Theory of multiple intelligences Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
The theory of multiple intelligences is a theory proposed by developmental psychologist Howard Gardner in 1983. He proposes that people have several kinds of "intelligence", and that teachers can only reach all of their students by adapting their lessons to each of these types of intelligences. Gardner sells a number of books and lesson plans based on this idea.Gardner bases his theory on (a) his interpretation of studies of people who have had brain damage and studying their relative ability or inability to learn, (b) the belief that all humans are equally intelligent.
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2 Sensational 3 Communicational 4 Naturalist 5 Relationship to education 6 Opposing Views 7 Books by Howard Gardner 8 External links 9 References |
Thinking
Verbal-linguistic
To do with words, spoken or written. People who specialise in this area are generally good at writing, oration and (to a lesser extent) learning from lectures. They also tend to have broad vocabularies and learn languages easily.
Logical-mathematical
To do with numbers, with logic and abstractions. Those who favour this intelligence generally excel in mathematics and computer programming, and are often jacks of all trades by virtue of logic. Careers might include those involving science and computer programming.
Sensational
Visual-spatial
To do with vision and spacial judgement. People in this group are generally possessed of high hand-eye coordination, can interpret art well and can tessellate objects (as in loading a truck) easily. Such people might work as artists, artisans and engineers.
Body-kinesthetic
To do with muscular coordination, movement and doing. In this category, people generally are more adept at sports and dance, and work better when moving. In addition, they learn better by doing things and interacting with them physically. Most dancers, gymnasts and athletes are in this category.
Auditory-musical
To do with hearing. Those good with this tend to be better singers and have better pitch, in addition to liking music more. Music also helps people in this category work better, and those here will also learn better from lectures.
Communicational
Interpersonal communication
To do with interaction with others. People categorised here are usually extroverts, and good with people. They can be charismatic and convincing and diplomatic. They tend to learn better when people are involved, eg. in discussions.
Intrapersonal communication
To do with oneself. People categorised here are most often introverts and have very complex philosophies. These people often end up in religion or psychology and like to be alone.
Naturalist
To do with nature. People in this category are not only good with life but also with the various functions of it and mechanisms behind it; indeed many people here claim to sense life force and energy. In this area, people generally end up in biology or environmentalism.
Other intelligences have been suggested, such as "spiritual intelligence".
Schools emphasize the development of logical intelligence and linguistic intelligence (mainly reading and writing). People may also have various degrees of spatial intelligence (such as that possessed by architects and sculptors), kinesthetic intelligence (athletes and ballet dancers for instance), musical intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence (ability to reflect and know oneself) and interpersonal intelligence. According to Gardner, schools must strive to develop all intelligences, at the same time recognizing that children will usually excel at only one or two of them and should not be penalized for this.
Gardner has not settled on a single definition of intelligence. He originally defined intelligence as the ability to solve problems that have value in at least one culture, or as something that a student is interested in. However, he added a disclaimer that he has no fixed definition, and his classification is more of an artistic judgement than fact:
Gardner is the author of 18 books, including:
Relationship to education
Opposing Views
As one would expect from a theory that redefines the definition of intelligence, one of the major criticisms of the theory is that it is ad hoc. The criticism is that Gardner is not expanding the definition of the word "intelligence"; rather, he denies the existence of intelligence, as is traditionally understood, and instead uses the word intellgence whenever other people have traditionally used the word "interest." In this view, it is intellectually dishonest to relabel all of a person's talents as "intelligences". This tactic has been criticised by Robert J. Sternerb (1983, 1991), Eysenck, 1994, and Scarr, 1985. Defenders of the M.I. theory would argue that intelligence has never been rigorously defined, thus inviting new efforts to define it.
One of the criticisms against M.I. theory is aimed at the underlying ideology. Gardner writes "I balk at the unwarranted assumption that certain human abilities can be arbitrarily singled out as intelligence while others cannot" (Peterson, 1997, p. D2) Critics hold that given this statement, any interest or ability is now redefined as "intelligence"; and adherents of M.I. theory can and do declare that all human beings are equally intelligent. Several logical problems are pointed out:
A number of articles have surveyed the use of Gardner's ideas in classrooms, and claim that there is no evidence that his ideas work in practice. This article, by Steven A. Stahl, found that most of the previous studies which claimed to show positive results had major flaws.
James Traub's article in The New Republic notes that Gardner's system has not been accepted by most academics in intelligence or teaching.
Books by Howard Gardner
See also:
External links