Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education: History, Theories and Approaches to Learning, 2nd Edition © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Multiple Intelligences Theory: Applications in the Early Childhood Classroom Chapter 5

Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education, 2 nd Edition Follari © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5-2 Starting Questions How do you solve problems? Consider how you approach solving challenging situations or problems like being lost or stuck on a schoolwork problem. Some people talk themselves through these situations, while others need to map out a strategy on paper or make a list. Still others might need to take deep breaths and “center” themselves before they can tackle the problem. Try and identify methods you use to help you through these kinds of situations. Why do we seek to identify many ways of thinking, knowing, and representing?

Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education, 2 nd Edition Follari © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5-3 Multiple Intelligence Theory Beginnings Concerned with students whose needs were not being met by traditional school models that emphasized verbal and logical thinking, Howard Gardner explored differences in thought processing Gardner sought to explain “intelligence” more thoroughly and broadly than through a standardized test score

Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education, 2 nd Edition Follari © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5-4 Seeking to Redefine Intelligence Gardner’s work focused on individuals’ culturally relevant processes of solving and creating problems, ideas, and tools More than talent, MI is about our use of certain methods of thinking and representing Children may use one “kind of smart” to understand concepts in other intelligence areas Within a framework of many equally valued ways of thinking, every child is capable of “being smart”

Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education, 2 nd Edition Follari © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5-5 Intelligence TypeHow People Demonstrate Intelligence Verbal/linguistic Word smart Well-developed language skills and a sensitivity to the sound, meaning, and rhythm of words Logical/mathematical Number smart the ability to think abstractly in concepts and to discern numerical patterns Musical Music smart an appreciation for or the ability to produce rhythm, pitch, and tone quality Visual/spatial Art smart thinking in pictures or images or the ability to visualize abstractly INTELLIGENCE CHART

Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education, 2 nd Edition Follari © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5-6 Intelligence TypeHow People Demonstrate Intelligence Body/kinesthetic Body smart the ability to use and control one ’ s movement or a sensitivity to handling and manipulating objects Interpersonal We/people smart an awareness and sensitivity to the moods and motivation of other people Intrapersonal Me smart a self-awareness and connection with one ’ s own feelings and thought processes Naturalist Nature smart an appreciation and ability for recognizing, sorting objects in nature INTELLIGENCE CHART

Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education, 2 nd Edition Follari © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5-7 Verbal/Linguistic Well-developed language skills Aptitude in listening, reading, speaking, writing Enjoys stories, poems, mnemonic devices Classroom Activities: Sound discrimination Sharing literature, dictating stories Classroom dialogues, storytelling

Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education, 2 nd Edition Follari © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5-8 Logical/Mathematical Strong ability in problem solving, calculations, number relationships Familiarity with concepts of quantity, time, cause/effect, can see patterns in numbers Enjoys prediction, numeric figuring Classroom activities: Measuring, counting, cooking Predicting outcomes, solutions Identifying and creating patterns with blocks

Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education, 2 nd Edition Follari © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5-9 Musical Affinity for pattern, rhythm, sounds, tone Emotional connection to music Enjoys listening to and making music and song Classroom Activities: Use songs or rhythms for transitions Active listening exercises Encourage children to create instruments and original musical works Replicate sounds heard in nature

Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education, 2 nd Edition Follari © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Visual/Spatial Ability to use pictures/visuals to tell stories, convey information; affinity for art Creating images in one’s mind Strong sense of direction, ability to adeptly move around in complex paths Classroom activities: Guided imagery, imagination games Maps, puzzles, blocks, treasure hunts Murals, 2-D and 3-D art, storyboards

Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education, 2 nd Edition Follari © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Body/Kinesthetic Sensory learners enjoy touching, manipulating, moving, and handcrafting Ability to use one’s body skillfully and gracefully to express ideas and learn about world Classroom Activities: Obstacle courses, large motor activities Sensory projects: using touch to explore Dance, pantomime, acting, dramatic play Manipulatives, sculpting

Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education, 2 nd Edition Follari © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Interpersonal “The Outward One” Easily forms relationships and navigates social situations, group interactions Understands feelings and motives of others; persuasive Classroom activities: Active listening exercises, role-playing conflict resolution, show and tell Working in groups on collective projects, teams Group story writing

Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education, 2 nd Edition Follari © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Intrapersonal “The Inward One” Sensitive to inner personality traits — motivation, sense of self, personal emotions Introspective, comfortable identifying and expressing emotions Classroom Activities: Setting goals, planning activities, reviewing experiences Journal writing, working independently Identifying and expressing emotions

Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education, 2 nd Edition Follari © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Naturalist Enjoys engaging with the environment and nature, sorting and classifying natural items Recognize categories and classifications of living things, patterns among them Classroom Activities: Describing and recording observations, using graphs and charts Experiments, using binoculars and microscopes Gardening, exploring fossils, nature walks

Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education, 2 nd Edition Follari © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Considerations for Teachers Integrate activities to appeal to all kinds of thinkers, don’t try to label or track children Continually reflect on your own processing style in relation to your teaching style “Who you are is how you teach” Provide ample hands-on experiences, focusing on authentic activities Remember that intelligence is related to usefulness or authenticity Value new, unusual, or ‘wild’ ideas and solutions

Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education, 2 nd Edition Follari © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved More Considerations for Teachers Support children’s unique thinking preferences while encouraging exploration in all ways of thinking Consider interdisciplinary projects, which integrate all ways of thinking into meaningful activities Teachers guide, facilitate, coach, observe, and reflect Pose open-ended questions to provoke children’s thinking and problem-solving

Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education, 2 nd Edition Follari © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Assessment in MI classrooms Use portfolios as a primary assessment tool Allows for a variety of sources of information about children Children can select and reflect on the work to be included Individualized, personalized documentation

Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education, 2 nd Edition Follari © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Reflection Questions Which intelligence areas do you think are your strengths and which are areas you do not feel as strong in? How do you think your specific thinking style might impact your teaching? What can you do to ensure that your strengths do not dominate your teaching too much?