MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

Matilda Gjurgjević

Ivona Marijanović

Glorija Rašić

Jana Jerković

Anita Madunović

WHAT IS ‘MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES THEORY’?

• Developed by Howard Gardner in 1983. – Gardner notes that traditional I.Q. tests measure only logic and

language, yet the brain has other equally important types of intelligence.

• Refers to a learner-based philosophy that characterizes human intelligence as having multiple dimensions that must be acknowledged and developed in education. – Initially developed as a contribution to psychology but quickly adapted

by education, teaching and training communities.

• All humans have these intelligences, but people differ in the strenghts and combinations of intelligences so likewise learners are viewed as possessing individual learning styles, preferences, or intelligences.

• Western schooling and culture focus too much attention on linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligence.

– Gardner argues that we should place equal attention on individuals who show gifts in other intelligences: the artists, architects, musicians, naturalists

• Strong implications for adult learning and development: many adults find themselves in jobs that do not make optimal use of their most highly developed intelligences but multiple intelligences theory gives adults a whole new way to look at their lives and an opportunity to develop through courses, hobbies or other programs of self-development.

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES MODEL

• According to Gardner human beings possess different kinds of intelligences which affect different ways of interaction with world. The original list included seven of these and sometimes two more are added.

“For Gardner, intelligence is the ability to create an effective product or offer a service that is valued in a culture; a set of skills that make it possible for a person to solve problems in life; the potential for finding or creating solutions for problems, which involves gathering new knowledge.’’

• The theory's nine currently accepted intelligences are:– spatial (“Picture smart”);– linguistic (“Word smart”);– logical-mathematical

(“Number/reasoning smart”); – bodily-kinaesthetic (“Body

smart”); – musical (“Music smart”);– interpersonal (“People

smart”); – intrapersonal (“Self smart”); – naturalistic (“Nature smart”)– existential.

VISUAL / SPATIAL INTELLIGENCE

• Spatial intelligence refers to the ability to comprehend shapes and images in three dimensions and to represent the spatial world internally in your mind. Some possible learning activities are: – taking photographs for

assignment and classroom newsletters;

– taking photographs for the school yearbook, school newsletter;

– taking notes using concept mapping, mind mapping, and clustering or using maps to study geographical locations discussed in class.

• This intelligence is often relied upon by designers, architects, sculptors, engineers, etc.

LINGUISTIC / VERBAL INTELLIGENCE

• Linguistic intelligence refers to the capacity of using any language, native or foreign either orally or in writing to express perfectly what is on your mind and to understand other people in special and creative ways, which is something lawyers, writers, editors and interpreters are strong in. Learning activities include:– completing crossword puzzles

with vocabulary words;– writing short stories and

feature articles;– writing a letter to the editor.

LOGICAL / MATHEMATICAL INTELLIGENCE

• Logical/mathematical intelligence is the ability to think rationally and solve the mathematical tasks. This intelligence often does not require verbal articulation although mathematicians should be able not only to reason precisely, but also to write down their proof with precision. Learning activities connected with this intelligence may be like these: – playing math games like

dominoes, chess, checkers, and Monopoly;

– searching for patterns in the classroom, school, outdoors.

BODILY / KINAESTHETIC INTELLIGENCE

• Bodily or kinesthetic intelligence refers to making the experiment in using one's body to express ideas and feelings as well as the facility to handle objects skillfully. It also involves the control of movement to exhibit fine motor control and characteristics such as grace, balance and agility. Some of the learning activities referring to this intelligence are: – creating costumes for role-

playing, skits or simulations; – performing skits or acting out

scenes from books or key historical events;

– playing games like Twister and Simon Says.

MUSICAL INTELLIGENCE

• Musical intelligence has to do with sensitivity to sounds, rhythms, tones, and music. People with a high musical intelligence normally have good or absolute pitch, and they are able to sing, play musical instruments, and compose music. They also have sensitivity to rhythm, meter, tone, melody or timber. Some learning activities can be these: – practice by writing songs and

music;– putting original poems to

music;– performing them for the class;– incorporate a poem they have

written with a melody

INTERPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE

• Interpersonal intelligence deals with the ability to understand other people. High interpersonal intelligence is characterized by their sensitivity to others' moods, feelings, temperaments and motivations which is strong in salespeople, politicians and teachers. Learning activities related to this area may be:– working in cooperative groups

to design and complete projects;

– working in pairs to learn math facts;

– interviewing people with knowledge about content-area topics

INTRAPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE

• The ability to understand

oneself and apply one’s talent

successfully, which leads to

happy and well-adjusted people

in all areas of life.

NATURALISTIC INTELLIGENCE

• The ability to understand

and organize the patterns of

nature.

EXISTENTIAL INTELLIGENCE

• The ability to exhibit the proclivity

to pose and ponder questions

about life, death and ultimate

realities.

THE MI SYLLABUS• There is no syllabus as such, either prescribed or

recommended, but there is a basic developmental sequence that has been proposed as an alternative type of “syllabus” design.

• The sequence consists of four stages:

1. Awaken the intelligence – through multisensory experiences – touching, smelling, tasting, seeing and so on.

2. Amplify the Intelligences – students strengthen and improve the intelligence by volunteering objects and events of their own choosing and defining with others the contexts of experience of these objects and events.

3. Teach with/for the Intellinence – the intelligence is linked to the focus of the class, to some aspects of language learning.

4. Transfer of the Intelligence – students reflect on the learning experiences of the previous three stages and relate these to challenges in the out-of-class world.

ROLE OF THE TEACHER

• Teachers are encouraged not to think of

themselves merely as language teachers, they

have a role that is not only to improve the

second language abilities of their students but to

become major “contributors to the

development of students’ intelligences.”

ROLE OF THE LEARNER• Learners need to see themselves engaged in a process

of personality develpoment above and beyond that of being successful language learners.

• The MI classroom is designed to support development of the “whole person” and the environment and its activities are intended to enable students to become more well-rounded individuals and successful learners in general.

Conclusion• Multiple Intelligences is an increasingly popular

approach to characterizing the ways in which learners are unique and to developing instructions to respond to this uniqueness.

• MI is one of a set of such perspectives dealing with learner differences and borrows heavily from these in its recomendations and designs for lesson planning.