I want my children to understand the world, but not just because the world is fascinating and the human mind is curious. I want them to understand it so that they will be positioned to make it a better place. Knowledge is not the same as morality, but we need to understand if we are to avoid past mistakes and move in productive directions. An important part of that understanding is knowing who we are and what we can do... Howard Gardner 1999: 180-181
Multiple Intelligences in the classroom
Five Minds for the Future The "disciplined mind" covers the conventional approach of developing an ability to master an academic subject, a craft, or a profession as well as, in the other sense of "discipline", the ability to apply oneself to the business of learning. The "synthesising mind" is the ability to absorb, sift, select, and make sense of the vast and indigestible amounts of data that surround us in the internet age. This could be the most important of the five minds for survival in everyday and working life as we flounder in ever-higher tides of data. The "creating mind" is Gardner's third category. This is the mind that "forges new ground" and discovers new ways of doing things. The fourth category is the "respectful mind". This is about recognising the "otherness" of people different from ourselves and respecting the differences of, for example, traditions, religion, and ethnicity.
Gardner's final category is the "ethical mind". This goes beyond simply respecting others towards actively striving to do good, trying to make the world a better place.
How do they stack up? Disciplined Synthesising Creative
Managing Self
}
{
Using Symbols & Texts Thinking
Respectful
Relating to Others
Ethical
Participating & Contributing
What are Multiple Intelligences? • Multiple intelligences refers to a theory of intelligence developed in 1983 by Howard Gardner, a professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. • Howard Gardner defines intelligence as the ability to solve problems, fashion products, or provide services that are valued in a culture.
• Howard Gardner claims that all human beings have multiple intelligences. • These multiple intelligences can be nurtured and strengthened, or ignored and weakened. • He believes each individual has nine intelligences:
• Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence -- welldeveloped verbal skills and sensitivity to the sounds, meanings and rhythms of words
• Mathematical-Logical Intelligence -- ability to think conceptually and abstractly, and capacity to discern logical or numerical patterns
• Musical Intelligence -- ability to produce and appreciate rhythm, pitch and timber
• Visual-Spatial Intelligence -- capacity to think in images and pictures, to visualize accurately and abstractly
• Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence -- ability to control one's body movements and to handle objects skillfully
• Interpersonal Intelligence -- capacity to detect and respond appropriately to the moods, motivations and desires of others.
• Intrapersonal Intelligence -- capacity to be self-aware and in tune with inner feelings, values, beliefs and thinking processes
• Naturalist Intelligence -- ability to recognize and categorize plants, animals and other objects in nature
• Existential Intelligence -- sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence, such as the meaning of life, why do we die, and how did we get here.
All human beings possess all nine intelligences in varying amounts.
• Each person has a different intellectual composition. • We can improve education by addressing the multiple intelligences of our students.
• These intelligences are located in different areas of the brain and can either work independently or together.
What do multiple intelligences have to do with my classroom? • There are numerous ways to express oneself, and probably even more ways to gain knowledge and understand the universe. • Individuals are capable, the theory of multiple intelligences advocates, of deep understanding and mastery in the most profound areas of human experience. • Even long before the theory emerged and was named in 1983 by Howard Gardner, numerous teachers fostered the intelligences of their students.
Think of it this way: J.K. Rowling, Richard Feynmann, Savage, Colin McCahon, Daniel Carter, Helen Clark, Deepak Chopra, Jane Goodall, and Gary Larson are students in your class.
• J.K. is writing the next Harry Potter adventure on scraps of paper. • Richard is daydreaming the equations enabling a quantum computer. • Savage softly hums the tunes for the sequel to "They don’t know." • Colin has painted brilliant landscapes on each windowpane. • Daniel can't wait to get to PE. • Helen has organized the school's student council. • Deepak provides in-class spiritual counseling. • Jane adds a new animal to the class zoo daily. • Gary scrawls funny pictures in the margins of his notebook.
The next time you have a chance to reflect on your class, imagine your students as individuals who have fully realized and developed their intelligences.
How can applying M.I. theory help students learn better?
Students begin to understand how they are intelligent. In Gardner's view, learning is both a social and psychological process. When students understand the balance of their own multiple intelligences they begin • To manage their own learning • To value their individual strengths
Teachers need to understand how students are intelligent as well as how intelligent they are. Knowing which students have the potential for strong interpersonal intelligence, for example, will help you create opportunities where the strength can be fostered in others. However, multiple intelligence theory is not intended to provide teachers with new IQ-like labels for their students.
Students approach understanding from different angles.
The problem, "What is sand?" has scientific, poetic, artistic, musical, and geographic points of entry.
Students that exhibit comprehension through rubrics, portfolios, or demonstrations come to have an authentic understanding of achievement.
The accomplishment of the lawyer is in winning her case through research and persuasive argument, more than in having passed the bar exam.
Students become balanced individuals who can function as members of their culture. Classroom activities that teach to the intelligences foster deep understanding about the essential questions of life, such as: Where do we come from? What's the world made of? What have humans achieved? What can we achieve? How does one lead a good life?
How do I apply multiple intelligences (M.I.) theory in my classroom?
There are many different ways to apply multiple intelligences theory in the classroom. You probably employ a variety of intelligences already.
While you look at the following grid, think of other events, artifacts, content and activities you might incorporate into the subject matter you teach.
