Students differ in their learning styles. Researcher Howard Gardner has a theory that there are eight different intelligences: visual/spatial, verbal/linguistic, mathematical/logical, bodily/kinesthetic, musical/rhythmic, intrapersonal, interpersonal and naturalist. Students often learn best by using a combination of these intelligences, so teachers must find ways to teach the content using a variety of methods.
Visual learners learn best by activities such as drawing, watching videos and looking at photographs. Teachers can tap into this intelligence by having students illustrate the meaning of vocabulary words. In contrast, verbal learners would rather say the words out loud or write them in order to understand what they mean. Another strategy to address these intelligences would be to have students choose between writing a summary of a story or drawing an illustration.
Mathematical learners like to use numbers and solve problems. Bodily or kinesthetic learners do best when they can do hands-on activities and other forms of movement. In a lesson about dividing the number 12 by five, mathematical students may catch on simply by writing out the problem and going through a sequence of steps to solve it. To reach the bodily learners, the teacher could have 12 students come to the front of the room, and then make as many groups of five as possible. The number of groups made would be the "answer," and extra students would be the "remainder."
Students with the musical intelligence learn by using songs, rhythms or other musical mediums. To reach this intelligence type, when studying about the Great Depression, the teacher could have students listen to the popular song "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" Naturalists enjoy observing nature and learning about natural events. For these students, extensive study on the causes and effects of the Dust Bowl during the 1920s would be interesting.
Intrapersonal learners like to work alone and are in touch with their feelings and beliefs. Interpersonal students are sociable and often enjoying working in groups to solve problems. If students were learning about desert environments, intrapersonal learners would enjoying writing a journal entry about how they would feel if they were stranded in the desert all alone; while interpersonal learners might enjoy working in a group to come up with a "desert supply kit" in order to survive the climate.