Efficiency of application of Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory in the classroom
К содержанию номера журнала: Вестник КАСУ №2 - 2011
Автор: Ежитская С. М.
The use of
principles of individualization and differentiation in teaching are fundamental
requirements of contemporary education.
Individualization
represents taking into account personal peculiarities of students, and
supplying every learner with professional pedagogic support on the purpose of
development of students’ psychological potential. An integral part of the
process of individualization is the principle of differentiation which demands
application of different techniques and methods of teaching (depending on stage
of learning and students’ age-specific peculiarities). Modern teacher should be
able to work simultaneously with all types of students (having different
initial knowledge, turn of mind, attitude to study, intelligence etc.), and
design the special line of teaching for every specific learner. This approach
to teaching can be realized with the help of Gardner’s theory of multiple
intelligences.
Multiple
Intelligence Theory was developed
in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner, a psychologist and professor of
neuroscience from Harvard University. The
theory challenged traditional beliefs in the fields of education and cognitive
science. Unlike the established understanding of intelligence (that people are
born with a uniform cognitive capacity that can be easily measured by short-answer
tests), MI reconsiders our educational practice of the last century and
provides an alternative.
The original Multiple Intelligence theory was first published in the book,
‘Frames of Mind.’
Gardner strongly suggests that everybody has a
different mind, and no two profiles of intelligence are the same. He defines
intelligence as the ability to create an effective product or offer a service
that is valued in a culture; a set of skills that make it possible for a person
to solve problem in life; or the potential for finding or creating solutions
for problem, which involves gathering new knowledge (1, p. 4-5).
According to Howard Gardner, human beings have nine
different kinds of intelligence that reflect different ways of interacting with
the world. Each person has a unique combination, or profile. Although we each
have all nine intelligences, no two individuals have them in the same exact
configuration, similar to our fingerprints. The theory suggests that traditional ways of testing
for intelligence may be biased to certain types of individuals depending on
their perception of the world. The perception still exists that intelligence
can be measured in relation to reading, writing and arithmetic skills alone,
and a person’s future success is judged accordingly. Here are intelligences
that people can possess:
1. Linguistic
Intelligence involves the
capacity to use language to express what's on your mind and to understand other
people. It includes students’ sensitivity to spoken and written language, the ability
to learn and use languages for accomplishing certain goals. Language is a means
to remember information. Any kind of writer, orator, speaker, lawyer, or other
person for whom language is an important stock in trade has great linguistic
intelligence.
2.
Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
consists of the capacity to understand the underlying principles of some kind
of causal system, the way a scientist or a logician does; or to manipulate
numbers, quantities, and operations, the way a mathematician does. In Howard
Gardner's words, it entails the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively
and think logically. Therefore, it involves the capacity to analyze problems
logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically.
3. Musical
Rhythmic Intelligence involves
skill in the performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns. It
encompasses the capacity to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones, and
rhythms, and perhaps manipulate them. People who have strong musical
intelligence don't just remember music easily, they can't get it out of their
minds, it's so omnipresent. According to Howard Gardner musical intelligence
runs in an almost structural parallel to linguistic intelligence.
4. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence entails the potential of using one's whole body or
parts of the body (your hands, your fingers, your arms) to solve problems, make
something, or put on some kind of production. It is the ability to use mental
abilities to coordinate bodily movements. Howard Gardner sees mental and
physical activity as related. The most evident examples are people in athletics
or the performing arts, particularly dancing or acting.
5. Spatial Intelligence involves the potential to recognize and use the
patterns of wide space and more confined areas. It’s the ability to represent
the spatial world internally in your mind - the way a sailor or airplane pilot
navigates the large spatial world, or the way a chess player or sculptor
represents a more circumscribed spatial world. Spatial intelligence can be used
in the arts or in the sciences.
6. Naturalist Intelligence describes the ability to discriminate among living
things (plants, animals) and sensitivity to other features of the natural world
(clouds, rock configurations). It enables human beings to recognize, categorize
and draw upon certain features of the environment. It 'combines a description
of the core ability with a characterization of the role that many cultures
value'. This ability was clearly of value in our evolutionary past as hunters,
gatherers, and farmers; it continues to be central in such roles as botanist or
chef.
