The Rangoli of Intelligences

“The only way to make sense of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” — Alan Watts

Every teacher has had that déjà vu moment: “Didn’t my class look exactly like this last year?”
Same routines. Same energy. Same few hands in the air.

That’s not failure — it’s feedback.
And like Diwali lamps, growth doesn’t wait to be invited. It shines when we light the first wick.

Just as a rangoli blends many colours into a single pattern, every classroom blends many minds into one learning space. The key is to design lessons where every learner feels — “This was made for me.”

No extra prep. No extra period. Just small shifts that create a big glow.

✨ What is MI (Multiple Intelligences)?

Harvard educator Howard Gardner proposed that intelligence isn’t a single score, it’s many ways of being smart.

Think of it as eight “doorways” for learning:

🗣️ Linguistic – word smart
🔢 Logical–Mathematical – pattern smart
🎨 Spatial – design smart
🤸‍♀️ Bodily–Kinesthetic – movement smart
🎵 Musical – rhythm smart
💬 Interpersonal – people smart
🧘 Intrapersonal – self smart
🌿 Naturalistic – nature smart

Some schools even explore a ninth: Existential (big-questions smart), but these eight are your classroom’s starting palette.

🌟 5 Gems (Quick, Practical, High Impact)

These are small but powerful routines you can use without overhauling your entire syllabus. Each one is rooted in research on Multiple Intelligences and differentiated instruction.

🧪 Worked Example: Science, “The Water Cycle” (Grade 6 / Middle school)

Let’s walk through how a science teacher might use 3 of these Gems in a unit on the Water Cycle. (You can mirror for any subject: Math, English, Social Studies, etc.)

1. Choice Pathways: Learning About Processes

Concept: Evaporation, Condensation, Precipitation, Collection

Pathway options (students choose one):

• Visual route (Spatial): Draw a “comic strip / flowchart” of the water cycle, labeling each stage.
• Verbal route (Linguistic): Write a short story / narrative from the perspective of a water droplet (it “travels” through evaporation → condensation → precipitation → rivers).
• Kinesthetic route (Bodily): Use body movement: students physically move between zones in class (floor is ocean, walls are clouds) to “travel the cycle” and narrate what happens at each stage.
• Musical / Rhythmic route (Musical): Compose a short rhyme / chant / song about the stages in sequence, with a hook for remembering order.

How to do it in class:

• The teacher presents the water cycle diagram.
• Share pathway options and let students pick one.
• Students spend ~10 minutes working in that mode.
• Then in pairs or small groups, each student shares how they thought through it (e.g. “My droplet got heated and …”).

Why this works:

Gives multiple entry points (visual, verbal, movement, music).

Students choose what resonates with them.

They internalise the sequence by creatively re-expressing it.

2. Movement Anchor: Embedding Key Vocabulary

Key vocabulary: “Evaporation”, “Condensation”, “Precipitation”, “Infiltration”

Gesture/movement plan:

• Evaporation: Raise hands (like vapor rising)
• Condensation: Hands cluster / come together (droplets forming)
• Precipitation: Fingers dropping (raindrop motion)
• Infiltration: Hand “sinking” downward (water entering ground)

Routine:
Every time the teacher says the word, students do the gesture together.
Mid-class quiz: teacher calls out a stage and students must both say and show the movement.
This physical anchor reinforces retrieval and memory.

3. Exit Mosaic (Reflection & Feedback)

At the end of the water cycle lesson:

Prompts (each student responds — write or draw):

1. One stage I feel I truly understand now (and why)
2. One question or confusion I still have
3. One real-life place I can observe this (today/this week)

Students stick their responses on a wall or board in a “Water Cycle Mosaic.”
The teacher glances through responses to see misconceptions and address them in the next class.

Closing Light

The comfort zone feels safe, but it silences ambition. MI is your gentle nudge out of autopilot: short, joyful routines that invite every intelligence to the floor. Don’t wait for change—light it. Pick two gems, run one tiny PDCA (Plan–Do–Check–Act. For a simple walkthrough with festive classroom examples, you can read our Dussehra blog.), and watch your classroom move from repetition to radiance. 🪔