IT'S NOT HOW SMART YOU ARE, IT'S HOW YOU ARE SMART!

Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences

What parent can not see gleaming rays of genius in their child? And yet, how many children come to school and demonstrate their own unique genius? There was a time when it might have been a joke to suggest "Every parent thinks their kid's a genius." But research on human intelligence is suggesting that the joke may be on educators! There is a constant flow of new information on how the human brain operates, how it differs in function between genders, how emotions impact on intellectual acuity, even on how genetics and environment each impact our childrens' cognitive abilities. While each area of study has its merits, Howard Gardner of Harvard University has identified different KINDS of intelligence we possess. This has particularly strong ramifications in the classroom, because if we can identify children's different strengths among these intelligences, we can accommodate different children more successfully according to their orientation to learning.

Thus far Gardner 's work suggests nine intelligences. He speculates that there may be many more yet to be identified. Time will tell. These are the paths to children's learning teachers can address in their classrooms right now. They are:

VISUAL/SPATIAL - learning visually and organizing ideas spatially. Seeing concepts in action in order to understand them. The ability to "see" things in one's mind in planning to create a product or solve a problem.

VERBAL/LINGUISTIC - learning through the spoken and written word. This intelligence was always valued in the traditional classroom and in traditional assessments of intelligence and achievement.

MATHEMATICAL/LOGICAL - learning through reasoning and problem solving. Also highly valued in the traditional classroom, where students were asked to adapt to logically sequenced delivery of instruction.

BODILY/KINESTHETIC - learning through interaction with one's environment. This intelligence is not the domain of "overly active" learners. It promotes understanding through concrete experience.

MUSICAL/RHYTHMIC - learning through patterns, rhythms and music. This includes not only auditory learning, but the identification of patterns through all the senses.

INTRAPERSONAL - learning through feelings, values and attitudes. This is a decidedly affective component of learning through which students place value on what they learn and take ownership for their learning.

INTERPERSONAL - learning through interaction with others. Not the domain of children who are simply "talkative" or "overly social." This intelligence promotes collaboration and working cooperatively with others.

NATURALIST - learning through classification, categories and hierarchies. The naturalist intelligence picks up on subtle differences in meaning. It is not simply the study of nature; it can be used in all areas of study..

EXISTENTIAL - learning by seeing the "big picture": "Why are we here?" "What is my role in the world?" "What is my place in my family, school and community?" This intelligence seeks connections to real world understandings and applications of new learning.

Teachers are now working on assimilating this knowledge into their strategies for helping children learn. While it is too early to tell all the ramifications for this research, it is clear that the day is past where educators teach the text book and it is the dawn of educators teaching each child according to their orientation to the world.

-Walter McKenzie

GARDNER'S EIGHT CRITERIA FOR IDENTIFYING AN INTELLIGENCE

"Intelligence is the ability to find and solve problems

and create products of value in one's own culture."

-Dr. Howard Gardner

Isolation as a Brain Function

As medicine studies isolated brain functions through cases of brain injury and degenerative disease, we are able to identify actual physiological locations for specific brain functions. A true intelligence will have its function identified in a specific location in the human brain.

Prodigies, Savants and Exceptional Individuals

Human record of genius such as Mozart being able to perform on the piano at the age of four and Dustin Hoffman's "Rainman" character being able to calculate dates accurately down to the day of the week indicate that there are specific human abilities which can demonstrate themselves to high degrees in unique cases. Highly developed examples of a true intelligence are recorded in rare occurrences.

Set of Core Operations

There is an identifiable set of procedures and practices which are unique to each true intelligence.

Developmental History with an Expert End Performance

As clinical psychologists continue to study the developmental stages of human growth and learning, a clear pattern of developmental history is being documented of the human mind. A true intelligence has an identifiable set of stages of growth with a Mastery Level which exists as an end state in human development. We can see examples of people who have reached the Mastery level for each intelligence.

Evolutionary History

As cultural anthropologists continue to study the history of human evolution, there is adequate evidence that our species has developed intelligence over time through human experience. A true intelligence can have its development traced through the evolution of homo sapiens.

Supported Psychological Tasks

Clinical psychologists can identify sets of tasks for different domains of human behavior. A true intelligence can be identified by specific tasks which can be carried out, observed and measured.

Supported Psychometric Tasks

The use of psychometric instruments to measure intelligence (such as I.Q. tests) have traditionally been used to measure only specific types of ability. However, these tests can be designed and used to identify and quantify true unique intelligences. The Multiple Intelligence theory does not reject psychometric testing for specific scientific study.