Intelligence type
Incorporated into subject matter
Demonstrated by
Verbal-Linguistic
Books, stories, poetry, speeches, author visits
Writing stories, scripts, poems, storytelling
Mathematical-Logical
Exercises, drills, problem solving
Counting, calculating, theorizing, demonstrating, programming computers
Musical
Tapes, CD's, concert going
Performing, singing, playing, composing
Visual-Spatial
Posters, art work, slides, charts, graphs, video tapes, laser disks, CD-ROMs and DVDs, museum visits
Drawing, painting, illustrating, graphic design, collage making, poster making, photography
Bodily-Kinesthetic
Movies, animations, exercises, physicalizing concepts, rhythm exercises
Dance recital, athletic performance or competition
Interpersonal
Teams, group work, specialist roles
Intrapersonal
Reflection time, meditation exercises
Journals, memoirs, diaries, changing behaviors, habits, personal growth
Naturalist
Terrariums, aquariums, class pets, farm, botanical garden and zoo visits, nature walks, museum visits
Collecting, classifying, caring for animals at nature centers
Existential
Working on causes, charity work, astrology charts
Community service
Plays, debates, panels, group work
What are some simple ways to get started?
Most importantly, start small . . . no matter how grandly you're planning. Minor adjustments to your curriculum make a big difference in students' motivation and understanding.
Here are four strategies for applying M.I. theory to your class:
Add a cross-curricular element to a unit. • For example, think of how you might liven up a math lesson by inviting students to write song lyrics, invent dances, or write stories that help them recall important math facts or procedures. • Emphasize the core curriculum, but invite student expression in areas previously considered outside the scope of that content.
Offer students a variety of presentation options for projects. • In addition to writing reports, let students "show what they know" by giving oral presentations accompanied by visual aids they create to organize the information and remove the pressure to know everything by heart. • Other presentation options include role-playing exercises, plays, debates, murals, Web publishing, and multimedia computer presentations (using multimedia software such as Powerpoint or Keynote).
Apply M.I. thinking to group projects. • To help students develop "interpersonal intelligence," use cooperative learning techniques. • In the case of M.I. work, after ascertaining some of your students' multiple intelligence strengths, you may wish to organize cooperative learning groups so that there is an interesting distribution in each group. • Students with strong interpersonal skills often make wonderful theatrical directors, while those with a strong visual intelligence love painting imaginative sets. Have your resident naturalist and interpersonalist collaborate to organize your nature walk.
Involve the community, parents, family, and guest speakers. • Compose a panel of education-friendly local citizens to review your students' M.I. demonstrations of understanding. • Bring an outside expert into the class to enhance lessons. For example, when teaching about geometry, invite the builder who is building a house down the street to discuss how he uses geometry in construction. • Motivate students through field trips to local businesses (e.g. newspaper offices, restaurants, theater companies, museums, radio and TV stations, music studios, book stores, and dairy farms) to see how material studied in class can apply to the outside world.
What are some of the challenges I may face?
When trying out new techniques in the classroom for the first time, unexpected problems may come up. Here are a few potential problem areas.
Assessment • becomes more complicated. • Take the case of a report. If the modification you have added to report-writing is to write an illustrated report, then evaluation will likely include assessment of not only the writing but also the illustration. • One student may produce brilliant writing and inadequate illustration while another may illustrate well and write poorly. • There are several ways to address this sort of dilemma:
Develop methods of assessment that don't indicate one intelligence is more valuable than another.
These may include rubrics . . . letting students know at the outset the criteria for weighting different parts of the project.
Additionally, try to incorporate a component of your assessment that shows development of M.I. over time in a few areas.
• This way, students and parents will see that students are not "locked into" a particular intelligence, but actually have room (and school support) to develop in other areas.
Show students concrete examples of finished assignments or projects before they begin their assignments.
• Exhibit both the minimum expected, and an example of the highest caliber (against which the students can measure their achievement.)
Allow for flexibility and feedback during the process. • Provide extra time (either during "free" periods, or after school) for students to work on their projects. In class discussion, students may help you formulate appropriate standards for M.I. evaluation.
Without turning over the responsibility for evaluation, engage students in the process. • Some rubrics include peer evaluation. Some classes set up student panels to review demonstrations.
The Timetable may seem to block some of your plans. • Incorporating multiple intelligence activities into your work does not necessarily entail more time. • However, when students are doing activities that they enjoy, they become entranced, in what psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls a state of "flow." When the students are absorbed in their work, you may feel frustrated with the amount of time the schedule allows. • Assigning projects and performance-based tasks can mean restructuring part of the daily schedule, altering the physical setup of the classroom, or allowing extended time for completion of assigned work.
Key principles
Key principles of multiple intelligences (M.I.) theory to guide curriculum structure and lesson planning include the following:
It is important to teach subject matter through a variety of activities and projects.
• To this end, fill the classroom with rich and engaging activities that evoke a range of intelligences. • Also, encourage students to work collaboratively as well as individually to support both their "interpersonal" and "intrapersonal" intelligences.
Assessments should be integrated into learning. • And students need to play an active role in their assessment. • When a student helps determine and clarify the goals of classroom activities, his or her academic success and confidence increases.
Offer students a number of choices for "showing what they know" about a topic. In addition to traditional paper tests, students need opportunities to create meaningful projects and authentic presentations.
It is counterproductive to label students with a particular intelligence. • While an artistic genius may begin to reveal herself in grade 2, it limits her potential for understanding to fail to expose her to opportunities to access her other intelligences. • All students have all intelligences. • By nurturing the whole spectrum, teachers motivate students, foster their learning, and strengthen their intelligences.
Some advice to end with... • Make natural and common sense choices rather than forcing material. • Not every lesson or assignment has to have all of the intelligences and all modalities of instruction. • M.I. Resources consist of both materials and people. You will need both as you answer each question and meet each challenge. • Call on "experts" to be guest speakers for your class.
