Assessment Ideas
Here are a number of ideas for assessments matching different intelligences. This list is not all-inclusive; it's meant to spark ideas for what you can do in your own online courses.
- Bodily-Kinesthetic
- Intrapersonal
- Interpersonal
- Logical-Mathematical
- Musical-Rhythmic
- Naturalist
- Verbal-Linguistic
- Visual-Spatial
Bodily-Kinesthetic
(For Bodily-Kinesthetic assessments, you can ask students to record video of themselves and submit that. Alternatively, you can ask students to do a physical activity and then reflect on what they learned)
- lab experiments
- dramatizations
- original and classical dance
- charades and mimes
- impersonations
- human tableaux
- invention projects
- physical exercise routines and games
- skill demonstrations
- illustrations using body language and gestures
Intrapersonal
- autobiographical reporting
- personal application scenarios
- metacognitive surveys and questionnaires
- complex introspective questions and answers
- concentration tests
- feelings diaries and blogs
- self-identification reporting
- personal history correlation
- personal priorities and goals
Interpersonal
- group jigsaws
- reciprocal teaching
- "think-pair-share"
- round robins
- giving and receiving feedback
- interviews, questionnaires, and "people searches"
- emphatic processing
- random group quizzes
- assessing teammates
- testing, coaching, and retesting
- group projects
- roleplays
Logical-Mathematical
- cognitive organizers
- complex reasoning
- pattern games
- outlining
- logic and rationality exercises
- mental menus and formulas
- deductive reasoning
- inductive reasoning
- calculation processes
- logical analyses and critiques
Musical-Rhythmic
- creating concept songs and raps
- illustrating with sound
- discerning rhythmic patterns
- composing music
- linking music/rhythm with learned concepts
- orchestrating music
- creating percussion patterns
- recognizing tonal patterns and quality
- analyzing musical structure
- reproducing musical and rhythmic patterns
Naturalist
- taxonomy collections
- charts
- dioramas
- online video clips
- voice-over narration of National Geographic films
- nature observation logs
- population analyses
- ecology images
- population data analyses
- photo logs
- specimen collections (recorded via photo)
- narrated travel logs
Verbal-Linguistic
- written essays
- vocabulary quizzes
- recall of verbal information
- audio recordings, podcasts
- poetry writing
- linguistic humor
- formal speeches
- cognitive debates
- listening and reporting
- learning logs, journals, and blogs
Visual-Spatial
- image montages
- graphic representations and visual illustrations
- visualization and imagination
- reading, understanding, and creating maps
- flowcharts and graphs
- imaginary conversations
- mind mapping
- video recording
- photography
- manipulative demonstrations
To learn more about using Multiple Intelligences in assessments, as well as other ways to differentiate instruction, consider the Performance Learning Systems course Differentiated Instruction For Today's Learners® available both online and face-to-face.