Introduction
In the history
of education there occurred a significant shift: a shift from the traditional
teacher-centered approaches to learner-centered ones. For so long time,
educators and principals had been so much concerned with implanting knowledge
in a uniform way and giving students some previously-prepared courses. This led
to creating stereotypes of students. Those students have been the victims of a
traditional way of instruction that addressed all the students in the same way.
With the appearance of ‘humanism’ in the sixties, new ideas in teaching came to
the scene. These ideas were the direct result of the new outlook of the
student. The proposed approach takes individual differences seriously and craft
practices that serve different kinds of minds equally well. To teach
effectively does not mean just to present the content in a skilful way. There
are many other factors involved in the teaching learning process. The new
approach was an counter approach to the traditional way of teaching, it
suggests teachers to teach depend upon the intelligence students possess. This
paper defines multiple intelligences theory, the intelligences according to
Gardner, implications of MI theory, and appeal and the teachers’ role in
implementing this theory.
1.
Multiple Intelligences Theory
Multiple
Intelligences Theory was first proposed by Howard Gardner, a professor of
cognition and education at Harvard University, in his most celebrated book, Frames
of Mind, in 1983. He regarded it “as a pluralistic view of mind which
recognizes many different and discrete facets of cognition and acknowledges
that people have different cognitive strengths and contrasting cognitive styles
Since then, educators have become so interested to apply this theory as a means
through which they can improve teaching and learning in a multiplicity of ways.
The theory represents a new orientation towards the nature of intelligences. In
designing his theory, Gardner opposes the traditional view of the intellect
stating that his theory is a new outlook of the human intelligence. He
considers the intelligences as a new definition of the human nature. Gardner
describes man as an organism who possesses a basic set of intelligences. Thus
he looks upon human beings in the light of a group of intelligences that they
are supposed to have.
2. The Intelligences According To Gardner
Gardner
using biological as well as cultural research, he formulated a list of seven
intelligences and subsequently added two more.
2.1.
Linguistic intelligence involves sensitivity to spoken and written
language, the ability to learn languages, and the capacity to use language to
accomplish certain goals. This intelligence includes the ability to effectively
use language to express oneself rhetorically or poetically; and language as a
means to remember information. Writers, poets, lawyers and speakers are among
those that Howard Gardner sees as having high linguistic intelligence.
2.2.
Logical-mathematical intelligence consists of the capacity to analyze
problems logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues
scientifically. Gardner (1993) says it entails the ability to detect patterns,
reason deductively and think logically. This intelligence is most often
associated with scientific and mathematical thinking.
2.3. Musical 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. According to Gardner, musical intelligence runs in an almost structural parallel to linguistic intelligence. An example is, the use of tape recorders for listening, singing along, and learning newsongs.
2.4.
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence entails the potential of using one's whole
body or parts of the body to solve problems. It is the ability to use mental
abilities to coordinate bodily movements. Gardner sees mental and physical
activity as related.
2.5.
Spatial intelligence involves the potential to recognize and use the
patterns of wide space and more confined areas. It is the ability to sense
form, space, color, line, and shape. A very good example is the use of visual
mapping activities and the encouragement of students to vary the arrangements
of materials in space, such as by creating charts and bulletin boards.
2.6.
Interpersonal intelligence is concerned with the capacity to understand the
intentions, motivations and desires of other people. It allows people to work
effectively with others. Educators, salespeople, religious and political
leaders and counselors all need a well-developed interpersonal intelligence. The
ability to solve problems and resolving conflict by students are best
illustrations.
2.7.
Intrapersonal intelligence entails the capacity to understand oneself, to
appreciate one's feelings, fears and motivations. 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. To develop this ability, it proposes teachers
to let students express their own preferences and help them understand their
own styles of learning.
2.8.
Naturalist intelligence 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. It
is the ability to recognize and classify plants, minerals and animals including
rocks and grass, and all variety of flora and fauna.
2.9. Existential intelligence is the capacity to locate oneself with respect to the furthest reaches of the cosmos and the related capacity to locate oneself with respect to such existential features of the humancondition as the significance of life, the meaning of death, the ultimate fate of the physical and the psychological worlds. It can also be defined as the ability to be sensitive to, or have the capacity for, conceptualizing or tackling deeper or larger questions about human existence, such as the meaning of life, why we are born, why we die, what is consciousness, or how we got here.