Encoded into a Symbol System

Humans have developed many kinds of symbol systems over time for varied disciplines. A true intelligence has its own set of images it uses which are unique to itself and are important in completing its identified set of tasks.

1.      

Remember,

§  Everyone has ALL the intelligences

The intelligences are not mutually exclusive - they act in consort

MI Theory was not developed to exclude individuals, but to allow all 

people to contribute to society through their own strengths!

-Walter McKenzie

Kinesthetic - interaction with the environment

Existential - connecting to larger understandings

Interpersonal - interaction with others

Intrapersonal - feelings, values and attitudes

Logical - reasoning and problem solving

Rhythmic - sound and patterning

Naturalist - classifications, categories and hierarchies

Linguistic - spoken and written word

Visual - seeing and imagining

THE MI WHEEL OF DOMAINS

Introduction

Understanding basic definitions of each intelligence in place is important, but not as important as the working understanding of how the intelligences work with one another. After all, if these different paths to learning always act in consort, we're really not providing for the full potential of this model unless we look at all of the intelligences in operation together.

This can be difficult to do, because once you begin observing a specific child the intelligences become very fluid and free flowing. What might be easily recognizable in isolation becomes much less clear when observing the intelligences in action holistically.

In presenting Gardner's theory to educators, teachers always come up with questions about this overlapping of intelligences. We are so used to theory that nicely packages teaching and learning into neat compartments, we tend to cling to the individual integrity of each intelligence. It's hard to let go and accept the fact that, since Gardner's theory is based on the way these intelligences actually function within human cognition, it's a little less easy to compartmentalize and parcel out in tight, tidy packages. Once teachers get past the traditional definition of intelligence, there are powerful new possibilities for learning in the classroom.

The Wheel of MI Domains serves as an organizer for understanding the fluid relationship of the intelligences. In this organizer, I have grouped the intelligences into three regions: the interactive, analytic, and introspective domains. These three domains are meant to align the intelligences with familiar learner attributes teachers routinely observe in the classroom.

By referring to the wheel of domains when planning for instruction, teachers can plan lessons and units which effectively address all of the intelligences in the classroom. Here are two strategies for utilizing the wheel:

To Balance Intelligences:

In planning a lesson, a teacher may wish to select one intelligence from each domain in order to provide for a well-balanced accommodation of the intelligneces.

Example:

Mrs. Reed 's lesson on iambic pentameter may benefit from using the verbal (interactive), rhythmic (analytic) and existential (introspective) intelligences. By tapping into all three of these ways of knowing she can accommodate learners across the spectrum in her classroom.

It might look like this:

Objective: Given a sonnet, the learner will recite the sonnet with proper meter and interpretation of its content.

Intelligences:

Verbal - recite of the sonnet

Rhythmic - experience the sonnet's meter

Existential - interpret the sentiment expressed in the sonnet

To Target Intelligences:

In planning instruction for a learner or group of learners, a teacher may wish to target all the intelligences of a specific domain to provide for experiences that strengthen that particular domain.

Example:

Mr. Esposito realizes that his class needs to improve their critical thinking skills in order to be prepared for Spring standardized testing in Biology. In dissecting earthworms, he wants to emphasize the analytical nature of the task. He decides to map to the logical, musical and naturalist intelligences in this lesson:

It might look like this:

Objective: Given an earthworm to dissect, the learner will follow specific step-by-step instructions, categorizing organs by body systems and identifying patterns found within those systems.

Intelligences:

Logical - follow body systems throughout the organism

Rhythmic - identify patterns within and between body systems

Naturalist - categorize organs and body systems by function

THE ANALYTIC DOMAIN

The analytic domain consists of the logical, rhythmic and naturalist intelligences. These are the intelligences that promote analysis of knowledge that is presented to the learner.

Consider Ms. Gamboro's class. They have created instruments that simulate the sounds of the rain forest, and each child is now creating his or her own composition that makes use of these sounds. As a child comes before the class to present and conduct his or her composition, students must follow the patterns of sound and imitate them accurately in order to successfully perform the piece. There is a careful auditory analysis of each rhythm presented to the class, and in cases where the student has created sheet music with symbols for the different instruments as they play, there is visual analysis of patterns evident as well.

Then consider that the logical intelligence has a highly analytical component. Li and Marla are working to create a bridge out of popsicle sticks that will be able to hold the weight of a motorized twelve-pound truck as it crosses their structure. They have studied many kinds of bridges and they are employing what they have learned to make a structure strong enough to successfully do the job. As they attempt different designs, they are careful to analyze their failures and build on their successes. After two weeks of working a little every day, Marla and Li come up with a design that is effective in safely holding the truck's weight. Problem solving is a very analytical process!

