MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

Purpose 

This page is designed for those people who are interested in the way people learn, as well as teachers that want to know what the better way for teaching to children inside the classroom and outside of. We provide the eight intelligences which have been proposed by Howard Gardner, in 1983. We give a brief explanation about this and provide relevant and reliable information too. 

 

 MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

Adriana Medina, Ana Montiel

Liliana Diyarza, Martina Corona

Puebla, Pue. November 2010

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

Howard Gardner

Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences developed as he worked with brain injured adults and autistic children. He identified distinct portions of the brain that control specific human abilities or talents like analysis, classification, speech, self-awareness, etc. He has identified eight distinct abilities that he refers to as "intelligences": verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and the naturalist. In addition to the biological basis for these intelligences, Gardner also places great emphasis on cultural influences that may impact the development of each intelligence.

Culture determines what parents and schools will teach their children based on the needs of the community. Gardner says: "It is the culture that defines the stages and fixes the limits of individual achievement." For example, educators have found that the Mexican American culture places a strong emphasis on community and on family; therefore, many members of this community have well-developed interpersonal intelligences.

Howard Gardner initially formulated a list of seven intelligences. Since Howard Gardner's original listing of the intelligences in Frames of Mind (1983) there has been a great deal of discussion as to other possible candidates for inclusion (or candidates for exclusion).  His listing was provisional. The first two have been typically valued in schools; the next three are usually associated with the arts; and the final two are what Howard Gardner called 'personal intelligences' (Gardner 1999: 41-43). Subsequent research and reflection by Howard Gardner and his colleagues has looked to three particular possibilities: a naturalist intelligence, a spiritual intelligence and an existential intelligence. He has concluded that the first of these 'merits addition to the list of the original seven intelligences' (Gardner 1999: 52).

Naturalist intelligence enables human beings to recognize, categorize and draw upon certain features of the environment. It 'combines a description of the core ability with a characterization of the role that many cultures value' (ibid.: 48). 

The case for inclusion of naturalist intelligence appears pretty straightforward; the position with regard to spiritual intelligence is far more complex. According to Howard Gardner (1999: 59) there are problems, for example, around the 'content' of spiritual intelligence, its privileged but unsubstantiated claims with regard to truth value, 'and the need for it to be partially identified through its effect on other people'. As a result:

It seems more responsible to carve out that area of spirituality closest 'in spirit' to the other intelligences and then, in the sympathetic manner applied to naturalist intelligence, ascertain how this candidate intelligence fares. In doing so, I think it best to put aside the term spiritual, with its manifest and problematic connotations, and to speak instead of an intelligence that explores the nature of existence in its multifarious guises. Thus, an explicit concern with spiritual or religious matters would be one variety - often the most important variety - of an existential intelligence.

Existential intelligence, a concern with 'ultimate issues', is, thus, the next possibility that Howard Gardner considers - and he argues that it 'scores reasonably well on the criteria' (ibid.: 64). However, empirical evidence is sparse - and although a ninth intelligence might be attractive, Howard Gardner is not disposed to add it to the list. 'I find the phenomenon perplexing enough and the distance from the other intelligences vast enough to dictate prudence - at least for now' (ibid.: 66).

The final, and obvious, candidate for inclusion in Howard Gardner's list is moral intelligence. In his exploration, he begins by asking whether it is possible to delineate the 'moral domain'. He suggests that it is difficult to come to any consensual definition, but argues that it is possible to come to an understanding that takes exploration forward. Central to a moral domain, Howard Gardner suggests, 'is a concern with those rules, behaviours and attitudes that govern the sanctity of life - in particular, the sanctity of human life and, in many cases, the sanctity of any other living creatures and the world they inhabit' (ibid.: 70). If we accept the existence of a moral realm is it then possible to speak of moral intelligence? If it 'connotes the adoption of any specific moral code' then Howard Gardner does not find the term moral intelligence acceptable (ibid.: 75). Furthermore, he argues, researchers and writers have not as yet 'captured the essence of the moral domain as an instance of human intelligence' (ibid.: 76).

