences could be applied to dance and to think about which I use and which I don't. Thank you for reading! x

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