Multiple Intelligences
Multiple Intelligences
Introduction to the Basic Theory
The theory of multiple intelligences (MI) was first offered to the educational community by Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner (1983). Since it was first introduced this theory has captured the attention of numerous researchers, authors, and educators. Its intuitive appeal and rich experiential basis have led to a profusion of books and articles on the subject. Since his first book on MI Gardner himself has authored or co-authored more than eighty books and articles on the subject. The theory has enjoyed robust evolution since its inception.
Gardner (1983) proposed the notion that human beings have not just one type of intelligence, but several. Previously intelligence had been defined by measurable results on standardized intelligence tests. Gardner described seven different types of intelligence in his 1983 book. Later he added an eighth intelligence, and has suggested two others that are still being explored (Gardner, 1999). Gardner's recent definition of an intelligence was "a biopsychological potential to process information that can be activated in a cultural setting to solve problems or create products that are of value in a culture" (Gardner, 1999, p.33-34.) As such, it clearly involves processes that are carried out by dedicated neural networks. He emphasized that in natural behavior the intelligences operate together. Separating them for learning and discussion is an artificial process. Gardner pointed out that only two of the intelligences, linguistic and logical/mathematical, have been emphasized in American education since its inception, with all the others being ignored or under-developed.
Gardner (1999) developed eight criteria for classifying a behavioral or learning pattern as an intelligence as follows:
1. The potential of isolation by brain damage, as evidenced by individuals who have experienced brain damage by accident or disease.
2. An intelligence must have an evolutionary history and evolutionary plausibility, such that it confers some survival value for those who possess it.
3. An intelligence must have an identifiable core operation or set of operations.
4. An intelligence can be encoded in a symbol system, such as language or musical notation.
5. An intelligence has a developmental history in that individuals must go through a process of maturing the intelligence until they can perform a set of expert "end-state" performances.
6. The existence of savants, prodigies, and other exceptional people with “special abilities” supports the identification of an intelligence.
7. Support from experimental psychological tasks, such as transfer of skills to new tasks, and interference among tasks help identify discrete intelligences.
8. Support from psychometric findings have been used to support the existence of multiple intelligences.
Gardner (1999) made two fundamental claims about multiple intelligences, (1) that the theory accounts for the full range of human cognition, and (2) each individual has a unique blend of the various intelligences that contributes to his/her personal predilections and abilities. One of the main challenges for educators and individuals is for each person to develop his/her intelligences to the fullest.
The Intelligences
Gardner's (1983) original seven intelligences were (1)
- Linguistic/Verbal
- Logical-mathematical,
- Musical,
- Bodily-kinesthetic,
- Spatial,
- Interpersonal, and
- Intrapersonal.
In his later book (Gardner, 1999) he proposed three additional intelligences,
- Naturalist,
- Spiritual, and
- Existential.
These are summarized in Table 1.
Table 1: Summary of Multiple Intelligences
Linguistic/Verbal Intelligence
Perceives and responds to voice tones, tempo, rhythm, and word sounds; imitates language and other sounds such as bird song; learns through listening to spoken word, reading, writing, and discussing; proficient in discussing and explaining in written or spoken words, remembers conversations and lecture material; natural command of the language including subtlety of word choice, pronunciation, and semantics; learns languages easily.
Skills and Careers: Writer, speaker, teacher, negotiator, journalist, editor, storytelling; poet; linguist, translator; computer programmer, debate
Logical/Mathematical Intelligence
Uses abstract symbols easily, good at logical problem solving; formulates and tests hypotheses; uses diverse mathematical skills; enjoys complex operations such as math, physics, or research methods; perceives patterns and relationships among complex components; perceives functions of objects and cause and effect relationships; creates models, hypotheses and theories to explain phenomena.
Skills and Careers: Science, math, engineering, computers, law, accounting, debate, pharmacy, medicine
Musical Intelligence
Learns through listening; remembers and responds to a variety of sounds including human voice, environmental sounds, music; recognizes musical styles, collects music or musical information, interest in musical instruments and other sound-making devices; easily distracted by sounds or noise in the environment; finds symbolism in music, expresses ideas and feelings through sound and music; composes music.
Skills and Careers: Musician, music teacher, composer, arranger, sound engineer; music as an avocation
Bodily-kinesthetic Intelligence
Explores and learns through touch and movement; has a natural sense of coordination, balance, grace dexterity and timing; remembers by doing; enjoys concrete learning such as games, role play, physical exercise, model building, and field trips; responds to physical stimulation; interested in health and care of the physical body; naturally invents new approaches to physical skills such as dance movements, athletic techniques, and other physical activities.
