Different Ways of Learning
The theory of multiple intelligences is that people have different strengths or ways of being intelligent or learning. We’ve found that most people learn through most or all of these channels. We’ve tried to include multiple ways of accessing the information for people in the exercises and how the data is presented. You may gravitate more towards one or two than others. But most people benefit by using all the pathways to learning nonetheless. Here’s a breakdown:
The way we translate that to learning is this: Kinaesthetic - This includes touching, doing, motion. Get out in the garden and try it! We provide exercises that allow you to gain kinaesthetic knowledge.
Logical/mathematical - You like to put order into things, and you like specifics. Crunch some numbers, like how many feet of garden space do you need, to grow all the sweet potatoes you can eat? A lot of logic goes into designing regenerative systems. You may find working out problems on paper is very useful.
Linguistic - You are verbal, you do well with things explained. Much of the course is presented in writing or with words. The meanings of words are important, so that we know we are all talking about the same thing.
Naturalist - You have a connection with nature. We provide exercises in nature that help you deepen that connection and learn while doing so.
Musical - You are receptive to sound. There is a lot of music and art out there expressing principles of permaculture! Nice way to relax and access those learning pathways. We hope you’ll share your finds in the discussion section. We include exercises that help you recognize the health of your system through birdsong and other music of nature.
Spatial - You are visual, you see relationships visually. This is an important skill in permaculture (all of these can be improved, btw). You will use this one a lot. Where should you place those trees? Is there room for them to grow up? There are exercises to help you visualize your site on maps and on the site itself.
Interpersonal - You love people and thrive when exchanging ideas with others. This is also a huge part of permaculture and we provide tools and opportunities to deepen your skills here. We also provide a format to engage in discussions with both instructors and students.
Intrapersonal - “Checking in” with yourself is an important part of being a good designer, or good anything really. You may do this by meditating, or doing a “sit spot” (see the exercise for the Observe and Interact principle on how to do this), or another method. We’ll also give you a few tools during the course you can use, if you like, to check in on your progress as a student.
Nomenclature (technical terms)
In permaculture, we use a few technical terms that have very specific meanings. Some of these meanings are different from the commonly used definitions for that word. It’s important to know what these words mean and which definition we’re using, in order to be clear about what we’re talking about. In our culture, looking words up in the dictionary is sometimes discouraged, and we’ve noticed, as a result, that sometimes people get into arguments because they’re actually talking about two different things! Clarifying the meaning of the words used to describe permaculture is an important part of understanding the subject and being able to use it.
Study Notes
Learning about permaculture is a very non-linear process for most people. This material is something that could be reviewed a couple of years from now and you will see new things in it. We’ve set the course up so that you can go back to previous lessons and review, or skip around. But we do unfold the data in the course in order and it will make more sense if you go through in order the first time.
We’ve created glossaries for each section of the course because of that. We’ve also posted them all in one place so you can easily access them here:
Glossary
You are able to browse the glossary and search it using your browser’s search function (usually Ctrl F / Cmd F on MAC). In addition it is separated into sections by subject, such as soils, or finance. If you see words you would like added to the glossary, please let us know - it will help us improve the course.