Cognitive Development

and Reading (Module 7)

Learning Styles and Reading (p.218)

Intelligence and Reading (p.230)

Lilybelle G. Occeno
Learning Styles
Stimuli and Elements
Learning Styles: Stimuli and Elements
Learning styles are the ways in which an individual approaches a range of
tasks. They have been categorized in a number of different ways -- visual,
auditory, and kinesthetic, impulsive and reflective, right brain and left brain,
etc.
Barsch Learning Style Inventory
- informal inventory that provides the high school or college-level student
with an indication of the relative strengths and weaknesses in learning
through different sensory channels: auditory, visual, tactile, and,
kinesthetic. It is especially useful for assessing the unique learning styles of
specific learning difficulty students. The study tips component gives
guidelines on how to maximise individual learning styles.
- This instrument was developed by Jeffrey R. Barsch, EdD in 1996.
• Environment
• Emotions
• Sociological needs
• Physical characteristics
• Psychological inclinations
- Adapted from Dunn & Dunn, in Carbo, et al, 1986
Environmental elements Emotional elements
• Sound – peace and quiet or listen • Motivation – extremely motivated or
to music? nonchalant?
• Light – low light or bright light? • Persistence – focused or distracted?
• Temperature – warm or cool? • Responsibility – conformist or
nonconformist?
• Design – the desk or the bed?
• Structure – go-getter or satisfied?
Sociological elements Physical elements
• Alone or study group? • Perceptual strengths
• Teacher-motivated or not? • Intake – gum or chocolates?
• Time of day – day person or night person?
• Mobility – want to go for a walk?
Psychological elements
• Global/Analytic – small pieces or the big picture?
• Hemispheric preference – right-brained or left-brained?
• Impulsiveness/Reflectivity – exuberant or contemplative?
Teaching reading to match learning styles
• No single teaching approach is best for all students.
• The matching of reading methods and individual learning styles is especially
important in the beginning grades to prevent reading failure.
• Teaching students through their perceptual strengths can produce excellent
reading gains.
• Attitudes, behaviour and attention tend to worsen when students are taught
through their perceptual weaknesses, and improve significantly when they are
taught through their preferred modalities.
• Tactile-kinesthetic materials and experiences and high-interest tape recorded
books/videos are especially effective techniques, particularly with young learners
with visual memory problems and auditory weaknesses.
Two ways of matching reading methods and learning styles:

1. Teaching reading through modality strengths

Reading programs must have a variety or reading resources that accommodate
the diverse perceptual strengths of students:
- Visual learners need to read books.
- Auditory learners would learn well with taped recordings and resources that
stimulate discussion.
- Tactile/Kinesthetic learners need to feel and experience what is being
learned through cards, flip charts, games, puppets, clay, sand, etc.
Global or analytic? What’s the difference?

-adapted from Carbo et al, 1986

2. Teaching students to read globally and analytically

Global approach: Analytic approach:

• Whole word; language • Phonics and linguistics – also
experience; Fernald word tracing called the synthetic approach;
methods – also called holistic isolated letter sound, blends,
method; whole story moving to clusters; word, sentences,
its parts; draws skill work from thoughts
the characters, events, and
vocabulary of the story. • Organising ideas and sequencing

• Open-ended questions
Intelligence and Reading
▪ IQ (Intelligence Quotient) and MA (Mental Age)
▪ MI (Multiple Intelligences
What is intelligence?
Types of IQ Tests:
▪ Cognitive Assessment System
• “the aggregate or global capacity ▪ Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children
of the individual to act
purposefully, to think rationally, ▪ Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
and to deal effectively with his
environment.” (Weschler, 1944 in ▪ Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test
Harris, 1980)
• measured by intelligence tests ▪ Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
that focus on mathematical skills,
memory, spatial perception, and ▪ Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
language abilities.
▪ Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive
Abilities
What is IQ? What is tested in an IQ test?

• IQ (intelligence quotient) is a • The first modern day IQ test was

standard score that indicates how created by Alfred Binet in 1905.
far above or below an individual
stands in mental ability • It was designed to identify
compared to his/her peer. intellectually disabled children and
ensure that they receive adequate
• An IQ test is an assessment that education like children of normal
measures a range of cognitive intelligence.
abilities and provides a score that
is intended to serve as a measure • The capacity to see relationships,
of an individual's intellectual solve problems, and remember
abilities and potential. information are important
components of intelligence, so these
are often the skills on which IQ tests
focus.
IQ and Mental Age
• The average IQ is 100 by definition.
• Most people score between 85 and 115.
• The IQ score was calculated by dividing
the test taker's mental age (MA) by
his/her chronological age (CA) and then
multiplying this number by 100.
• To determine the mental age:
IQ = x/CA x 100
What is mental age and how is it related to chronological age?
• Mental age shows how a specific individual, at a specific age, performs
intellectually, compared to average intellectual performance for that
individual's actual chronological age.
• Mental age (MA) is based on intellectual development, while chronological
age (CA) is based on the calendar date on which you were born.
• If your chronological age and your mental age are the same, you are said to
be of average intelligence. Gifted children have mental ages that are higher
than their chronological age.
• The average mental age of adults does not increase past age 18, so an adult
taking an IQ test is assigned the chronological age of 18.
Intelligence, IQ Tests, and Reading

