The Theory of Multiple Intelligences - Essay Example

An Investigation of Multiple Intelligences Howard Gardner developed the theory of multiple intelligences, that suggests that the traditional definition and description of intelligence must be refined, because he believes that intelligence is of different varieties and a plurality of capacities (Ting, 24) (Kuang-yun Ting found it difficult to improve student-learning in large group teaching which had led her to research on the advantages of using internet resources and the multiple intelligences approach in the English classroom). Since then, the traditional concept of intelligence which focused on mathematical and linguistic intelligences has changed and the new concept of intelligence is now drafted. According to Howard Gardner there are seven types of intelligences: musical intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, linguistic intelligence, spatial intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, and intrapersonal intelligence. The naturalist type of intelligence was added after Gardner developed the seven types of intelligence (Levitin, 507-520) (Daniel L. Levitin is a prominent American cognitive psychologist, neuroscientist, record producer, musician, and writer). The theory of multiple intelligences has brought a pragmatic approach that would allow cultivation of student’s strengths towards learning and how we define intelligence. Numerous educators, parents, researchers, and students deemed the idea of multiple intelligences as important however, multiple intelligences theory has also risen criticisms among scholars in the field of psychology. My goal in this paper is to investigate the issues surrounding multiple intelligences by examining the point of view of Howard Gardner and those critics of the multiple intelligences theory. To achieve this goal, this paper will discuss four main sections, two of which have sub-sections. The first section will discuss the history of multiple intelligences, together with the evolution of the definition of intelligence. The second section will discuss each type of multiple intelligences, and issues surrounding the multiple intelligence theory will be discussed in the third section. Lastly, the fourth section will discuss the impact of multiple intelligence theory on the education of America. HISTORY The history of multiple intelligences started through the attempts to reform the common notion of the term “intelligence”. More often, people measured intelligence through the ability to solve problems, to find the answers to specific questions, and to learn new material quickly and easily. There have been several research attempts to find ways to define and measure intelligence, and one of these attempts has led to the creation of I.Q. test, a traditional tool used to gauge a person’s intelligence (Hoerr, 1) (Thomas R. Hoerr is the head of school of St. Louis’s New City School and is interested in developing personal intelligence, diversity, and multiculturalism). It is also the I.Q. test that directed the traditional view of intelligence and presented the idea that intelligence can be objectively measured by a single test. Wilhelm Stern is the German psychologist credited for the Intelligence Quotient or IQ, and Lewis Terman is the one who popularized the IQ test in United States with the introduction of Stanford-Binet IQ tests. Earlier than Stern and Terman, the French psychologist Alfred Binet was asked by the minister of public instruction in Paris in 1904 to develop an instrument that would identify primary grade students who were at risk for failure and who needed remedial attention (Armstrong, 5) (Thomas Armstrong adapt Gardner’s model for teachers and other educators. He was the also the author of the two previous edition of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom and is active in providing updates regarding multiple intelligences). Binet and his colleague Theodore Simon developed a test effective for the purpose of identifying students at risk for school failure. However, this test was eventually adapted as the basis for measuring the general intelligence of an individual in terms of verbal memory and reasoning, numerical reasoning, and appreciation of logical sequences (Viens & Kallenbach, 2) (Julie Viens is the Manager Director of Multiple Intelligences Institute while Silja Kallenbach is the Director of World Education, US Division and has worked in adult education since 1981 as a teacher, administrator, and staff developer). Intelligence is equated to psychometric view which involves three dimensions: intelligence is measured by a test, intelligence is inherited from our parents, and intelligence is an unchanged general capacity which can be measured objectively (Viens & Kallenbach, 2). The traditional view of intelligence began to change when a Harvard psychologist named Howard Gardner challenged the commonly notion of intelligence 80 years after the first intelligence tests had been developed. Gardner arrived at the idea of multiple intelligences when he was working at the Boston Veterans