More Related Content
Similar to Multiple intelligences (20)
Multiple intelligences
- 1. MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES Maybe you’ve heard about the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, but you’re not sure how it works in your classroom. Maybe you’ve never heard of it, but you know some of your students are smart in ways the tests aren’t measuring. Or maybe you’re just looking for a spark to liven up learning this year. No matter what, multiple intelligences can give you – and your students – a new way to approach learning. The Theory of Multiple Intelligences In 1983, Howard Gardner proposed the Theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI), though he has continued to revise his theory over the years. He felt the traditional concept of intelligence was incomplete and instead proposed a variety of different types of intelligence, such as: Linguistic (skilled with words and language) Logical-mathematical (skilled with logic, reasoning, and/or numbers) Bodily-kinesthetic (skilled at controlling bodily motion such as sports, dance, etc.) Visual-spatial (skilled with images, spatial judgment, and/or puzzles) Musical (skilled with sound, rhythm, tone and music) Interpersonal (skilled at communicating with others/relating to others) Intrapersonal (skilled at self-knowledge, reflection, etc.) Naturalistic (skilled at understanding/relating to the natural world) For many teachers, MI theory makes perfect sense. Who hasn’t had a student who couldn’t write a coherent paragraph, but can solve any kind of puzzle you put in front of her? Or the student who persists in tapping his pencil rhythmically as he studies because “it helps him think”? While some psychologists question the scientific validity of MI, it can be extremely helpful in the classroom.
- 2. Get to Know Your Students Better There are many MI assessment toolsavailable to take online or to print for use in your classroom. These tests can provide a fascinating snapshot of your students’ innate abilities. It’s important to explain to students that this inventory does not give them an excuse – no “I’m musically intelligent, so I’m just going to flunk Chemistry.” Instead, students should think about how to use their strengths to help them in all subjects. Maybe that musically intelligent student should make up a song to help her learn the Periodic Table of Elements. Expand Upon Traditional Activities Traditional school activities focus primarily on linguistic and logical- mathematical intelligences. But here are some ways to reach any intelligence type in your classroom: Linguistic Ask students to write a story about what they’re studying. If they’re learning a process, have them write an instruction manual or give a “how to” speech. Writing scripts, making videos, or designing a brochure are other good activities for this intelligence. Logical-Mathematical Beyond doing math problems, this intelligence focuses on logical reasoning and problem-solving. Can students conduct a survey and graph or chart the results? For English or History classes, use a debate to teach the basics of logic and rhetoric. Ask students to function the way a real-life scientist does – using logic and/or math to solve a problem or propose a hypothesis. Bodily-Kinesthetic Let students act out a skit, do a dance, or physically simulate a scientific process. Use manipulatives in math, have them build a model with clay, or create a collage about an important concept.
- 3. Visual-Spatial Let these “picture-smart” students draw a diagram, illustrate a group project, or develop a PowerPoint presentation. You may want to encourage this group to use symbols or colors to help them make sense of their notes, since they may struggle with traditional note-taking methods. Graphic organizers can also help them. Musical These students may be gifted musicians, but they also tend to have a good ear for rhythms and a sense of patterns. Consider having them create a rap song about their subject or make connections between sound/music and the information you are teaching. For example, ask students to choose three pieces of music – one that represents a solid, one that represents a liquid, and one that represents a gas. Have them play a clip of each piece of music and then explain why they chose each one – this will appeal to their interests while still allowing you to check for comprehension (e.g., the “solid” music should sound heavier than the “gas” music). These students may also enjoy creating podcasts or other auditory products. Interpersonal These learners are usually the ones who can’t stop talking. Take advantage of that chatty energy through class discussions or group work, let them teach the class, or use technology to have them interact with others via Skype, chat, etc. Intrapersonal Give these students assignments that challenge them to make connections between their personal experiences and the class subject. Blogs, journals, essays on personal topics are common tasks, but these students can also benefit from metacognitive assignments, that is, encouraging them to think about their own learning styles and processes. Developing a portfolio of individual assignments may also appeal to these students. Naturalistic