3. Implications of Multiple
Intelligence Theory
Many educators and researchers have explored the practical
implications of Multiple Intelligence theory- the powerful notion that there
are separate human capacities. According to this
theory, human cognitive competence is better described in terms of a set of
abilities, talents or mental skills called intelligences. All normal
individuals possess each of these skills to some extent; individuals differ in
the degree of skill and in the nature of their combination. Gardner is of the
view that such a theory has important educational implications including ones
for curriculum development.
While empirical evidence backs Multiple
Intelligence Theory, it has not been targeted to severe experimental tests
within psychology. But the application of the theory in various fields of
education is currently being examined. Gardner and his team opine that their
leads will have to be revised repeatedly in light of actual classroom
experience. Yet they believe there are positive reasons for considering the
theory of Multiple Intelligence and its implications for education. To start
with it is clear that many talents if not intelligences are neglected these
days. Secondly, individuals of such talents are victims of single minded or
single focused approach to the mind. Lastly, this world is troubled with many
problems. Any opportunity to solve them can be made by making the best use of
intelligences we possess. Therefore, recognizing the plurality of intelligences
and the manifold ways in which human individual may exhibit them is an
important step.
Gardner and his
colleagues have considered the idea of multiple intelligences as a ‘powerful
medicine’ for the shortcomings that are existent in the educational system. Whether
they used it as a teaching approach, method or strategy or as an assessment
tool, they agreed on that instruction should be tailored according to the
multiple intelligences of the students. They called for considering the
strengths of the students that may exist in other areas other than the
logical-mathematical and verbal linguistic areas. Common sense tells us that it
is so hard to deny the importance of the ‘non-academic’ intelligence such as
musical activities, self-awareness, or visual spatial abilities.
In the following
section, there is an illustration of the points that give value and importance
to the application of MI Theory in the educational settings. These points show
the advantages of MI Theory in the field of education and encourage all the
teachers around the world to use it in their teaching in a way that suits the
subject matter they teach and the educational conditions they have.
3.1. MI Theory as a Tool to Achieve More Success:
Teachers are
strongly motivated to help all students to learn. Therefore, they have explored
MI Theory as a tool that makes more kids learn and succeed. The great majority
of the classrooms are characterized by the existence of scholastic winners and
losers. MI Theory is important here because it teaches us that all the kids are
smart, and that they differ only in the way in which they are smart. Thus, all
children have potential and using MI increases the opportunities for students
to learn and succeed, giving adults more ways to grow professionally and
personally
3.2. MI Makes Learning More Enjoyable:
Students learn
better if they like what they are learning and enjoy it. It is hard for
students to learn without interest. When students do not like what they learn,
they feel bored and tired even if they are able to learn well and succeed in
the final exam. Therefore, it is better to create an enjoyable classroom
atmosphere in which students like what they learn and enjoy it. Using MI Theory
in the classroom can help teachers to create such an encouraging atmosphere: “Students
learn best when they enjoy what they are doing. Giving themthe opportunity to
display their talents, learn new skills without fear ofembarrassment or
failure, and laugh in the process makes the learningexperience rewarding for
both teacher and student”.
3.3. MI Cares for Individual Differences in Learning:
All students are different. No two persons are exactly the same even the
identical twins. Even the same person is different from one period to another
or from one situation to another in many ways. Difference is the rule and
stability is the exception. This is applied to students while they are learning
in the classroom: “It is a fact of classroom life that what interests one
student leavesanother bored, literally, to distraction. It is also a fact that
the studentwho is the most enthusiastic on Tuesday is often the one who is the
mostbored on Wednesday. This phenomenon can leave students feeling
shortchangedand teachers feeling frustrated and guilty for failing to reachtheir
students. The theory of Multiple Intelligences not only helpsexplain this
phenomenon, but helps teachers find ways around theobstacles to learning”.
According to
Berman, It is evident that we will never reach all the learners, whatever approach
to teaching we adopt, unless we teach multi-modally and cater for all the
intelligences in our lessons. Therefore, MI Theory is greatly required so as to
deal with the different students who have different minds. It will involve all
the students with their different personalities to have more chance for learning
and achieving success in spite of these differences that cannot be considered.