• Studies have shown that there is a positive correlation between reading

achievement test scores and intelligence test scores; this correlation
seems to increase as children go through the grade levels. (Cohen & Glass,
1968, in Rubin, 1982)
• BUT: the statement that the minimum mental age of 6 is necessary for
success in beginning reading is incorrect.
• IQ tests are not perfect predictors of a child’s ability to work well in
school.
Multiple intelligences

• All people have different kinds of “intelligences.” Howard Gardner (Frames of

Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, 1983)

• It sought to broaden the scope of human potential beyond the confines of

the IQ score.
• Intelligence has more to do with the capacity for solving problems and
fashioning products in a context-rich and naturalistic environment.
• We may all have these intelligences, but our profile of these intelligence may
differ individually based on genetics or experience.
• Seven kinds of intelligence would allow seven ways to teach, rather than one.
7 Intelligences:
1. Linguistic
2. Logical-mathematical
3. Spatial
4. Musical
5. Bodily-kinesthetic
6. Interpersonal
7. Intrapersonal

-adapted from Thomas Armstrong, 1994

Linguistic intelligence Logical-mathematical intelligence
• use words well, both when writing and • good at reasoning, recognizing patterns,
speaking; typically very good at writing and logically analyzing problems; think
stories, memorizing information, and conceptually about numbers, relationships,
reading. and patterns.
People with linguistic-verbal intelligence: People with logical-mathematical
intelligence:
• remember written and spoken
information • have excellent problem-solving skills
• enjoy reading and writing • enjoy thinking about abstract ideas
• debate or give persuasive speeches • like conducting scientific experiments
• are able to explain things well • can solve complex computations
• use humor when telling stories
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence Musical intelligence
• good at body movement, performing • good at thinking in patterns, rhythms, and
actions, and physical control. People sounds; have a strong appreciation for
who are strong in this area tend to have music and are often good at musical
excellent hand-eye coordination and composition and performance.
dexterity.
People with musical intelligence:
People with bodily-kinesthetic intelligence:
• enjoy singing and playing musical
• skilled at dancing and sports instruments
• enjoy creating things with his or her • recognize musical patterns and tones
hands easily
• have excellent physical coordination • remember songs and melodies
• remember by doing, rather than hearing • have a rich understanding of musical
or seeing structure, rhythm, and notes
Intrapersonal intelligence Interpersonal intelligence
• good at being aware of their own • good at understanding and interacting
emotional states, feelings, and with other people. These individuals are
motivations. They tend to enjoy self- skilled at assessing the emotions,
reflection and analysis, including motivations, desires, and intentions of
daydreaming, exploring relationships those around them.
with others, and assessing their personal
strengths. People with interpersonal intelligence:
People with intrapersonal intelligence: • communicate well verbally
• analyze their strengths and weaknesses • are skilled at nonverbal communication
well
• see situations from different perspectives
• enjoy analyzing theories and ideas
• create positive relationships with others
• have excellent self-awareness
• resolve conflicts in group settings
• understand the basis for his or her own
motivations and feelings
Visual-Spatial intelligence
• good at visualizing things. These individuals are often good with directions as well as
maps, charts, videos, and pictures.
People with visual-spatial intelligence:
• read and write for enjoyment
• are good at putting puzzles together
• interpret pictures, graphs, and charts well
• enjoy drawing, painting, and the visual arts
• recognize patterns easily
Naturalist intelligence (nature smart)
• Naturalist is the most recent addition to Gardner’s theory and has been met with more
resistance than his original seven intelligences. Individuals who are high in this type of
intelligence are more in tune with nature and are often interested in nurturing, exploring
the environment, and learning about other species. They are said to be highly aware of
even subtle changes to their environments. (Gardner 1999)
People with naturalistic intelligence:
• are interested in subjects such as botany, biology, and zoology
• categorize and catalog information easily
• enjoy camping, gardening, hiking, and exploring the outdoors
• dislikes learning unfamiliar topics that have no connection to nature
MI and the Teaching of Reading and Writing

Armstrong’s (1994) MI Planning Framework

Different engagement activities provide
an ideal environment for nurturing
highly developed intelligences as well
as provide opportunities for developing
relatively untapped ones.

Armstrong’s (1994) MI Planning Framework

Teaching Implications

• Learning styles and multiple intelligences are learner-centered – they raise

awareness in students and encourage them to take an active part in the
lessons.
• It is critical to not classify students as being specific types of learners nor as
having an innate or fixed type of intelligence.
• Having an understanding of different teaching approaches from which we
all can learn, as well as a toolbox with a variety of ways to present content
to students, is valuable for increasing the accessibility of learning
experiences for all students.