Curriculum Design Lecture 7: Multiple Intelligences

Multiple Intelligences and Language Learning Syllabi

OVERVIEW

Conventional I.Q. Testing Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences 1 Gardner's Categories of Intelligence 1.1 Thought 1.1.1 Verbal-linguistic 1.1.2 Logical-mathematical 1.1.3 Naturalist 1.2 Sensate 1.2.1 Visual-spatial 1.2.2 Body-kinesthetic 1.2.3 Auditory-musical 1.3 Communicational 1.3.1 Interpersonal communication 1.3.2 Intrapersonal communication 2 Proposed areas 3 Relationship to education 4 Opposing Views

1. Conventional I.Q. Testing

As early as the mid-1800s people tried to measure intelligence with various types of tests. One common misinterpretation was that the size and shape of a persons head determines a persons intelligence. In 1905, the concept of psychometric testing was developed The first modern Intelligence Quotient test was developed by two French Psychologists, Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon, Since then, it was always assumed that success in educational institutions and in life in general was a result of high IQ

2. Howard Gardner's theory of

multiple intelligences

. However, in 1983, research by cognitive psychologist Howard Gardner has indicated that the traditional IQ tests only measure two types of intelligence: linguistic and logical-mathematical abilities. Gardner challenged this traditional definition of intelligence by describing not two, but seven different types of intelligences.

The 7 multiple intelligences

linguistic intelligence logical-mathematical intelligence spatial intelligence musical intelligence bodily-kinesthetic intelligence interpersonal intelligence intrapersonal intelligence

Definition

Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences is a psychological and educational theory espousing that seven kinds of "intelligence" exist in humans, each relating to a different sphere of human life and activity. Educators can now reach all of their students only by adapting their teaching program to exploit all the types of intelligence that their target audience possesses.

1 Gardner's Categories of Intelligence

1.1 Thought 1.1.1 Verbal-linguistic 1.1.2 Logical-mathematical 1.1.3 Naturalist 1.2 Sensate 1.2.1 Visual-spatial 1.2.2 Tactile-kinesthetic 1.2.3 Auditory-musical 1.3 Communicational 1.3.1 Interpersonal communication 1.3.2 Intrapersonal communication

1.1 Thought Verbal-linguistic

1.1

Thought 1.1.1 Verbal-linguistic 1.1.2 Logical-mathematical 1.1.3 Naturalist

The first two can be measured by timed, discrete point and analytical tests while natural intelligence can only by measured subjectively through observation and intuition

1.1.1. Thought Verbal-linguistic

To do with words, spoken or written. People who specialise in this area are generally good at writing, oration and (to a lesser extent) learning from lectures. They also tend to have broad vocabularies and learn languages very easily.

1.1.2 Logical-mathematical

To do with numbers, with logic and abstractions. Those who favour this intelligence generally excel in mathematics, accounting and computer programming. A common criticism of this intelligence is that some people feel that logical ability in general is more strongly associated with verbal than with mathematical intelligence; for example, the old Analytic section of the GRE correlated more strongly with the Verbal section than the Mathematical. One difference is that formal, symbolic logic, and strict logic games such as chess are under the command of mathematical intelligence, while skills at fallacy hunting, argument construction, debating etc. are under the command of verbal intelligence.

1.1.3 Naturalist

A late addition to Gardner's theory, [ naturalist intelligence enables human beings to recognize, categorize and draw upon certain features of the environment. It combines a description of the core ability with a characterization of the role that many cultures value. From an interview with Howard Gardner by Ronnie Durie in Mindshift Connection, a publication of Zephyr Press. "The core of the naturalist intelligence is the human ability to recognize plants, animals, and other parts of the natural environment, like clouds or rocks. All of us can do this; some kids (experts on dinosaurs) and many adults (hunters, botanists, anatomists) excel at this pursuit.

