Multiple Intelligences (MI)

Edward Garcia Fierros, Ph.D.

Villanova University

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss intelligence or g (i.e., general intelligence).

• Define Gardner’s theory of MI.• Formulate strategies for incorporating MI into

curriculum.• Consider the intersection of MI, Differentiated

Instruction, and Special Education.

What do you know well?

Think of something you know well. How did you come to know it?

IQ Score Distribution

Dunn & Dunn (1987) Learning Styles

• Auditory Learners

• Visual Learners

• Tactile Learners

• Kinesthetic Learners

• Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners

McCarthy’s (1990) 4Mat Model

• Type I :Imaginative Learner – (Experiencing)

• Type II: Analytical Learner – (Conceptualizing)

• Type III: Common-Sense Learner (Applying)

• Type IV: Dynamic Learner – (Creating)

Differentiated Instruction

• A philosophy that enables teachers to plan strategically in order to reach the needs of diverse learners.

• DI is not a set of tools, but a philosophy that a teacher embraces to reach the unique needs of every teacher.

Intelligence

intelligence is an ability to solve problems or create products that are valued in at least one culture

Source: Howard Gardner Frames of Mind 1983

Multiple Intelligences

• Linguistic syntax, phonology, semantics, pragmatics• Musical pitch, rhythm, timbre• Logical-mathematical number, categorization, relations• Spatial accurate mental visualization, mental

transformation of images

Multiple Intelligences• Bodily-kinesthetic control of one's own body, control in handling objects• Interpersonal awareness of others' feelings, emotions, goals,

motivations• Intrapersonal awareness of one's own feelings, emotions, goals,

motivations• Naturalist recognition and classification of objects in the

environment

Multiple Intelligences

• While all humans possess the eight intelligences, each person has his/her own particular blend or amalgam of the intelligences.

Criteria for Intelligences

1. potential isolation by brain damage2. existence of savants, prodigies, and other

exceptional individuals3. an identifiable core set of operations--basic kind of

information-processing operations or mechanisms that deal with one specific kind of input

4. a distinctive developmental history, along with a definite set of "end-state" performances

5. an evolutionary history and evolutionary plausibility

6. support from experimental and psychological tasks7. support from psychometric findings8. susceptibility to encoding from a symbol system

Why do educators use/like MI?

• MI fits with existing philosophies and/or practices

• MI validates what teachers already know and do

• MI provides a framework for thinking about practice

• It helps educators extend their practice

• It provides a vocabulary

Howard Gardner’s Myths and Realities about MI

• Myth #1 Now that eight intelligences have been identified, one can – and perhaps should – create eight tests and secure eight scores.

• Reality #1: MI Theory is a critique of “psychometrics as usual.” A battery of MI tests is inconsistent with the major tenets of the theory.

Howard Gardner’s Myths and Realities about MI

• Myth #2 An intelligence is the same as a domain or discipline

• Reality #2: An intelligence is a new kind of construct and should not be confused with a domain or a discipline.– A domain is an organized set of activities

within a culture with a specific symbol system and operations. Any domain can be put to work through several intelligences.

Howard Gardner’s Myths and Realities about MI

• Myth #3. An intelligence is the same as a “learning style”

• Reality #3. The concept of style designates a general approach that an individual can apply equally to every conceivable content. In contrast an intelligence is a capacity, with its component process, that is geared to a specific content in the world (i.e., musical sounds).

Howard Gardner’s Myths and Realities about MI

• Myth #4. MI theory is not empirical (based on research)

• Reality #4. MI theory is based wholly on empirical evidence and can be revised on the basis of new empirical findings.

• Read the book!

Howard Gardner’s Myths and Realities about MI

• Myth #5. MI theory is incompatible with g (general intelligence), hereditarian accounts, or with environmental accounts of the nature and cause of intelligence.

• Reality #5. MI theory questions not the existence but the province and explanatory power of g.

• There is a centrality of genetic/environmental interactions.

Howard Gardner’s Myths and Realities about MI

• Myth #6. MI theory so broadens the notion of intelligence that it includes all psychological constructs and thus vitiates (make something ineffective) the usefulness of the term.

• Reality #6. MI theory is about the intellect, the human mind in its cognitive aspects. MI is not about morality, attention, motivation, or other psychological constructs.

Howard Gardner’s Myths and Realities about MI

• Myth #7. There is a single educational approach based on MI theory.

• Reality #7. MI theory is in no way an educational prescription. There is always a gulf between psychological claims about how the mind works and educational practices.

• Educators are in the best position to determine the uses to which MI theory can and should be put.

Compass Point Practices• Engage students’ multiple

intelligences

• Help teachers to foster knowledge and skills across a range of students.

Project SUMIT – Compass Points

• Culture

• Readiness

• Tool

• Collaboration

• Controlled Choice

• Arts

Culture

• A supportive environment for educating diverse learners.– Belief in students strengths and potential– Joy in learning– Educators work hard

Readiness

• Awareness-building before implementation– Learn about MI prior to implementation

Tool

• MI is a means to foster high-quality student work– MI is used as a route to promote students’

skills and understanding – MI is NOT an end in itself or an additional

piece of the curriculum

Collaboration

• Informal and Formal Exchanges– Educators readily share ideas– Provide constructive suggestions– Complement their own areas of strength– Draw on the knowledge and strength of others

Controlled Choice

• Meaningful curriculum and assessment options– Students have options for learning and for

demonstrating their knowledge that are both meaningful for the student and the wider society

– Teachers choose the curriculum and assessment options and give students “guided choices”

Arts

• A significant role in the life of the school– The arts are used to develop students’ skills

and understanding within and across disciplines

Entry Points

• Different doorways all leading to the same room.

• Each entry point allows learners to encounter the substantive knowledge, concepts, and skills of the disciplines.

Entry Points

• Narrative

Entry Points

• Logical-Quantitative

Entry Points

• Aesthetic

Entry Points

• Experiential

Entry Points

• Interpersonal

Entry Points

• Existential/Foundational