Finally, consider Shanae, who is sorting leaves by different attributes at a first grade learning center. She sorts them by color, then by size, then by texture. As she comes up with a classification system for the leaves that makes sense to her, she glues each leaf down on a large sheet of paper that serves as an organizer. She then presents her leaf classification system to be displayed in the classroom so that children can compare and contrast one another's strategies for classification.

I characterize these three intelligences as analytic because even though they can have a social or introspective component to them, they most fundamentally promote the process of analyzing and incorporating data into existing schema. The analytical intelligences are by their nature heuristic processes.

THE INTERACTIVE DOMAIN

The interactive domain consists of the linguistic, interpersonal, and kinesthetic intelligences. These are the intelligences that learners typically employ to express themselves and explore their environment.

Consider five year old Selange in his Kindergarten classroom. He not only uses language to demonstrate his knowledge or express his needs, he also uses language to explore, inquire and prompt responses from others. This can include the use of nonsensical expressions, repetitive recountings of favorite books, and even reverting to "baby talk". Regardless of the many functions of language Selange is using, he consistently makes use of talk to interact with others and his environment.

Eleven year old Selina is a prime example of the interactive function of the interpersonal intelligence. As her class reads E.G. Speare's The Witch of Blackbird Pond she continually prompts her teacher to ask about the mores of seventeenth century New England. Selina initiates class discussion on the social dynamics of prosecuting witches in Colonial New England, not for the sake of the discussion itself but to help her better understand the plot and setting of the story. When it comes time to be assessed for comprehension of the novel, Selina excels in an interview format, in which she can discuss her understandings and ideas at length. In fact, her teacher is offering several assessment options, including the opportunity to be interviewed by a classmate as the heroine from the book.

Finally, consider Susan's use of her kinesthetic intelligence as an interactive process. Susan has been learning about electrical circuits in her third grade class. This week the teacher has set up an experiment as a learning center where Lin and her classmates must use batteries, copper wiring and light bulbs to create electrical circuits. Susan and her group of three classmates quickly create a complete circuit. They then ask their teacher Mrs. Morales for some paper clips so that they can experiment making a switch that will open and close the circuit. Finally Susan and her group take the experiment a step further by creating a parallel circuit using two light bulbs. Susan has repeatedly interacted with her environment and her peers to create a greater understanding of how electrical circuits work.

I characterize these three intelligences as interactive because even though they can be stimulated through passive activity they typically invite and encourage interaction to achieve understanding. Even if a student completes a task individually, s/he must consider others through the way s/he writes, creates, constructs and makes conclusions. The interactive intelligences are by their nature social processes.

THE INTROSPECTIVE DOMAIN

The introspective domain consists of the existential, intrapersonal and visual intelligences. These are the intelligences that have a distinctly affective component to them.

In the case of the visual intelligence, consider Michelangelo celebrating the discovery of a large slab of marble because he wants to free the angel encased therein through his act of sculpting. There is a uniquely emotional component to envisioning a piece of art before the artist actually creates it. In the same way, recall a student you have worked with who served as a class leader simply because s/he was able to visualize where s/he wanted to go with a project before the rest of the group even got its collective self together to begin discussing the possibilities. There is an intuitive release of energy that sparks the enthusiasm and imagination of others when the visual intelligence is unleashed.

The existential intelligence displays similar emotional, introspective characteristics. When Soeren Kierkegaard described looking at the infinite depth of the night sky and having an emotionally charged response that "Yes, I am part of something bigger in the universe!" he was referring to this experience. It is necessary to make that leap of faith in order to contribute to the collective human experience. By the same token, place yourself in the presence of the Pieta and feel the emotional response as your senses take in the aesthetic beauty of one of mankind's great expressions of human love and suffering. It moves many unsuspecting onlookers to tears. It is another example of that emotional response to cognitive stimulus.

The intrapersonal intelligence may be the most obvious example of this. Consider fourteen year old Kathleen who filters everything she is learning through her strong sense of social justice. She lights up when learning about the plight of Native Americans in the nineteenth century, the ethical dilemmas presented by genetic engineering, and reading Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country. In fact, with an upcoming presidential election in the Fall, Kathleen is very interested in helping out at her local party headquarters and campaigning for the candidates of her choice. Everything Kathleen is learning is reinforced and mastered by the emotional connection she has with the different kinds of content she is studying.

I characterize these three intelligences as introspective because they require a looking inward by the learner, an emotive connection to their own experiences and beliefs in order to make sense of new learning. The introspective intelligences are by their nature affective processes.