FREE ESSAY ON GARDNER'S THEORY OF MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

GARDNER'S THEORY OF MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

In 1979 a young graduate student in cognitive-development psychology, Howard Gardner and a
group of colleagues received a grant from the Bernard Van Leer Foundation. The money was
intended to, " ...produce a scholarly synthesis of what had been established in the
biological, social, and cultural sciences about the nature and realization of human
potential ( Gardner, 1999, p.32 )." Four years later, Gardner published his discoveries,
including his infamous Theory of Multiple Intelligences, in the 1983 book, Frames of Mind
( Gardner, 1999 ).
Gardner's multiple intelligence theory originally contained seven intelligences, and
defined an intelligence as, " the ability to solve problems or to create products that
are valued within one or more cultural settings ( Gardner, 1993, Gardner,1999, p.33)."
Since that time, Gardner has expanded his list to ten, following the addition of three
more theoretical intelligences ( Gardner, 1999 ). His theory has revolutionized the
methods in which children are taught, and spawned new methods of recognizing an
individual's cognitive abilities.
Linguistic, or verbal, intelligence is identified as the first of the seven
intelligences. Children with this kind of intelligence enjoy reading, writing, or other
creative tasks such as story telling or crossword puzzles ( Abernathy, 1999 ). These
children will be exceptionally apt at understanding the order and meaning of words,
persuading others, and more easily recognizing and utilizing the humorous aspects of
language( Edwords, 1999 ). T.S. Eliot possessed this intelligence, as evidenced by his
creation of a magazine, dubbed " Fireside," at the age of ten. He composed eight complete
issues in a three-day period, each including poems, adventure stories, humor, and a
gossip column ( Gardner, 1993 ).
A compliment to those with verbal intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence
includes various abilities such as inductive and deductive reasoning, numbers and
relationships, and patterns ( Edwords, 1999 ). Children with this gift will exhibit an
interest in strategy games, patterns, and experiments ( Abernathy, 1999 ). People with
this gift also display an incredibly rapid process of problem solving. They may cope with
many variables at once and create numerous hypotheses. In the same process, all
hypotheses will be quickly evaluated, then accepted or rejected in turn. This
intelligence is also considered the "...archetype of 'raw intelligence' or problem
solving faculty that...cuts across domains ( Gardner, 1993, p.20 )."
Before the introduction of advanced navigational systems, sailors steered their course by
position of the stars, weather patterns, and water color. These seafarers had the gift of
spatial intelligence. They had the ability to envision the position of certain islands
and landmasses as reference points. They could not physically see the landmarks, but
formulated a mental picture of their journey ( Gardner, 1983, Gardner, 1999 ). People
with spatial intelligence think in images and pictures. Children may be fascinated by
jigsaw puzzles, or exceptional with three-dimensional toys such as Legos? or Tinker Toys?
( Abernathy, 1999 ). Individuals gifted in this area can easily find their way in
unfamiliar spaces and express talent in graphic representation. Students with this
quality excel in geometry, trigonometry, and architecture due to their ability to
recognize relationships of objects in space and to accurately perceive figures from
different angle
( Edwords, 1999 ).
Musical intelligence is easily recognized, especially in young children. Musical
prodigies abound in our society as evidenced by the young Yehudi Menuhin in the late
1970s. He witnessed a performance of the San Francisco Orchestra at three years old. He
demanded a violin for his birthday, received it, and became an international performer by
the age of ten ( Gardner, 1993 ). Children of musical intelligence display a mature
appreciation of music early in their childhood. They are sensitive to sound, usually
aware of some sounds others may miss, and these children are seen frequently drumming or
singing to themselves. Sensing characteristics of a tone and easy reproduction of
melodies or rhythm are also distinguishable characteristics of musically intelligent
individuals ( Abernathy, 1999, Edwords, 1999 ).
Many athletes exhibit the quality of bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. This particular
aspect of the multiple intelligence theory may not contain the cognitive processes of the
other intelligences, but there exists a clearly defined developmental series in young
children. This development schedule qualifies bodily-kinesthetic knowledge as an
intelligence ( Gardner, 1999 ). This intelligence may take longer to expose itself, but
once it surfaces, the gifted individuals are often athletic, dancers, or exhibit
excellent manual dexterity, as in crafts, woodworking, or sewing (Abernathy, 1999 ).
