Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory Paper

Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence’s (MI theory) is a valuable resource for teachers, if they understood how they could apply this in the classroom (Snowman & McCown, 2012). In this class, there are multiple intelligences observed amongst the students; however, there is minimal differentiated instruction to allow the students the best opportunities for success. It is critical that teachers understand that their teaching methods may not be wrong, but they

In “A Rounded Version: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences”, Howard Gardner illustrates how there are a variety of intelligences. Gardner starts off with an example how IQ tests may predict achievement in school but may not predict achievement in life. After finding out certain parts of the brain are responsible for certain functions, such as “Broca’s Area” which is responsible for sentence production, Gardner proposes the existence of multiple intelligences. Multiple studies later led him to propose seven distinct intelligences; Musical, bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, linguistic, spatial, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Each intelligence has certain classifications. According to Gardner’s classifications, I realized my intelligences are bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, and intrapersonal.

     A renowned professor of education and psychology at Harvard University, Howard Gardner has radically changed the way we look at intelligence. In 1983 Gardner published the first of two books that theorize that there are multiple intelligences. Gardner believes “that human cognitive competence is better described in terms of a set of abilities, talents, or mental skills, which we call “intelligence” (378). Gardner’s theory dismisses the idea that intelligence is a single attribute of the mind and suggests that there are different types of intelligences that account for different human

‘‘Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory can be used for curriculum development, planning instruction, selection of course activities, and related assessment strategies. Instruction which is designed to help students develop their strengths can also trigger their confidence to develop areas in which they are not as strong. Students’ multiple learning preferences can be addressed when instruction includes a range of meaningful and appropriate methods, activities, and assessments. Gardner’s early work in psychology and later in human cognition and human potential’ led to the development of the initial six intelligences. Today there are nine intelligences and the possibility of others may eventually expand the list. These intelligences (or competencies) relate to a person’s unique aptitude set of capabilities and ways they might prefer to demonstrate intellectual abilities’’ ( (Armstrong, T., 2010). Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences

Howard Gardner introduced the theory Multiple Intelligence where he believes every person has the capacity to hold a unique set of “intelligences”. Growing up, I was taught that a person who was intelligent held a lot of knowledge. However, Gardner includes the importance of other capacities of intelligence. These intelligences include linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial-visual, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist talents. As teachers, it is crucial to let every child know they are special and hold a unique place in the world. Just because one student is not as good at solving mathematical problems than the other students, it does not mean he/she is less intelligent than the others. That

Howard Gardner was a Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education for almost thirty years as a codirector of Harvard’s Project Zero program. (Jacobus 619) The program was dedicated to improving education in school. While Gardner was determined to improve education, he earned many awards and recognition along the way. Some of the awards he earned were MacArthur Foundation Award in 1981 and Grawemeyer Award in Education in 1991 but his most recognized work was the Theory of Multiple Intelligence. In this theory he objects to the idea that we can measure intelligence with a standardized test. Gardner is more interested in the mastery of thinking and less of the mastery of tests. (Jacobus 620) He believes that

Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence states intelligence is not unitary and there is no “general intelligence”. Multiple Intelligence involves linguistic, mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily kinesthetic, naturalistic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal abilities. Gardner’s theory is based on neuropsychological evidence and psychometric evidence.

This brings us to Howard Gardner who is the Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Boston, MA. Mr. Gardner’s educational philosophy is that there is a relationship between intelligences and how the person learns the information being taught. Gardner broke this down into eight separate intelligences: linguistic intelligence, musical intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, spatial intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, and naturalist intelligence.

A teacher could effectively respond to this circumstance through using different types of learning strategies for the student/s, such as through the guidance of Howard Gardner’s theory of eight multiple intelligences (1983;2003), in order to decipher the child’s strongest and weakest intelligences and using

Some common misconceptions about the multiple intelligences theory are the belief that students that fall under one type of intelligence cannot benefit from another and that multiple intelligences and learning styles are the same thing. Addressing the first issue, it is incorrect to think that someone who has a certain intelligence will not find value from utilizing an intelligence outside of their own. In fact, Gardner says it’s the opposite, the occasional use of other intelligences can strengthen one’s learning because it forces them to think

Santrok (2014) lists Gardner’s eight intelligences and states that children have all of the intelligences however they have their own strengths and weaknesses. Whereas Sobel & Li (2013) describe each of the eight intelligences in detail, and rather than asserting that the intelligences are used by every individual, Sobel and Li state that Gardner focuses on “unusual development or lack of unusual development of given abilities” (Sobel & Li, 2013, p.18).

Howard Gardner is a child psychologist whose work focused on stages of development, challenging typical notions of intelligence by broadening aspects of what is considered to be “smart.” In his 1983 book, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, he developed a more in depth look at the educational background that makes up every person. His work seemed blasphemous of the entire sanctity that education had previously been based on. While this was questioned, it was still widely accepted as it was a logical expansion on which to base people’s understanding of intelligence. Gardner’s new theory of Multiple Intelligences is based upon this expansion into regions of knowledge that people never thought to acknowledge before. While traditional

Howard Gardner was best known for his theory of multiple intelligences. In his article entitled “A Rounded Version: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences,” Gardner explains the seven types of intelligences and what makes an individual “intelligent” in those areas. One of his definitions for intelligence is that it “entails the ability to solve problems or fashion products that are of consequence in a particular cultural setting or community” (Gardner 509). Schooling and education deal immensely on various types of problem solving, and a student’s ability to solve problems foreshadowed his/her future success (Gardner 507). With this in mind, one may come to the question of whether or not schooling and education best accommodates the seven

The theory of multiple intelligences was developed by Dr. Howard Gardner in 1983. The Theory of Multiple Intelligences is a critique of the standard psychological view of intellect: there is a single intelligence, adequately measured by IQ or other short answer tests. Instead, on the basis of evidence from disparate sources, the theory claims that human beings have a number of relatively discrete intellectual capacities. IQ tests assess linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligence, and sometimes spatial intelligence; they are a reasonably good predictor of who will do well in school. This is because humans have several other significant intellectual capacities (Harvard University).

I first want to say that my perspective and answers are influenced by my belief in Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Intelligence and ability are not one linear scale. They are both complex.