7. Intrapersonal Intelligence consists of having an understanding of yourself;
knowing who you are, what you can do, what you want to do, how you react to
things, to appreciate one's feelings, fears and motivations, which things to
avoid, and which things to gravitate toward. We are drawn to people who have a
good understanding of themselves. They tend to know what they can and can't do,
and to know where to go if they need help. In Howard Gardner's view it involves
having an effective working model of ourselves, and to be able to use such
information to regulate our lives.
8. Interpersonal Intelligence is concerned with the capacity to understand other
people, their intentions, motivations and desires. It allows people to work
effectively with others. It's an ability we all need, but is especially
important for teachers, clinicians, salespersons, religious and political
leaders, counselors and anybody who deals with other people.
9. Existential Intelligence: the ability and proclivity to pose (and ponder)
questions about life, death, and ultimate realities. However, empirical
evidence is sparse - and although a ninth intelligence might be attractive,
Howard Gardner is not disposed to add it to the list. 'I find the phenomenon
perplexing enough and the distance from the other intelligences vast enough to
dictate prudence - at least for now' (2, p.66).
The traditional
concept of measuring intelligence by I.Q testing is far too restricted. From
the 9 primary intelligences, an individual may excel in one, two or even three
of these, but nobody’s good at them all. Equally the same rule applies to a
child prodigy or mentally/physically disadvantaged person. A brain damaged
child could have a severely impaired use of language, but be able to paint or
play music magnificently. A child may wish to express his or
her knowledge of that content in one of many different ways (i.e., puppetry,
model making, classroom demonstrations, songs, plays, etc.). Learning through a
variety of unique experiences allows children to better understand themselves
as lifelong learners, and to see how others acquire knowledge and apply their
skills. Dr Gardner
indicates that by introducing a broader range of learning methods, (known as
the intelligences) educators and indeed parents, can home in on an individual’s
strengths and weaknesses by determining their preferred learning style. This
would consequently give them the opportunity to learn in ways more productively
to their unique minds.
It goes without
saying it’s challenging to teach all intelligences at the same time. Think
positively: nine kinds of intelligence would allow nine ways to teach, rather
than one. Powerful constraints that exist in the mind can be mobilized to
introduce a particular concept (or a whole system of thinking) in a way that
children are most likely to learn it and least likely to disfigure it. The
key to implementing MI successfully is to design your classroom and the
particular lesson so that students are able to participate in learning and
understand the material in a variety of ways.
There are some tips that the teacher should keep in
mind:
1. Provide the
students with sufficient materials.
Teaching with MI
often necessitates that students work together in groups and/or on projects
that employ many materials. Be sure that you adapt your classroom space as best
you can to the parameters of the lesson. For example, if the lesson plan asks
students to work with computers and you do not have enough in your classroom,
try to schedule time in the computer lab in advance. If the lesson plan
involves drawing or acting, be sure to arrange your classroom so that there is
sufficient space and materials.
2. Make clear
instructions and strict limitations for carrying out the given task.
Be prepared not
only to encourage collaboration and "thinking outside the box," but
also to maintain some control by setting specific boundaries for students. For
example, if the assignment calls for the students to work together to develop a
presentation, be sure to define exactly how they should work together (perhaps
by asking them to muck in the task among the members of a group, or encouraging
them to assign different roles within the group) and what to do if they have
trouble cooperating.
3. Be ready for
getting different ways of students’ performance. One "answer" or outcome
is not the only acceptable measure of a child's understanding. For example, if
your objective is for students to understand the literary elements of a story
or novel (e.g., rising action, conflict, climax, etc.), different learners
might grasp the concept in different ways. One student might illustrate them
through drawing, another might be able to re-create the elements through
acting, and yet another might better be able to summarize them in writing.
4. Let students know
the criteria of assessment. They need to have a clear understanding of how
their work will be evaluated. Be sure to lay out the exact objectives and expectations
of your lesson before beginning. Because MI allows for many different means of
learning and expression, children need to understand that there may be many
different forms of evaluation and that one style of work is not necessarily
more demanding or time consuming than another. For example, if a project gives
participants a choice between writing and illustrating, the outcomes will obviously
be very different, but they may be given the same grade for meeting the same
objective.
There are multiple benefits to employing MI in your
classroom. The Multiple Intelligence classroom acts like the "real"
world in that, for example, the author and the illustrator of a book or the
actor and the set builder in a play are equally valuable creators. Students
become more active, involved learners. Such activities as drawing a picture,
composing or listening to music, watching a performance, etc can be vital to
learning, as important as writing and mathematics. Therefore, you may come to regard intellectual ability
more broadly. Studies show that many students who perform poorly on traditional
tests are turned on to learning when classroom experiences incorporate
artistic, athletic, and musical activities.
