Doing it MI Way: Practical Applications of Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory

Writer(s): 
Brenda Hopper, Teacher Development SIG, IATEFL

 

This report describes the work done by a group of teachers in primary (5-11 years) and secondary (11-16 years) schools in the UK. However, the theory which underpins the work is of relevance to anyone who is involved in helping people to learn.

Our project, for the past 2 years, is based on the work of Professor Howard Gardner of Harvard University. Gardener challenged the traditional notion of IQ and defined intelligence as a series of independent capacities which work together in an integrated whole. His definition of intelligence is "the ability to solve problems, or to fashion products, that are valued in one or more cultural or community settings" (Gardner, 1993, p. 7). He asserts that we are all born with potential in a number of different intelligences, and this potential develops in many ways, depending on the environment in which we live.

Gardner's list of intelligences includes:

  • Bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence: the control of body movements and the capacity to handle objects skilfully;
  • Interpersonal intelligence: sensitivity to the moods, desires, motivations and feelings of others and the ability to respond appropriately;
  • Intrapersonal intelligence: self-knowledge and understanding of own feelings, and ability to access these to guide behaviour;
  • Linguistic intelligence: sensitivity to sounds, rhythms and meanings of words, and to different uses of language;
  • Logical-mathematical intelligence: the capacity to recognise logical or numerical patterns and handle chains of reasoning;
  • Musical intelligence: the ability to perceive, appreciate and produce rhythm, pitch and forms of musical expression;
  • Naturalist intelligence: the ability to recognise and classify flora and fauna ; and
  • Spatial intelligence: the ability to perceive the visual-spatial world accurately and act on initial perceptions. (This is a recently acknowledged intelligence, which is less well developed in terms of implications for teaching and learning. We have not used it with the teachers)

 

This list has provided us with a framework for thinking about children and their strengths, the way we teach and the learning opportunities we offer, and to reconsider our own views of intelligence and how we value and assess the products of that intelligence.

Through our work with teachers we have highlighted the discrepancy between what we expect of young people, and what they are actually able to achieve. Teachers help them to see that just because they may not have succeeded in school does not mean that they are not intelligent. Over time their expectations of achievement increased, reinforcing the link between self-esteem and learning which is so well documented and so important in education.

New areas of learning were opened up, and the teachers now had a clear framework for their planning and a language with which to talk to one another, to other colleagues, and to their students. They were encouraged to offer choices, so that students could choose their own preferred ways of learning. The teachers also became more aware of those areas which they tended to avoid. This has led to a number of teachers taking risks with their own teaching, perhaps offering new learning opportunities which have been seized upon by their students.

Throughout the project we asked the teachers to reflect on their own learning, as well as focusing on what they did in the classroom. We wanted to know how this particular theory helped to change their perceptions, and what new or different insights it offered. It became very clear that many of the teachers had been working from an intuitive stance, believing that there was more to intelligence that those aspects traditionally measured by IQ tests, or even by standardised tests and formal examinations. They now had a clearly articulated theoretical framework within which to operate, and this enabled them to structure their curriculum and lesson planning to meet the needs of all the learners in their classroom.

Reference

Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: The theory in practice. New York: Basic Books.