Administration Medical Center and noted that the different losses of brain-damaged patients also suggested the biological basis for specialized intelligences (Hoerr, 2). Critics of the I.Q. testing like Gardner believed that commonly held definition and gauge of intelligence were superficial. Thus, Gardner reformed the current definition of intelligence into intelligence that has more to do with the capacity for solving problems and fashioning products in a context-rich and naturalistic setting (Armstrong, 6). Furthermore, Gardner suggested the different criteria for intelligence, among of which are: the potential of isolation by brain damage; the existence of idiot savants, prodigies and exceptional individuals; the identifiable core operation or set of operations; the distinctive developmental history with definable set of expert “end-state” performances; the evolutionary history or evolutionary plausibility; the support from experimental psychological tasks; the support from psychometric findings; and the susceptibility to encoding in a symbol system (Hoerr, 3). These criteria of Gardner resulted in the development of the eight types of intelligences, apart from the I.Q. tests and the intelligences typically valued in school and will be discussed in the next context. THE EIGHT TYPES OF INTELLIGENCE Gardner argued that there are different types of intelligence. There are people who are intelligent in speaking, making logical reasoning, interpreting spatial representations, performing gross motor activities, playing with the music, interacting with other people and self, and arranging categories and hierarchies. All of these refer to the eight types of intelligence by Gardner and will be described in detail in the following text. Linguistic Intelligence. The Broca’s Area is the specific area of the brain responsible for the production of grammatical sentences (Levitin, 515). The linguistic type of intelligence is certainly the most emphasized and most used type of intelligence in classroom settings as lecture, recitation, textbooks, and board work requires expression of oneself verbally and in writing (McKenzie, 12) (Walter McKenzie has gathered great information about multiple intelligences and is the Director of Constituent Services at ASCD). People who are linguistically intelligent have the capacity to use words effectively and to manipulate language expressively, including the ability to master foreign languages: examples are politician, orator, storyteller, poet, journalist, editor, and playwright. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence. This type of intelligence involves the capacity to use numbers effectively and to reason well, which allow learners to be problem-solvers (Armstrong, 6). People with logical-mathematical intelligence seek that the learning environment be organized in categories or class and often make inference, generalization, calculation, or hypothesis testing. Thus, this type of intelligence is often labeled as the “scientific thinking”. Logical-mathematical intelligence founded the principal basis for IQ tests and people with this type of intelligence solve problems remarkably rapid: examples are statistician, tax accountant, mathematician, scientist, logician, and computer programmer. Spatial Intelligence. People with spatial intelligence have the ability to perceive the visual-spatial world accurately and to perform transformations upon those perceptions (Armstrong, 7). Learning instruction using maps, graphs, charts, tables, art, illustrations, costumes, and puzzles enhance visual-spatial reasoning. Spatial intelligence also involves sensitivity to color, line, shape, form, and space and people with spatial intelligence have the ability to visualize, graphically represent, and orient oneself in spatial matrix: examples are guide, scout, hunter, and navigators. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence. The motor cortex of the brain has the control over bodily movements (Levitin, 513). In people with bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, the motor function of the brain functions effectively as manifested by flexibility, coordination, balance, dexterity, speed, strength, haptic, tactile, and proprioceptive capacities. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligent people are experts in using one’s whole body to express feelings and ideas or to produce and transform things with the use of one’s hand. They are often overactive and demonstrate fine and gross motor activities: examples are athlete, actor, mime, dancer, surgeon, craftsperson, mechanic and sculptor. Musical Intelligence. Unlike other forms of intelligence, the ability to demonstrate exceptional musical skills is not localized in a specific area of the brain. Musical intelligence can be seen in people behind every songs, poetry or rhythms and in using musical instruments. Musical intelligence refers to the ability to perceive, discriminate, transform, and express in musical forms (Armstrong, 7). Understanding of music can be global or intuitive, analytical or technical, or both and people