MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES ACCORDING TO HOWARD GARDNER: According to Gardner, intelligence is “the capacity to solve problems or to fashion products that are valued in one or more cultural settings” (Gardner & Hatch, 1989) What do you value as “intelligence”? What traits or characteristics would an intelligent person display?

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES ACCORDING TO HOWARD GARDNER: “All societies value different types of intelligences” (Gardner, 1983) The question is not “How smart am I?” but rather “How am I smart?” What type of “intelligences” does our society value? How do you define someone as “intelligent” in Canada?

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES ACCORDING TO HOWARD GARDNER: Intelligence is not singular because most people have multiple intelligences that can be combined in our activities. In fact, certain intelligences can therefore enhance one another Each person is a unique blend of dynamic intelligences which grow, expand and develop throughout their lifetime.

HOW DOES INTELLIGENCE DEVELOP? Most people believes it is a combination of several factors including biology (nature), upbringing and environment (nurture), cultural and historical background (time/place) Do you think one of these factors plays more of role than the others? Why?

HOW CAN INTELLIGENCES EFFECT ONE ANOTHER? Interference (some intelligences may hinder others) strong interpersonal (social) but weak linguistic – trouble communicating thoughts but can easily express them strong linguistic (reader) but weak mathematical (linguistic) – can communicate well but has difficult with patterns and abstract relations strong mathematical but weak intrapersonal – can solve complex problems but has difficult regulating time

HOW CAN INTELLIGENCES EFFECT ONE ANOTHER? Compensation (strengths in one intelligence helps another) Strong kinesthetic skills but weak linguistic (using body language to convey information in a presentation) Strong intrapersonal and logical skills but weak linguistic (using a rhetorical or emotional voice in writing)

HOW CAN INTELLIGENCES EFFECT ONE ANOTHER? Enhancement (skills in one intelligence jump-starts another) Strong spatial improves ability can be used to solve mathematical concepts (Einstein) Strong musical skills can stimulate the ability to write poetry

TYPES OF MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES Linguistic intelligence Logical/Mathematical intelligence Visual/Spatial intelligence Musical intelligence Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence Interpersonal intelligence Intrapersonal intelligence Naturalist intelligence Existential (Spiritual) intelligence (Smith, 2002)

LINGUISTIC The ability to: read, write, and communicate well through language use language to express one’s thoughts and ideas understand other people orally or in writing use language as a means of remembering information

LOGICAL/MATHEMATICAL INTELLIGENCE The ability to: detect patterns to reason and think logically and sequentially to use and appreciate abstract relations to manipulate numbers, quantities, operations, etc. Logical intelligence is often associated with scientific and mathematical thinking

VISUAL/ SPACIAL The ability to: think in pictures and visualize future results in order to solve problems visualize images with the mind perceive spatial information

MUSICAL The ability to: create, communicate, and understand meanings made out of sound compose music, sing, and keep rhythm hear music, tones, and larger musical patterns

BODY & KINESTHETIC The ability to: use all or part of one’s body to create products, solve problems, or present ideas and emotions use the body in highly differentiated ways for expressive, recreational, or goal directed purpose use one’s mental abilities to coordinate one’s own bodily movements This intelligence challenges the popular belief that mental and physical activity are unrelated

INTERPERSONAL The ability to: recognize feelings, intentions and motivations of others work effectively with others display empathy

INTRAPERSONAL The ability to: to understand one’s own feelings and motivations to use that information to regulate one’s own life

NATURALIST The ability to: distinguish among, classify, and use features of the environment discriminate among living things and to see patterns in the natural world

EXISTENTIAL The ability to: Display sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence (i.e., the meaning of life? why do we die? how did we get here?) grasp cosmic and transcendent truths Do we currently have any scientifically reliable ways of investigating such traits.?

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES & THE CLASSROOM What does it mean to be a multiple intelligences teacher? Will this benefit my students? How can I do a better job of teaching to diverse intelligences? What are my strongest /weakest intelligences and how will these effect my teaching?

WHY SHOULD TEACHERS BE CONCERNED ABOUT ABOUT MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES? Students are unique individuals each with their own set of strengths, weaknesses, aptitudes, and interests Different types of intelligences are not better or worse to have, because each sphere of intelligence has its own expertise If we understand the intelligences of the children in our classroom, we are far better able to meet the needs of all our students

WHY TEACH STUDENTS ABOUT MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES? Teaching students about their intelligence strengths helps them be self-advocates in their learning. Gardner’s theory states that all seven intelligences are needed to functions in society This implies that educators should recognize and teacher to a broader range of talents and skills

WHY TEACH STUDENTS ABOUT MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES? A deeper understanding of curriculum material takes place when more intelligences are incorporated Curriculum needs to facilitate the interconnections between the intelligences Providing opportunities for assessment of students using their stronger intelligences gives us as teachers a better idea of their knowledge of the material

Characteristics of students with high levels of MI Type of MI Characteristics of students with high levels of MI Famous people with high levels of MI Best teaching practices for this MI Assessment Strategies (for students to show mastery with this MI) Linguistic Logical/Mathematical Visual/ Spatial Musical intelligence Bodily/Kinesthetic Interpersonal intelligence Intrapersonal Naturalist Existential