As I construe it, the central component in the moral realm or domain is a sense of personal agency and personal stake, a realization that one has an irreducible role with respect to other people and that one's behaviour towards others must reflect the results of contextualized analysis and the exercise of one's will.... The fulfillment of key roles certainly requires a range of human intelligences - including personal, linguistic, logical and perhaps existential - but it is fundamentally a statement about the kind of person that has developed to be. It is not, in itself intelligence. 'Morality' is then properly a statement about personality, individuality, will, character - and, in the happiest cases, about the highest realization of human nature. (ibid.: 77)

So it is that Howard Gardner has added an eighth intelligence - naturalist intelligence - to his list. He has also opened the door to another possibility - especially that of existential intelligence - but the court is out on that one. 

Dr. Gardner defined intelligence as consisting of three components:

- Ability to create an effective product or service that is valuable to one's culture

- Set of skills that enables an individual to solve problems encountered in life

- Potential for finding or creating solutions for problems, which enables a person to acquire new                   knowledge


Also Sternberg, Robert J proposes the next Thinking Styles.


      1.      Styles are preferences in the use of abilities, not abilities themselves.

2.      A match between styles and abilities creates a synergy that is more than the sum of its parts.

3.      Life choices need to fit styles as well as  abilities

4.      People have profiles (or patterns) of style, not just a single style.

5.      Styles are variable across tasks and situations.

6.      People differ in the strength of their references.

7.      People differ in their stylistic flexibility.

8.      Styles are socialized

9.      Styles can vary across the life span.

10.  Styles are measurable.

( Sternberg, Robert J. Cambridge University Press. 1997)

Dr. Gardner, who has become a world-renowned authority on the topic of MI, derived this theory based on extensive brain research, as well as interviews, tests, and research on hundreds of individuals. He studied the cognitive abilities of people afflicted with strokes and accident victims, as well as child prodigies, autistic children and those with learning disabilities.

His conclusions became the foundation for his MI theory in that intelligence is not one inborn fixed trait that dominates all a student's skills or problem-solving abilities, but rather each person has different parts of their brains that may be more highly developed than other parts.

While these different parts of the brain are interconnected, they may work independent or in concert to help a student learn depending on the educational environment and the child's preferred intelligences. With this in mind, Dr. Gardner identified eight different Intelligences that every person would have, to varying degrees. These intelligences are verbal/linguistic, math/logical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist.

Linguistic intelligence involves sensitivity to spoken and written language, the ability to learn languages, and the capacity to use language to accomplish certain goals. This intelligence includes the ability to effectively use language to express oneself rhetorically or poetically; and language as a means to remember information. Writers, poets, lawyers and speakers are among those that Howard Gardner sees as having high linguistic intelligence.

Logical-mathematical intelligence consists of the capacity to analyze problems logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically. In Howard Gardner's words, it entails the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically. This intelligence is most often associated with scientific and mathematical thinking.

Musical intelligence involves skill in the performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns. It encompasses the capacity to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones, and rhythms. According to Howard Gardner musical intelligence runs in an almost structural parallel to linguistic intelligence.

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence entails the potential of using one's whole body or parts of the body to solve problems. It is the ability to use mental abilities to coordinate bodily movements. Howard Gardner sees mental and physical activity as related.

Spatial intelligence involves the potential to recognize and use the patterns of wide space and more confined areas.

Interpersonal intelligence is concerned with the capacity to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other people. It allows people to work effectively with others. Educators, salespeople, religious and political leaders and counsellors all need a well-developed interpersonal intelligence.

Intrapersonal intelligence entails the capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one's feelings, fears and motivations. In Howard Gardner's view it involves having an effective working model of ourselves, and to be able to use such information to regulate our lives.

Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences has not been readily accepted within academic psychology. However, it has met with a strongly positive response from many educators. It has been embraced by a range of educational theorists and, significantly, applied by teachers and policymakers to the problems of schooling. A number of schools in North America have looked to structure curricula according to the intelligences, and to design classrooms and even whole schools to reflect the understandings that Howard Gardner develops. The theory can also be found in use within pre-school, higher, vocational and adult education initiatives.