with this type of intelligence are sensitive to every changes, errors, or beauty of tone, rhythm, pitch, and timbre. Music aficionado, critic, composer, and performer are examples of people with musical intelligences. Interpersonal Intelligence. There are people who find it easy to interact with others because of the ability to perceive and discriminate moods, feelings, motivations, and intentions of other people. These people possess interpersonal intelligence, a type of intelligence that is localized in the frontal lobes of the brain (Levitin, 517). In order to stimulate learning, learners must be put in an environment where interaction and collaboration occurs. People with interpersonal intelligence are gifted with the skills in interaction and knowing the real or hidden intentions of others: examples of which are observed in religious or political leaders, teachers, therapists, and parents. Intrapersonal Intelligence. Self-knowledge and actions based on that knowledge are the distinguishing characteristics of an intrapersonal intelligent person. In learning, it is the part of a learner to expect learning or instruction to be meaningful. Intrapersonal intelligence involves the knowledge of oneself, including the awareness of owns strengths and limitations, intentions, motivations, desires, and temperaments and is considered as the most private form of intelligence (Armstrong, 7). Intrapersonal intelligent people have full capability to self-esteem, self-understanding, and self-discipline: autistic child is an example of intrapersonal intelligent individual. Naturalist Intelligence. It is not only the capability to recognize the flora and fauna in the individual environment, but naturalist intelligence also promotes classification, categorization, and hierarchical frameworks (McKenzie, 12). People who are naturalist intelligents are sensitive to the natural phenomena and the differences to the inanimate objects. MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES ISSUES When Gardner created the multiple intelligences theory, it served as an inspiration to others, and the rest were all critics who strongly disagreed with the multiple intelligences theory. Some scholars, educators, and critics laid out questions and issues related to the multiple intelligences theory, among of which are the following: Multiple Intelligences as a Learning Style. The multiple intelligences are applied in the classroom instruction as a learning style and some educators opposed to that idea, because multiple intelligences discussed intelligence and not learning (Dunegan, 42) (Linda Dunegan holds a PhD in Organization and Management from Capella University, a Master of Science in Vocational Education from the University of Alaska Anchorage, and a Master in Health Services Administration from Saint Josephs College in Maine. She has extensive background in behavioral health and learners-focused). Gardner’s Qualifications. Educators argued that for a theory in education to be reliable and credible, the qualification of the author of the theory must be examined and must fit with the field the theory intends to discuss. In the case of multiple intelligences, Gardner does not fit the criteria or qualifications as he is a psychologist and not a teacher. Not Readily Measured Compared to Standard. Psychometricians believed that the theory of multiple intelligences by Gardner does not have neat measures of constructs compared to the accepted standards of scholars (Gardner, 71) (Howard Gardner is an American developmental psychologist at Harvard Graduate School of Education at Harvard University and is best known for his theory of multiple intelligences). Multiple intelligences theory lacks the quantitative evidence to support the idea of separate intelligences. Thus, it contradicted the scientific way of thinking and doing of most scholars. Not Equitable and Applicable to General Learning Population. The theory of Gardner had failed to address the inequities and differential access of poor and working-class students as the theory is more likely to support a supportive and inclusive classroom, which is not applicable to the general population with culturally-diverse learners (Kincheloe, 34) (Joe Kincheloe was a professor at the Faculty of Education in McGill University. He has written more than 45 books on issues related to critical pedagogy, educational research, urban studies, cognition, curriculum, and cultural studies). Inadequate Evidences to Support the Theory. Gardner argued that multiple intelligences theory was empirically validated because it is the combined result of the empirical studies that he gathered. However, Waterhouse contradicted the idea and explained that theory generation was different from theory validation and that the theory was more on reasoning and intuition than empirical research (248) (Lynn Waterhouse is a child behavior researcher in the College of New Jersey, Ewing and strongly argue with the application of theory of multiple intelligences in education) . In addition, the theory of Gardner did not specify which type of intelligence