Multiple Intelligences

One practical way for teachers to think about differences in how student learn is to think about students cognitive strengths (Armstrong, 2009). The concept of multiple intelligences is a useful, albeit simplistic, way of considering how varied teaching can respond to student learning differences. A theory of intelligence developed in the 1980s by Howard Gardner, multiple intelligences proposes the idea that people have a variety of ways of being “smart,” that go beyond the traditional school focus on verbal reasoning and linguistic/mathematical literacy. Gardner defines intelligence broadly as "the capacity to solve problems or fashion products that are valued in one or more cultural setting." He originally identified seven intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. He later suggested the existence of several others, including naturalist, spiritual, and existential. Everyone has all the intelligences, but in different proportions. Gardner encourages teachers to look for, teach to, and celebrate other forms of intelligence. For example, the student who regularly organizes games during recess and who is a strong member of the school band, may be the same student who struggles with reading or has been placed in the lowest math group. Gardner’s theory has helped teachers present material in a variety of ways and encourages students to respond to learning objectives by relying on their strengths while working on their less developed forms of intelligences.

Important considerations:

    • It is critical not to essentialize students. Students cannot and should not be reduced to a specific intelligence or set of intelligences.
    • Multiple intelligences are not the same as latent abilities, as all intelligences can be developed.
    • Students intelligences cannot be assessed definitively. We are only able to collect evidence that we think may indicate a student has developed particular intelligences.
    • It is our job as educators to develop students intelligences across the dimensions.

For these reasons, multiple intelligences theory is more useful for assessing the variety in one’s teaching styles than it is for making claims about individual students.

As stated above, it is difficult to assess students intelligences with precision. Teachers can, however, get a rough idea by closely observing students, asking students how they like to learn, and by surveying students (for an example of an elementary survey see this example from Scholastic, for middle school see this example from George Mason University, edutopia offers this online survey for older students).

Eight intelligences described (excerpted from "Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom," by Thomas Armstrong, 2009):

  1. Linguistic: The capacity to use words effectively, whether orally (e.g., as a storyteller, orator, or politician) or in writing (e.g., as a poet, playwright, editor, or journalist). This intelligence includes the ability to manipulate the syntax or structure of language, the phonology or sounds of language, the semantics or meanings of language, and the pragmatic dimensions or practical uses of language. Some of these uses include rhetoric (using language to convince others to take a specific course of action), mnemonics (using language to remember information), explanation (using language to inform), and metalanguage (using language to talk about itself).
  2. Logical-mathematical: The capacity to use numbers effectively (e.g., as a mathematician, tax accountant, or statistician) and to reason well (e.g., as a scientist, computer programmer, or logician). This intelligence includes sensitivity to logical patterns and relationships, statements and propositions (if-then, cause-effect), functions, and other related abstractions. The kinds of processes used in the service of logical-mathematical intelligence include categorization, classification, inference, generalization, calculation, and hypothesis testing.
  3. Spatial: The ability to perceive the visual-spatial world accurately (e.g., as a hunter, scout, or guide) and to perform transformations upon those perceptions (e.g., as an interior decorator, architect, artist, or inventor). This intelligence involves sensitivity to color, line, shape, form, space, and the relationships that exist between these elements. It includes the capacity to visualize, to graphically represent visual or spatial ideas, and to orient oneself appropriately in a spatial matrix.
  4. Bodily-kinesthetic: Expertise in using one's whole body to express ideas and feelings (e.g., as an actor, a mime, an athlete, or a dancer) and facility in using one's hands to produce or transform things (e.g., as a craftsperson, sculptor, mechanic, or surgeon). This intelligence includes specific physical skills such as coordination, balance, dexterity, strength, flexibility, and speed, as well as proprioceptive, tactile, and haptic capacities.
  5. Musical: The capacity to perceive (e.g., as a music aficionado), discriminate (e.g., as a music critic), transform (e.g., as a composer), and express (e.g., as a performer) musical forms. This intelligence includes sensitivity to the rhythm, pitch or melody, and timbre or tone color of a musical piece. One can have a figural or "top-down" understanding of music (global, intuitive), a formal or "bottom-up" understanding (analytic, technical), or both.
  6. Interpersonal: The ability to perceive and make distinctions in the moods, intentions, motivations, and feelings of other people. This can include sensitivity to facial expressions, voice, and gestures; the capacity for discriminating among many different kinds of interpersonal cues; and the ability to respond effectively to those cues in some pragmatic way (e.g., to influence a group of people to follow a certain line of action).
  7. Intrapersonal: Self-knowledge and the ability to act adaptively on the basis of that knowledge. This intelligence includes having an accurate picture of oneself (one's strengths and limitations); awareness of inner moods, intentions, motivations, temperaments, and desires; and the capacity for self-discipline, self-understanding, and self-esteem.
  8. Naturalist: Expertise in the recognition and classification of the numerous species—the flora and fauna—of an individual's environment. This also includes sensitivity to other natural phenomena (e.g., cloud formations, mountains, etc.) and, in the case of those growing up in an urban environment, the capacity to discriminate among inanimate objects such as cars, sneakers, and CD covers.

Sources:

Armstrong, Thomas (2009). Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, 3rd Edition. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Deve.