4. Multiple Intelligences Based Instruction an Appeal
Multiple
Intelligences Theory and its applications in the educational settings are
growing so rapidly. Many educators began to adopt MI-Based Instruction as a way
to overcome the difficulties which they encounter with their students as a
result of their individual differences and their learning styles. These
difficulties may be represented in their inability to reach most of their
students. As a result, they become frustrated and their students lose interest
in the teaching learning process as a whole. These difficulties may be caused
by the uniform way in which they teach their students:“There are
currentlythousands of MI teachers and ten thousands of students undergoing
MIbasedclassroom instruction”
Once Multiple
Intelligences Theory is understood, it can be applied in education in a variety
of ways. There is no one definite way through which the theory can be applied
in education. The theory is very flexible and it can be adapted to the context
in which it is applied. “The theorycan be implemented in a wide range of
instructional contexts, from highlytraditional settings where teachers spend
much of their time directlyteaching students to open environments where
students regulate most oftheir own learning”
Thus instruction can be
modified and organized in the light of MI Theory. The theory in this case acts
as a framework for teaching upon which teaching is organized: “On a deeper
level…MI theory suggests a set of parameters within whicheducators can create
new curricula. In fact, the theory provides a contextwithin which educators can
address any skill, content, area, theme, orinstructional objectives, and
develop at least seven ways to teach it.
Essentially, MI
Theory offers a means of building daily lesson plans, weekly units, or monthly
or year-long themes and programs in such a way that all students can have their
strongest intelligences addressed at least some of the time”.Using MI in
instruction means that students learn in different ways and express their
understanding in many ways. Using paper and pencil measures as traditional
measures limits the students’ capacity to the linguistic skills which they use
in writing their answers
Under the use of
MI-Based instruction, the students are treated as individuals. The students’
talents and interests are not ignored because it is not fair to concentrate on some
students and neglect others whose capacities and talents are not well-identified.
This idea is emphasized by Hoerr who gives a definition of MI approach in the
light of which instruction is delivered in a way that considers students’
interests and talents: “An MI approach means developing curriculum and using
instructionthat taps into students’ interests and talents. Students are given
options,different ways to learn, and they share responsibility in their
learning”
Mindy
L. Kornhaber, a researcher has identified a number of reasons why teachers and
policymakers have responded positively to Howard Gardner’s presentation of
multiple intelligences. Among these are that: ... the theory validates
educators’ everyday experience: students think and learn in many different
ways. It also provides educators with a conceptual framework for organizing and
reflecting on curriculum assessment and pedagogical practices. In turn, this
reflection has led many educators to develop new approaches that might better
meet the needs of the range of learners in their classrooms.
5. Teacher’s role in Introducing MI Theory
Consequently,
the teacher’s role is different from the one he used to perform in the traditional
way of instruction: “In the traditional classroom, the teacher lectures while
standing at thefront of the classroom, writes on the blackboard, asks students
questionsabout the assigned reading or handouts, and waits while students
finishtheir written work. In the MI classroom, the teacher continually shifts
hermethod of presentation from linguistic to spatial to musical and so on,often
combining intelligences in creative ways”.
The teacher’s
role has to be changed, simply because the philosophy under which the new role
is performed is completely different from the old one: In the old philosophy,
which is completely teacher centered, instruction is dominated by the teacher
who is considered the source of information and the implanter of knowledge.
Using MI theory
in education involves using it as a content of instruction and as a means of
conveying this content at the same time. This indicates that using MI Theory can
take many forms. The ultimate goal of any form in which the theory is used is
to facilitate instruction as much as possible, and reaching all the students at
the same time: “Under MI Theory, an intelligence can serve both as the content
ofinstruction and the means or medium for communicating that content.This state
of affairs has important ramifications for instruction. Forexample, suppose
that a child is learning some mathematical principlebut that this child is not
skilled in Logical-Mathematical Intelligence.The child will probably experience
some difficulty during the learningprocess…In the present example, the teacher
must attempt to find analternative route to the mathematical content-a metaphor
in anothermedium. Language is perhaps the most obvious alternative, but
spatialmodeling and even bodily-kinesthetic metaphor may prove appropriate
insome cases”.
Conclusion
Through the use
of this theory, teachers now will not be bored when designing materials and the
preparation of the classes will be interesting, since it will be a challenge to
incorporate different styles taking into account all the learning modalities in
the classroom. Students will be encouraged to learn because the diversity of
activities attempts to get their attention. They will feel that they are really
participating since the activities are devoted to all of them.
Trying to change a traditional class into a multiple intelligences
class is not an easy task. The main responsible part is the teacher which has
to know the theory carefully, then, feels motivated to change. There is not a
model to copy, it has to be created, it requires a group work when designing
the material or adapting it to each intelligence. Once this material is
organized it will be used over and over again because it will be addressed to
different public.
Learners
will be able to identify their personal strengths and can reinforce their
confidence. They can decide which intelligence should be used in a specific
class and recognize
that learning using the whole brain will be easier and it will take less time.
The outcome will be seen in the grades and the acquired knowledge that will be
meaningful, will be stored in the long term memory.
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