Multiple Intelligences

(Being an intellectual creates a lot of questions and no answers)

Multiple intelligences was the last topic that the teacher developed in the class. He talked about Howard Gardner. He is an American developmental psychologist who is a professor of Cognition and Education at  Harvard Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. He is best known  for his theory of multiple intelligences.Gardner argues that there is a wide range of cognitive abilities, and that there are only very weak corrections among them. For example, the theory predicts that a child who learns to multiply easily is not necessarily generally more intelligent than a child who has more difficulty on this task.There are eight types of multiple intelligences.

1. Linguistic intelligence: a sensitivity to the meaning and order of words.

2. Logical-mathematical intelligence: ability in mathematics and other complex logical systems.

3. Musical intelligence: the ability to understand and create music. Musicians, composers and dancers show a heightened musical intelligence.

4. Spatial intelligence: the ability to "think in pictures," to perceive the visual world accurately, and recreate ( or alter) it in the mind or on paper. Spatial intelligence is highly developed in artists, architects, designers and sculptors.

5. Body-kinesthetic intelligence: the ability to use one´s body in a skilled way, for self expression or toward a goal. Mimes, dancers, basketball players, and actors are among those who display bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.

6. Interpersonal intelligence: an ability to perceive and understand other individuals -- their moods, desires, and motivations. Political and religious leaders, skilled parents and teachers, and therapists use this intelligence.

7. Intrapersonal intelligence: an understanding of one´s own emotions. Some novelists and or conselors use their own experience to guide others.

8. Naturalist intelligence: the ability to recognize and classify plants, minerals, and animals, including rocks and grass and all variety of flora and fauna.

All of us have the eight types of multiple intelligences. Teachers, parents, and any person can develop the multiple intelligences. Teachers should take into account  the multiple intelligences while teaching. They can apply the multiple intelligences in their activities that they are going ti develop in the class.

When asked how educators should implement the theory of multiple intelligences, Gardner says, "(I)t's very important that a teacher take individual differences among kids very seriously The bottom line is a deep interest in children and how their minds are different from one another, and in helping them use their minds well."

An awareness of multiple-intelligence theory has stimulated teachers to find more ways of helping all students in their classes. Some schools do this by adapting curriculum. In "Variations on a Theme: How Teachers Interpret MI Theory," (Educational Leadership, September 1997), Linda Campbell describes five approaches to curriculum change:

· Lesson design. Some schools focus on lesson design. This might involve team teaching ("teachers focusing on their own intelligence strengths"), using all or several of the intelligences in their lessons, or asking student opinions about the best way to teach and learn certain topics.

· Interdisciplinary units. Secondary schools often include interdisciplinary units.

· Student projects. Students can learn to "initiate and manage complex projects" when they are creating student projects.

· Assessments. Assessments are devised which allow students to show what they have learned. Sometimes this takes the form of allowing each student to devise the way he or she will be assessed, while meeting the teacher's criteria for quality.

· Apprenticeships. Apprenticeships can allow students to "gain mastery of a valued skill gradually, with effort and discipline over time." Gardner feels that apprenticeships "should take up about one-third of a student's schooling experience."

With an understanding of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, teachers, school administrators, and parents can better understand the learners in their midst. They can allow students to safely explore and learn in many ways, and they can help students direct their own learning. Adults can help students understand and appreciate their strengths, and identify real-world activities that will stimulate more learning.

Here is a web page where you can take a test and level your multiple intelligences.

http://www.bgfl.org/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/index.htm