National Institute for Urban School Improvement (NIUSI)
Edward Garcia Fierros, Villanova University (2004)
The theory of MI was developed by Harvard University psychologist Howard Gardner and first appeared in Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (Gardner, 1983). In Frames of Mind, Gardner explored the question, “What are the mental abilities that support the wide range of adult roles over time and across culture?” Dr. Gardner took a unique approach. Rather than defining intelligence in terms of IQ scores, Gardner offered an alternative view. He suggested that intelligence be described as the combination of psychological and biological characteristics that enable individuals to solve problems or create products that are valued in one or more cultures (Gardner, 1999). In other words, what if intelligence were thought of as a capacity that is developed and expressed within specific social and cultural contexts? This suggests that thinking, problem solving, and creating are valued differently depending on the family and community in which individuals live, learn, and work. So, in one context, persistence, sustained effort, and deferred gratification may be more valuable than other attributes. On the other hand, bursts of creativity and story- telling might be particularly appreciated in a family in which conversation and novelty are valued.
Based on the criteria that he developed, Howard Gardner identified the following eight intelligences:
Linguistic intelligence allows individuals to communicate and make sense of the world through language. Those who have a keen sensitivity to language in its spoken and/or written forms might demonstrate this strength as poets, writers, lawyers, and public speakers. Linguistic intelligence is highly valued and rewarded in schools.
Logical-mathematical intelligence enables individuals to use, appreciate, and analyze abstract relationships. In Western culture, this capacity is often harnessed in mathematical reasoning and scientific investigations. Mathematicians, scientists, and engineers deploy this intelligence at high levels. Like linguistic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence is emphasized in schools.
Spatial intelligence enables people to perceive visual or spatial information, to transform this information, and to recreate visual images from memory. Blind people skillfully employ this intelligence, using it to create mental maps of their environments. It is commonly seen operating at high levels in architects, artists, surgeons, and pilots.
Musical intelligence allows people to create, communicate, and understand meanings made out of sound. It is manifested to high degrees among composers, musicians, and acoustic engineers.
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence entails using all or part of the body to solve problems or create products. The intelligence seems to stand in stark contrast to the reasoning that is prized in traditional tests of intelligence. Advanced forms of problem solving and creativity through use of the body are evident in the activities of choreographers, rock climbers, and skilled artisans.
Interpersonal intelligence is the capacity to recognize and make distinctions among others’ feelings and intentions, and to draw on these in solving problems. Successful teachers, actors, therapists, political leaders, and salespeople rely on highly developed interpersonal intelligence.
Intrapersonal intelligence enables individuals to recognize and distinguish among their own feelings, to build accurate mental models of themselves, and to draw on these models to make decisions about their lives. Intrapersonal intelligence is sometimes seen in skillful autobiographies, and, more generally, among those individuals who make sound choices about their life and work.
Naturalist intelligence allows people to solve problems by distinguishing among, classifying, and using features of the natural world. This intelligence is commonly seen in people’s ability to categorize different kinds of plants and animals and has been harnessed to the task of distinguishing among human-made objects. It is essential to the work of landscape architects, hunters, archeologists, environmental scientists, and farmers.
Teachers may have extensive training in MI theory or may only have an anecdotal awareness, depending on the particular teaching preparation program they trained in. Some may also have worked in settings where MI theory has played a central theme within the school culture. One caution regarding how MI theory is applied comes from Gardner’s (2004) own statements regarding trivialized uses of MI theory (p. 21):
I have little sympathy with educational efforts that seek simply to "train" the intelligences or to use the intelligences in trivial ways (e.g., singing math times tables, playing Bach while one is doing geometry). For me, the educational power of multiple intelligences is exhibited when these faculties are drawn on to help student’s master consequential disciplinary materials.
Gardner (1995) offered “Entry Points” that allow teachers to reflect that students who have different intelligences may benefit from planning that respects this diversity. The Entry Points strategy allows teachers to facilitate exploration of a topic through as many as five avenues, or Entry Points. The notion of entry points was introduced by Howard Gardner (1991) in The Unschooled Mind (p. 245):
My own belief is that any rich, nourishing topic—any concept worth teaching—can be approached in at least five different ways that, roughly speaking, map onto the multiple intelligences. We might think of the topic as a room with at least five doors or entry points into it. Students vary as to which entry point is most appropriate for them and which routes are most comfortable to follow once they have gained initial access to the room. Awareness of these entry points can help the teacher introduce new materials in ways in which they can be easily grasped by a range of students; then, as students explore other entry points, they have the chance to develop those multiple perspectives that are the best antidote to stereotypical thinking.