How We need to Consider Multiple Intelligences In Church and Youth Ministry

"It’s not how smart you are, but how you are smart."


What is your approach to teaching within your ministry?  Do you always get some young people who just don't seem to get it or even show any interest?  If so, maybe they just don't/can't learn through the way you teach.

This idea refers to Gardener’s multiple intelligences theory (MI), in his 'Frames of Mind' book, in 1983. Inspired by his work with brain damaged veterans and with developing minds of children, Gardner used what he had learned to formulate a theory advocating several ways of viewing the world.  Gardner hypothesized that human intelligence also encompasses:

• Verbal / Linguistic
• Mathematical / Logical
• Visual / Spatial
• Bodily / Kinesthetic
• Musical
• Interpersonal
• Intrapersonal
• Naturalistic

Gardener writes:

"a skilled teacher is a person who can open a number of different windows on the same concept."

This is a detailed look at MI idea (taken from here)

Intelligence Area	Strengths	Preferences	Learns best through	Needs
Verbal / Linguistic	Writing, reading, memorizing dates, thinking in words, telling stories	Write, read, tell stories, talk, memorize, work at solving puzzles	Hearing and seeing words, speaking, reading, writing, discussing and debating	Books, tapes, paper diaries, writing tools, dialogue, discussion, debated, stories, etc.
Mathematical/ Logical	Math, logic, problem-solving, reasoning, patterns	Question, work with numbers, experiment, solve problems	Working with relationships and patterns, classifying, categorizing, working with the abstract	Things to think about and explore, science materials, manipulative, trips to the planetarium and science museum, etc.
Visual /Spatial	Maps, reading charts, drawing, mazes, puzzles, imagining things, visualization	Draw, build, design, create, daydream, look at pictures	Working with pictures and colors, visualizing, using the mind's eye, drawing	LEGOs, video, movies, slides, art, imagination games, mazes, puzzles, illustrated book, trips to art museums, etc.
Bodily/ Kinesthetic	Athletics, dancing, crafts, using tools, acting	Move around, touch and talk, body language	Touching, moving, knowledge through bodily sensations, processing	Role-play, drama, things to build, movement, sports and physical games, tactile experience4s, hands-on learning, etc.
Musical	Picking up sounds, remembering melodies, rhythms, singing	Sing, play an instrument, listen to music, hum	Rhythm, singing, melody, listening to music and melodies	Sing-along time, trips to concerts, music playing at home and school, musical instruments, etc.
Interpersonal	Leading, organizing, understanding people, communicating, resolving conflicts, selling	Talk to people, have friends, join groups	Comparing, relating, sharing, interviewing, cooperating	Friends, group games, social gatherings, community events, clubs, mentors/ apprenticeships, etc.
Intrapersonal	Recognizing strengths and weaknesses, setting goals, understanding self	Work alone, reflect pursue interests	Working alone, having space, reflecting, doing self-paced projects	Secret places, time alone, self-paced projects, choices, etc.
Naturalistic	Understanding nature, making distinctions, identifying flora and fauna	Be involved with nature, make distinctions	Working in nature, exploring living things, learning about plants and natural events	Order, same/different, connections to real life and science issues, patterns

Some examples:

• A person who is strong musically and weak numerically will be more likely to develop numerical and logical skills through music, and not by being bombarded by numbers alone.
• A person who is weak spatially and strong numerically, will be more likely to develop spatial ability if it is explained and developed by using numbers and logic, and not by asking them to pack a suitcase in front of an audience.
• A person who is weak bodily and physically and strong numerically might best be encouraged to increase their physical activity by encouraging them to learn about the mathematical and scientific relationships between exercise, diet and health, rather than forcing them to box or play rugby.

MI in Youth Ministry

So how could the idea of MI apply to youth work/ministry?

• My first thought is how in churches,  teaching/preaching tends to focus on the spoken word with a powerpoint for effect, this focuses on Linguistic intelligence, but with the exception of a the odd  illustration, drama or powerpoint, neglects most of the other intelligences. If the sermon/teaching were to consider MI, how may the weekly sermon change?
• How about the classic youth ministry bible study, how could we plan this with MI? This is maybe simpler to tackle then the church sermon.  We could maybe start with think through the 'Learns best through' table and try to incorporate an aspect or two from each MI.  Use the 'Needs' table and incorporate may of these.
• How can we move away from primarily Linguistic focused youth ministry?
• We tend to focus our teaching on the MI we work best in, maybe each week try to teach in a different MI to learn how to think/teach in a variety of styles.
• And how about street work, when we engage with young people in schools, on the streets etc, and try to build relationships, could we purposefully integrate MI within the interaction?  What would that look like I wonder?

You can do a online MI test here to find out what type of MI you are