1.2 Sensate
1.2.1

Visual-spatial 1.2.2 Tactile-kinesthetic 1.2.3 Auditory-musical

1.2.1 Visual-spatial

To do with visual perception and spatial judgement. People in this group are generally possessed of high hand-eye coordination, can interpret art well and can tessellate objects (as in loading a truck) easily. Such people might work as artists, artisans and engineers. One of the most common criticisms of the whole frame work of the theory of multiple intelligence is the extremely high degree of correlation between visual and mathematical intelligence.

1.2.2 Tactile-kinesthetic

To do with muscular coordination, movement and doing. In this category, people generally are more adept at sports and dance, and work better when moving. In addition, they learn better by doing things and interacting with them physically. Most dancers, gymnasts and athletes are in this category.Others are physiotherapists and yoga teachers.

1.2.3 Auditory-musical

To do with hearing. Those good with this tend to be better singers and have better pitch, in addition to liking music more. Music also helps people in this category work better, and those here will also learn better from lectures. Aural capabilities have physiological and psychological similarities to other gifts associated with the processing of any input by the brain/mind. Those with "perfect pitch" have the ability to identify and differentiate notes to an exact degree, without a reference pitch. Also, most have the ability to play one or more musical instuments with exceptional ease and style, or to compose music of exceptional quality (such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart). Many other traits are indicative of a musical/auditory genius

1.3 Communicational Interpersonal

1.3.1 Interpersonal communication To do with interaction with others. People categorized here are usually extroverts, and good with people. They can be charismatic and convincing and diplomatic. They tend to learn better when people are involved, e.g., in discussions. People in these fields often become politicians or educators.

1.3 Communicational Intrapersonal

To do with oneself. People categorized here are most often introverts and have very complex philosophies. These people often end up in religion or psychology, and like to be alone. One of the major areas of attack on the theory of multiple intelligences, it is alleged that a concept like intrapersonal intelligence is vague and unmeasurable, and hence not a proper study for psychology. Others question whether intrapersonal intelligence can really be considered an intelligence, and claim that it instead should be considered more a personality trait, and a set of desires. Intrapersonal intelligence is first and foremost the ability to objectively examine and judge oneself, including one's own weaknesses and strengths, motivations and desires; perhaps often with the purpose of improving one's understanding of the general human experience. It is in basic terms, a sense of insight into one's nature.

Proposed areas Other intelligences have been suggested by popular psychology writers such as Tony Buzan, including "sexual intelligence" and "spiritual intelligence". Gardner himself has entertained the notion of "existential intelligence"which he sees as less fraught with theological baggage than "spiritual intelligence"but remains uncommitted to it. Additional intelligences such as cooking intelligence, humor intelligence and football intelligence have been proposed, but similar to the other intelligences proposed by Gardner, they have not been fully isolated in experimental studies. Metaphysical writers have discussed the possibility of there being at least 53 identifiable senses.

Relationship to education

Schools evaluate students only for the development of logical intelligence and linguistic intelligence (mainly reading and writing). Schools should also evaluate other intelligences. People may also have various degrees of spatial intelligence (such as that possessed by architects and sculptors), kinesthetic intelligence (athletes and ballet dancers for instance), musical intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence (ability to reflect and know oneself) and interpersonal intelligence. According to Gardner, schools must strive to develop all intelligences, at the same time recognizing that children will usually excel at only one or two of them and should not be penalized for this.

Opposing Views - 1

This line of argument has been challenged by those in the Gifted and Talented community because every multiple domain IQ test ( Weschler, Wais, Standford Binet, Dr Hoeflins Mega test) has shown that all areas are correlated. This trend is also shown in tests like the GRE, the SAT, the PSAT, the ACT, etc., on every one of which each section correlates to a high degree with the others; the correlation rarely drops below 0.6 on the -1 to 1 scale. It is hence argued that persons who excel in one set of intelligences usually excel in several others, very often all. This issue is especially important to the Gifted and Talented advocacy and support community because Gardner's theory has often resulted in students being accelerated only in a small set of areas, rather than the full set.