The remaining two intelligences are compliments of each other. Interpersonal intelligence
is the capacity to notice, or read, the intentions, desires, and emotions of others. Anne
Sullivan possessed this intelligence, which enabled her to teach the blind and deaf Helen
Keller ( Gardner, 1993 ). In a classroom setting, children with this ability tend to be
leaders among their peers and understand the feelings and motivations of others (
Abernathy, 1999 ). They also work wonderfully in groups, assisted by their effective
verbal and non-verbal communication skills ( Edwords, 1999 ).
The opposite of interpersonal intelligence is intrapersonal intelligence, "...The
knowledge of the internal aspects of a person ( one's self ) ( Gardner, 1993, p.24 )."
Individuals with this intelligence understand themselves and their feelings. This
intelligence requires evidence and support from language, either written, spoken, or
sung. Therefore, individuals with interpersonal intelligence usually exhibit strong
linguistic intelligence ( Gardner, 1993 ). Children with this gift may be shy, overly
aware of their own feelings, and utilize self-motivation as opposed to outside
influences
( Abernathy, 1999 ).
Gardner has recently added one more intelligence to his list, with two more aspects of
cognitive abilities not yet labeled as intelligences. Naturalist intelligence was modeled
by Charles Darwin, and allows people to distinguish among, classify, and utilize features
of the environment ( Edwords, 1999 ). Just as most children master language at an early
age, most children also exhibit a tendency to explore the world of nature. However, some
children display extraordinary abilities to distinguish and identify objects and
distinctions in the natural world. Many autobiographical texts of biologists document a
keen interest in plants and animals accompanied by a desire to identify, classify, and
interact with them. The taxonomic systems for classifying plants and animals in many
cultures satisfies the criteria for including naturalist intelligence as the eighth
aspect of Gardner's theory ( Gardner, 1999 ).
After naturalist intelligence there have been no further additions to Gardner's
intelligences. One considered for inclusion was that of spiritual intelligence. Eluding
to Gardner's definition of an intelligence, revised from the original in 1983, now
stating that an intelligence is a " biopsychological potential to process information
that can be activated in a cultural setting to solve problems or create products that are
of value in a culture ( Gardner, 1999 )," the intellectual powers portrayed in Buddha or
Christ do not fit the problem solving or product creation that satisfies the criteria for
an intelligence. Therefore, Gardner chose not to include spiritual intelligence in his
list of multiple intelligences ( Gardner, 1999, Edwords, 1999 ).
The final aspect, presently under scrutiny by Gardner, is that of existential
intelligence. People possessing this intelligence understand the human condition
according to the significance of life, the meaning of death, and experiences such as love
for another person or total immersion in a work of art or literature. There are
well-defined stages of sophistication in this aspect of cognitive abilities, and it's
roots come just prior to the Stone Age. Early humans may have used this grappling with
existential issues as a primary form of cognitive abilities. For these reasons,
existentialist intelligence has a greater chance of becoming an intelligence than the
already dismissed spiritual intelligence ( Gardner, 1999 ).
Howard Gardner has undoubtedly contributed one of the most widely accepted theories of
intelligence and cognitive abilities in our present society. His theory has altered the
methods in which children are taught and given some insight into discovering the basis of
an individuals cognitive strengths and weaknesses. His theory will unquestionably
continue to fuel debate over the nature of intelligence. This will ensure that Howard
Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences will continue to shape the views of
intelligence and cognitive ability for years to come.
Bibliography
Abernathy, M. 1999 Howard Gardner's Seven Types of Intelligence
www.swopnet.com/ed/TAG/7_Intelligences.htm(10/26/2000)
Edwords, A. 1999. Components of the Multiple Intelligences
http://boisdarc.tamu-commerce.edu/www/e/edwords/components.htm(10/27/2000)
Garner, H. 1983. Frames of Mind, The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York, Basic
Books
Gardner, H. 1993. Multiple Intelligences; The Theory in Practice. New York, Basic Books
Gardner, H. 1999. Intelligence Reframed. New York, Basic Books