Skills and Careers: athlete, dancer, massage therapy, surgeon, physical education teacher, builder, chiropractor
Visual Spatial Intelligence
Learns by watching, observing; recognizes shapes and colors and can reproduce them through artwork; perceives three-dimensional space and his place in it accurately; perceives and produces mental imagery, generates mental images for memory and recall; learns from and encodes information in graphs, charts, diagrams and other graphic or visual representations; enjoys doodling, drawing, painting, designing, and other visual creative activities; easily constructs three dimensional mental images and can move them in space, and can project future configurations.
Skills and Careers: Artist, designer, architect, decorator, photographer, videographer, chess player, choreographer, computer graphics designer
Interpersonal Intelligence
Bonds and interacts easily with others, forming social relationships; relates to others in a variety of ways; easily perceives the thoughts, feelings, motivations, and behaviors of others; interest in diverse lifestyles of others; participates in team and collaborative efforts easily, has ability to influence opinions and actions of others; a natural leader; easily adapts to new social and physical environments; responds well to feedback from others, effective communicator,
Skills and Careers: Teaching, social work, counseling, management, nursing, politics, sales, entrepreneur, parenting
Intrapersonal Intelligence
Aware of his range of emotions, and finds appropriate expression and outlets for them; has a strong personal ethics code; aware of beliefs and values that motivate him; sets goals and works toward them; works independently; curious about deeper questions in life including meaning, relevance, and purpose; manages his own ongoing learning and personal growth; seeks understanding of his inner experiences; strives for self-actualization; has insights into the complexities of himself and others; naturally empowers others and encourages them to introspection and self-understanding.
Skills and Careers: Self-starter; student, psychology, theology; spiritual advisor; writer
Naturalist Intelligence
Natural tendency to classify and discriminate among elements in a complex system; interest in nature and natural phenomena; pattern recognition and ability to categorize and recognize individual examples as belonging to a group; can map and chart relationships
Skills and Careers: Biologist; geneticist; veterinarian, farmer, rancher; lab sciences, naturalist; botanist;
Spiritual Intelligence
Gravitates toward religion, theology, mysticism and the transcendent. Concern with cosmic issues, supernatural, meaning of life's event; spends time in altered states such as meditation, self-hypnosis, and prayer; and connects with others in non-ordinary ways that may help and heal the other.
Skills and Careers: Monastic lifestyles; minister; mediator, alternative medicine, yoga and martial arts teachers,
Existential Intelligence
Concern with ultimate issues; continuity of spirit between lifetimes; sense of relationship with beings of other planes and the cosmos
Skills and Careers: Examples include spiritual masters such as Gandhi, Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama
Establishing an MI Teaching Environment
Gardner (1999) made recommendations to teachers for establishing the use of multiple intelligences in their teaching practice. He recommended interested teachers to first read, study, and learn more about MI theory and practices which others have used. Study groups with other teachers can be a good way to explore new ideas, compare results, and articulate questions and concerns. Visiting classrooms which already employ MI practices and attending professional development conferences and seminars, and networking with other schools are other sources of ideas and practitioners. He recommended that teachers then plan and launch activities and programs which emerge from their studies, including those developed by others and their own original ideas.
He also identified a set of conditions that are hospitable to MI theory (Gardner, 199). These included
1. “readiness”, an awareness, curiosity, and motivation in the faculty, parents and administrators. Faculty seminars and parent awareness nights are ways to begin to develop a sense of readiness. Teachers can then begin to build beliefs and practices that are aligned with the themes and spirit of multiple intellingences.
2. The second condition was “culture', recognizing that new practices are most likely to emerge in settings that support diverse learners.
3. Third was a spirit of “collaboration”. New approaches will be more successful when there are opportunities for formal and informal exchanges among practitioners. Exchanges are crucial once change has begun, because there are always problems to discuss and decisions to make.
4. Fourth, an atmosphere of “choice” within the school allows for meaningful options for curriculum and assessment of student learning. Options should make sense to students and larger community. The spirit of multiple intelligence teaching can be undone if the curriculum is too rigid or if assessment is too narrow .
5. Fifth, MI should be treated as one of many “tools” which can be used as a means of fostering high-quality student work. MI approaches should be linked to generally accepted learner outcomes.
6. Finally, Gardner emphasizes the importance of “arts'; the school needs a program rich in visual and musical arts, to adequately address the full range of intelligences
Coustan and Rocka (1999) found that it was not possible or necessary to define their students' intelligence profiles, and they chose to supply an array of choices and opportunities for students to apply their intelligence strengths. This allowed students to explore the learning process in ways that suited them best. They found students' strengths and preferences were reflected behaviorally by the activities they selected, length of time devoted to activities, and verbal and nonverbal feedback about the activities. Applying MI in the classroom did not cause them to abandon activities they had previously been using, but rather to enhance them, and to think differently about their students. They found that frequent reflection about class outcomes helped them see what to do next as the process unfolded.