is supported by evidence for neural system or adapted cognition module, he had not defined a set of testable psychological subcomponents for each type of intelligence, had not presented a formal data analysis, and discussion section was too brief and too vague for other researchers. He had not accrued evidence comparable to evolutionary theory and plate tectonics theory either, because of lack of empirical evidence. Superficial Applications. Critics accuse Gardner that the multiple intelligence theory only dumbs down the curriculum to make students mistakenly believe that they are all smart (Armstrong, 195). Critics believe that relying on ones strongest intelligence will not guarantee learning or comprehension of a given topic, but only divert the attention and skills of the students to related skills or subject. IMPACT OF MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES ON EDUCATION OF AMERICA Despite receiving a lot of criticisms, some educators and instructors adapt the theory of multiple intelligences in America. The intense debates among scholars, educators, instructors, and Gardner towards a scientifically-accepted theory of learning have led to pursuit of more researches; thus, multiple intelligences theory created a positive impact in the field of research and education. Blackwell, Trzesniewski and Dweck believed that the development of intelligence theories such as the multiple intelligences theory positively affected the learning system of US and its students (258) (Lisa S. Blackwell came from Columbia University while Kali H. Trzesniewski and Carol Sorich Dweck came from Stanford University). In their 2007 study, Blackwell, Trzesniewski and Dweck concluded that the creation of multiple intelligences could predict the academic achievement of a learner, because the teacher already knew the students sets of impressions and capabilities. Gardner suggested ways in which multiple intelligences may promote broader educational goals which had increased the teachers’ understanding of teaching and learning processes. Multiple intelligences theory has helped students achieve better understanding of the main subject as learning is directed through their strengths and has guided teachers in drawing the attention of students to learn effectively (Ting, 33). Since multiple intelligences theory suggests that everyone has their own intelligences, it has provided teachers a constant reminder that learners differ and are diverse in nature. Thus, educators tend to value this theory despite criticisms from psychologist as it exploits the strengths of the students towards achieving success. In addition, it also enhances the flexibility of teachers because of dealing with multiple intelligent students. America has weak education foundation with high drop-out rates in high schools and colleges (Dunegan, 6). The lack of understanding of multiple intelligences as a learning style in traditional and vocational students and the widely-held misconception that knowledge comes as a by-product of age are the possible causes of the America’ weak education system. Implicitly stated, applying the multiple intelligences theory of Gardner may improve the educational system of America by examining the strengths and weaknesses of every students and facilitating learning that enhances the potential for intelligence. Works Cited Armstrong, Thomas. Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, 3rd ed. Virginia: ASCD Publications, 2009, pp. 5-7, 195. Blackwell, Lisa S., Trzesniewski, Kali H. & Dweck, Carol Sorich. “Implicit Theories of Intelligence Predict Achievement Across an Adolescent Transition: A Longitudinal Study and an Intervention”. Child Development, 78(1), 2007: 246-263. Dunegan, Linda. An Investigation of Multiple Intelligences: Developing an Indicator of Learning Styles for Vocational Education and Traditional Students. Michigan: ProQuest Information and Learning Company, 2008, pp. 6, 42. Gardner, Howard. Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons, Revised ed. US: Perseus Books Group, 2006, pp. 71. Hoerr, Thomas R. Becoming a Multiple Intelligences School, Print ed. Virginia: ASCD Publications, 2000, pp. 1-3. Kincheloe, Joel L. Multiple Intelligences Reconsidered, Print ed. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 2004, pp. 34. Levitin, Daniel, L. Foundations of Cognitive Psychology, Print ed. Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2002, pp. 507-520. McKenzie, Walter. Multiple Intelligences and Instructional Technology, 2nd ed. Oregon: International Society for Technology in Education, 2005, pp. 12. Ting, Kuang-yun. Teaching English Using the Internet and the Multiple Intelligences Approach, Print ed. US: Xiu Wei Information Technology Co, Ltd., 2007, pp. 24, 33. Viens, Julie & Kallenbach, Silja. Multiple Intelligences and Adult Literacy: A Sourcebook for Practitioners, Print ed. New York: Teachers College Press, 2004, pp. 2. Waterhouse, Lynn. “Inadequate Evidence for Multiple Intelligences, Mozart Effect, and Emotional Intelligence Theories”. Educational Psychologist, 41(4), 2006: 247-255. Read More