- 4. Incorporate the outside world to hold these students’ attention. Field trips would be ideal, but anything that allows them to get some fresh air and interact with plants and animals will help. Take class outside on a nice day, or invite these students to help you take care of a classroom garden. Use natural items like flowers or rocks for math manipulatives or have them write a poem about the sky. Coming up with assignments to reach all the multiple intelligences can be very time-consuming, so start small! Pick one or two intelligences that you don’t normally use in your lessons, and find a way to incorporate them. Interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic can be some of the easier ones to start with. Another solution?Choose one common assignment (for example, book reports) and brainstorm MI alternatives (write a song about the book, build a diorama about the book). Then allow students to choose an alternative to the traditional assignment once in awhile. You might be surprised at the results! It is of the utmost importance that we recognize and nurture all of the varied human intelligences, and all of the combinations of intelligences. We are all so different largely because we all have different combinations of intelligences. If we recognize this, I think we will have at least a better chance of dealing appropriately with the many problems that we face in the world. —Howard Gardner In 1904, the minister of public instruction in Paris asked the French psychologist Alfred Binet and a group of colleagues to develop a means of determining which primary grade students were "at risk" for failure so these students could receive remedial attention. Out of their efforts came the first intelligence tests. Imported to the United States several years later, intelligence testing became widespread, as did the notion that there was something called "intelligence" that could be objectively measured and reduced to a single number or "IQ" score. Almost 80 years after the first intelligence tests were developed, Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner challenged this commonly held belief. Saying that our culture had defined intelligence too narrowly, he
- 5. proposed in the book Frames of Mind (Gardner, 1983) the existence of at least seven basic intelligences. More recently, he has added an eighth and discussed the possibility of a ninth (Gardner, 1999). In his theory of multiple intelligences (MI theory), Gardner sought to broaden the scope of human potential beyond the confines of the IQ score. He seriously questioned the validity of determining intelligence through the practice of taking individuals out of their natural learning environment and asking them to do isolated tasks they'd never done before—and probably would never choose to do again. Instead, Gardner suggested that intelligence has more to do with the capacity for (1) solving problems and (2) fashioning products in culturally supported, context-rich, and naturalistic settings. Most people can develop each intelligence to an adequate level of competency. Although individuals may bewail their deficiencies in a given area and consider their problems innate and intractable, Gardner suggests that most typically developing individuals have the capacity to develop all eight intelligences to a reasonably high level of performance if given the appropriate encouragement, enrichment, and instruction. He points to the Suzuki Talent Education Program as an example of how individuals of relatively modest biological musical endowment can achieve a sophisticated level of proficiency in playing the violin or piano through a combination of the right environmental influences (e.g., an involved parent, exposure from infancy to classical music, and early instruction). Such educational models can be found in other intelligences as well (see, e.g., Edwards, 2012, for a method that improves one's Picture Smart abilities through drawing). Gardner's emphasis on effort in the development of the intelligences is very much in line with Dweck's (2007) idea of maintaining a "growth mindset" in the classroom (see p. 43 for a discussion of this concept). Intelligences usually work together in complex ways. Gardner points out that each intelligence is actually a "fiction"; that is, no single intelligence exists by itself in real life (except perhaps in very rare instances among savants and brain-injured individuals). Intelligences are always interacting with each other. To cook a meal, for example, one must read the recipe (Word Smart), perhaps double the recipe (Number/Logic Smart), develop a menu that satisfies all members of the family (People Smart), and placate one's own appetite (Self Smart). Similarly, when a child plays a game of kickball, she needs Body Smart (to run, kick, and catch), Picture Smart (to orient herself to the playing field and to anticipate the trajectories of flying balls),
- 6. and Word Smart and People Smart (to successfully argue points during disputes in the game). The intelligences have been taken out of context in the formal articulation of MI theory only for the purpose of examining their essential features and learning how to use them effectively. We must always remember to put them back into their unique culturally valued contexts when we are finished with their formal study. There are many ways to be intelligent within each category. There is no standard set of attributes that one must have to be considered intelligent in a specific area. A person may not be able to read, yet be highly Word Smart because he can tell a terrific story or has a large oral vocabulary. Similarly, a person may be quite awkward on the playing field, yet possess superior Body Smart ability when she weaves a carpet or creates an inlaid chess table. MI theory emphasizes the rich diversity of ways in which people show their gifts within intelligences as well as between them. for more information on the varieties of attributes in each intelligence.) The Existence of Other Intelligences Gardner points out that his model is a tentative formulation; after further research and investigation, some of the intelligences on his list may not meet certain of his eight core criteria and therefore be struck from the list. Similarly, we may identify new intelligences that do meet the various tests. In fact, Gardner acted on this belief by adding a new intelligence—the naturalist—after deciding that it fit each of the eight criteria. His consideration of a ninth intelligence—the existential—is also based upon its meeting most of the criteria for a detailed discussion of the existential intelligence). Other intelligences that have been proposed by individuals other than Gardner include spirituality, moral sensibility, humor, intuition, creativity, culinary (cooking) ability, olfactory perception (sense of smell), the ability to synthesize the other intelligences, high-tech competency, and mechanical ability. It remains to be seen whether these proposed intelligences can, in fact, meet each of Gardner's eight criteria.