Opposing Views - 2

In addition, many educators feel that the theory of multiple intelligences gives support to the idea that every child is equally gifted, which leads to the cutting of funding for Gifted and Talented Education programs, or their broadening to include all students. Gardner himself has attacked the latter view, saying that he felt there was a lot of nonsense propagated about the supposed consequences of his theory for Gifted and Talented Education, and that he never intended his theory to affirm that all children are equally gifted.

Opposing Views - 3

One of the major criticisms of the theory is that it is ad hoc. The criticism is that Gardner is not expanding the definition of the word "intelligence"; rather, he denies the existence of intelligence, as is traditionally understood, and instead uses the word intelligence whenever other people have traditionally used words like "ability". In this view, it is intellectually dishonest to relabel all of a person's talents as "intelligences". This tactic has been criticised by Robert J. Sternberg (1983, 1991), Eysenck, 1994, and Scarr, 1985. Defenders of the M.I. theory would argue that intelligence has never been rigorously defined, thus inviting new efforts to define it.

Gardners Defence

Gardner has not settled on a single definition of intelligence. He originally defined intelligence as the ability to solve problems that have value in at least one culture, or as something that a student is interested in. However, he added a disclaimer that he has no fixed definition, and his classification is more of an artistic judgement than fact:

Evaluation of `Intelligences

Ultimately, it would certainly be desirable to have a quantifiable way for the selection of an intelligence, such that any trained researcher could determine whether a candidate's intelligence met the appropriate criteria. At present, however, it must be admitted that the selection (or rejection) of a candidate's intelligence is reminiscent more of an artistic judgement than of a scientific assessment. (Gardner, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, 1983)

Criticism -1

One of the criticisms against M.I. theory is aimed at the underlying ideology. Gardner writes "I balk at the unwarranted assumption that certain human abilities can be arbitrarily singled out as intelligence while others cannot" (Peterson, 1997, p. D2) Critics hold that given this statement, any interest or ability is now redefined as "intelligence"; and adherents of M.I. theory can and do declare that all human beings are equally intelligent.

Some logical problems are pointed out :

Gardner doesn't prove that all people are intelligent. Rather, he states this as his assumption, and redefines the word "intelligence" such that all people are equally intelligent by virtue of his definition. Once someone adopts Gardner's position, studying intelligence becomes difficult because it diffuses into the broader concept of ability or talent. In accord with this prediction, Gardner has repeatedly changed his theory Natural and Spiritual Intelligence

Criticism from other Researchers

Steven A. Stahl found that most of the previous studies which claimed to show positive results had major flaws: James Traub's article in The New Republic notes that Gardner's system has not been accepted by most academics in intelligence or teaching.

Criticism from other Researchers -1

George Miller, the esteemed psychologist credited with discovering the mechanisms by which short term memory operates, wrote in The New York Times Book Review that Gardner's argument boiled down to "hunch and opinion" (p. 20). And Gardner's subsequent work has done very little to shift the balance of opinion. A recent issue of Psychology, Public Policy, and Law devoted to the study of intelligence contained virtually no reference to Gardner's work. Most people who study intelligence view M.I. theory as rhetoric rather than science, and they're divided on the virtues of the rhetoric.

Gardners Views

Howard Gardner notes in his text, Changing minds: The art and science of changing our own and other people's minds (2004, p. 196), "As one who has thought intensively about multiple intelligences, I am more aware than most of the defiencies in that theory; yet, I am far from declaring that my own theory has been refuted or that I have adopted a new holistic, unitary, or genetically determined view of the human intellect."

Gardner is the author of 18 books, including:

Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligence (1983) ISBN 0465025102 (1993 ed.) The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think and How Schools Should Teach (1991) ISBN 0465088961 (1993 ed.) Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice (1993) ISBN 046501822X (1993 ed.) Multiple Intelligences After Twenty Years, 2003. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, Illinois, April 21, 2003

Question:
Which aspects of the M.I. are already being implemented in our undergraduate/Masters programmes? Which aspects are already being implemented in schools?

Presentation 2
Explain the how MI elements have been included in a conventional ESL or language lesson Present a microteaching session in which you utilise Gardners Theory of Multiple Intelligences to teach and carry out learning activities.