Multiple Intelligences in Adult Education
While MI theory has been widely applied in pre-school through twelfth grade, The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy at Harvard University was the first extensive study of applications of MI for adult literacy (Kallenbach, 1999). They found that MI was a robust theory that led to many interpretations which shared in common their student-centered focus. Six themes emerged from this study. These were
1. Teachers Using an MI framework offered a greater variety of learning activities, whether or not they tried to identify their students' particular strengths
2. MI-based approaches for adults can be characterized as constructivist. Students construct their own meaning through problem-solving and their intelligence strengths, building on what their previous knowledge. Projects which encourage self-directed learning have been successful. MI-based activity often got the adult learners fully engaged in learning, and more willing to work with abstract or decontextualized material. Choice-based lessons were a key component in engaging the learner.
3. Teachers found that using MI theory enabled them to take more risks and broaden their own teaching styles. They felt their lessons became more creative, and they were able to overcome the problem of different levels in the class.
4. Teachers found that having students assess their own intelligences could be useful. Such self-assessment was a way to assist the development of intrapersonal intelligence. This can be valuable to understanding one's own weakness and strengths, and develop awareness that others think and learn differently. Intrapersonal intelligence is valuable in many practical endeavors, including career planning.
5. Students' regular reflection on their learning shifted and broadened their paradigms of effective and acceptable teaching and learning practices. Initially students expectations of the program seemed to be based on their previous educational experiences. Gradually students came to accept a more diverse curriculum. Teachers concurred that developing students' metacognitive skills is a challenging process, as students initially resisted reflection and failed to see its relevance.
6. Teachers perceived a shift in the balance of power in the classroom when they offered students choices in how they learn and express their understanding. More empowered students often exceeded their own and the teachers' expectations for learning.
While working with adult students, Costanzo and Paxton (1999) explicitly introduced their students to Multiple Intelligences and worked with them to identify their areas of strength and weakness. One goal in these activities was to help the students begin to value nontraditional learning activities and redirect their limited expectations for classes in basic adult education. A second goal was to encourage students to develop metacognition, an awareness of their own thinking and learning processes. Self-assessments were built into the routines of the class. Individual and group reflection were used, and discussions helped them begin to express their ideas and needs, and to begin taking over their own learning. Students also gave regular feedback to the teachers to indicate whether they wanted more, the same or less of each activity. Individual conferences with the students offered another level of student feedback, and many expressed their appreciation of varied methods. Students also kept reflective journals. As time went on, student feedback became more introspective. The feedback was used in planning the next lessons. The authors discovered that these assessments themselves, over time, drew upon and developed the students' interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences.
According to Collins (1998), a priority for adult educators is to facilitate self-sufficient learning in the adult student. Adult learners tend to be motivated by personal and work-oriented goals, increases in productivity, and acquisition of immediately applicable skills. Because of these practical goals, adult learners have added incentive to persevere through the frustrations inherent in the learning curve. Critical theory in adult education emphasizes diversity in students' abilities, backgrounds, and needs and develops awareness of under-served needs in the planning and delivery of course material.
When adults learn to look at their lives through the multiple intelligence model, they can find liberation in examining potentials that were never developed. Programs of self development through courses, hobbies, and other types of programs can re-integrate the individual's native intelligences in ways that can be personally satisfying (Armstrong, n.d.).
Sample learning activities for the first eight multiple intelligences
Intelligence Massage and Bodywork Learning Tasks and Outcomes which Draw Upon and Develop this Intelligence
Verbal/ Linguistic Intelligence: Reading assignments, discussions, writing business plans, written treatment plans; written and verbal case histories; jigsaw reading assignments, communication courses,
Logical Mathematical Intelligence: Anatomy and Physiology, Pathology
Visual /Spatial Intelligence: Designing a business card: Have all students collect business cards from many businesses; then spread them all out on a table and look at the colors, design, lettering, paper quality, etc. for effectiveness
Musical/ Rhythmic Intelligence: Use music to teach cadence and rhythm for massage and bodywork technique
Bodily/ Kinesthetic Intelligence: Palpation skills, technique application, therapist body mechanics, energy sensitivity
Interpersonal Intelligence: Collaborative learning, interview and intake skills, group learning exercises; case history discussions;
Intrapersonal Intelligence: Reflective journals, learning log,
Naturalistic Intelligence: Client assessment and pattern recognition, importance of nutrition for health,
Learning Theory Bibliography
Armstrong, Thomas. (n.d.)
Campbell, L., Campbell, B., Dickinson, D. (1999).
Costanzo, M. and Paxton, D. (1999).
Coustan, T. and Rocka, L. (1999).
Gardner, H. (1983).
Gardner, H. (1999).
Kallenbach, S. (1999).
McKenzie, W. (1999).
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