Teachers may
provide opportunities for authentic learning based on your students' needs,
interests and talents. The multiple intelligence classroom acts like the
"real" world: the author and the illustrator of a book are equally
valuable creators. Students become more active, involved learners.
Parent and
community involvement in your school may increase. This happens as students
demonstrate work before panels and audiences. Activities involving
apprenticeship learning bring members of the community into the learning
process.
Students will be
able to demonstrate and share their strengths. Building strengths gives a
student the motivation to be a "specialist." This can in turn lead to
increased self-esteem.
When you
"teach for understanding," your students accumulate positive
educational experiences and the capability for creating solutions to problems
in life.
Gardner’s approach imparts alternative way of thinking and entails some
advantages of using this theory in education:
A broad vision of education. All seven intelligences are needed to live life
well. Teachers, therefore, need to attend to all intelligences, not just the
first two that have been their tradition concern. As Kornhaber has noted it
involves educators opting 'for depth over breadth'. Understanding entails
taking knowledge gained in one setting and using it in another. 'Students must
have extended opportunities to work on a topic' (4, p. 276).
Developing local and flexible programmers. Howard Gardner's interest in 'deep
understanding', performance, exploration and creativity are not easily
accommodated within an orientation to the 'delivery' of a detailed curriculum
planned outside of the immediate educational context. 'An "MI
setting" can be undone if the curriculum is too rigid or if there is but a
single form of assessment' (3, p. 147).
Looking to morality. 'We must figure out how intelligence and morality
can work together', Howard Gardner argues, 'to create a world in which a great
variety of people will want to live' (1, p. 4).
In conclusion, I’d
like to refer to Howard Gardner’s thoughts about human uniqueness, “I want my
children to understand the world, but not just because the world is fascinating and the human mind is curious. I want
them to understand it so that they will be positioned to make it a better
place. Knowledge is not the same as morality, but we need to understand if we
are to avoid past mistakes and move in productive directions. An important part
of that understanding is knowing who we are and what we can do... Ultimately,
we must synthesize our understandings for ourselves. The performance of
understanding that try matters are the ones we carry out as human beings in an
imperfect world which we can affect for good or for ill (2, p.
180-181).
Therefore, our
teachers should create conditions to change the world. Always remember that intelligence is like people’s capacity
to solve problems in their own way. They can fashion products that are valued
in one or more cultural setting by choosing different methods and techniques
that are easier and more effective for problem solving. That’s why it’s
important for every teacher to adapt to every student, know his/her perception
of the world. Educators should take advantage of the uniqueness of their
students.
Explore your
students’ interests in world cognition. Be creative, use your skills to
maintain your students’ potential and help them understand the world easier and
more consciously.
If a child is not
learning the way you are teaching, then you must teach in the way the child
learns. Do make difference in
teaching!
REFERENCES
1. Gardner, Howard (1983; 1993) Frames of Mind: The
theory of multiple intelligences, New York: Basic Books. The second edition was
published in Britain by Fontana Press. 466 pages.
2. Gardner, Howard (1999) Intelligence Reframed.
Multiple intelligences for the 21st century, New York: Basic Books. 292 pages.
3. Gardner, Howard (1999) The Disciplined Mind: Beyond
Facts And Standardized Tests, The K-12 Education That Every Child Deserves, New York: Simon and Schuster (and New York: Penguin Putnam).
4. Kornhaber, M. L. (2001) 'Howard Gardner' in J. A.
Palmer (ed.) Fifty Modern
Thinkers on Education. From Piaget to the present, London: Routledge.
5. Project SUMIT (2000) SUMIT Compass Points
Practices. [http://pzweb.harvard.edu/ Research/SUMIT.htm. Accessed June 15,
2008]
6. Gardner, Howard, and Hatch, Thomas. "Multiple
Intelligences Go to School" CTE Technical Report Issue No. 4 (March 1990)
http://www.edc.org/CCT/ccthome/reports/tr4.html
7. MITA (Multiple Intelligence Teaching Approach) http://www.houghton.
edu/ personnel/eweber/ellen.html
8. Multiple Intelligences http:// www. chariho. k12. ri
.us/ curriculum/ MISmart/ MImapDef.HTM
К содержанию номера журнала: Вестник КАСУ №2 - 2011
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