Chapter 1 summary of "So Each May Learn

Silver, H.; Strong, R. & Perini, M. (2000). So Each May Learn: Integrating Learning Styles & Multiple Intelligences. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

This compact volume manages to pack quite a punch on some of the most directly student-relevant issues in the construction of course and lesson plans and the conducting of instruction. Too often, it seems, educational theories become more concerned with esoteric concepts not directly related to the students themselves, but rather to grand abstract principles of teaching and administration that do not prove as effective in the real-world classroom as they seem on paper or in theory. This book is certainly grounded in theory, but it's first chapter at least is also highly and directly relevant to the learning experiences of students in classroom. The advent of psychology and the theory of multiple intelligences has wrought major changes in education over the twentieth century, as the authors point out in this chapter, and these changes are still working their way into a more full and comprehensive incorporation into the classroom in the twenty-first century.

The most essential concept in this chapter -- the one to which it is devoted, in fact -- is Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. Essentially, this definition of intelligence breaks with more traditional models and definitions of intelligence in that it posits several distinct areas of cognitive ability and awareness, and suggests that individuals each have a unique mixture of strengths and weaknesses in these areas. This theory gained quick credence in the educational field, and it has had some fairly drastic (and much needed) effects on educational theory and the way instruction is practiced in the classroom.

The effects of the multiple intelligences theory on teaching methods are fairly self-evident, at least insofar as pointing out the necessity of changing from traditional models of education. If every student had varying abilities, and specifically varying strengths and weaknesses in different areas of learning and cognition, then the development of a comprehensive and unified educational theory was a fool's errand. instead, methods had to be developed that would purposefully appeal to and encourage learners of many different intelligences. This does not mean catering only to each student's particular strength's and weaknesses, but rather ensuring that all types of intelligence are encouraged and given the chance to refine themselves and grow more effective.