ession4

S
DifferentKindsofSmart
MultipleIntelligences

TheTheoryofMultipleIntelligence
ContinuestoImproveEducationalMethods

WilliamJ.Smith
June4,2016

ResponseFile:wjs_session4multipleintelligences_4June2016

SinceGardnerpublishedhistheoryofmultipleintelligencesthreedecadesago,the
theoryhasimprovedtestscoresformultipleacademicsubjectsandprovidedarationale
tocontinuetoincludemusic,art,danceandphysicaltradesinschoolcurricula.The
theoryisalsomorecompatiblewithmodernviewsofeducationthanprecedingtheories
thatheldintelligencecapacitytobeinnateandfixed.

Gardnerstheoryintroducedtheconceptofvaluetotheseculardefinitionofintelligence,
andhenceindirectlyculturalmores.Hisintroductionofvaluetothedefinitionmakesit
moredifficultfortheeducationestablishmenttopretendthataseculareducationis
valueneutralandthusthatcommentsbythosewhowisheducationtoincludetheirown
moralsareirrelevant.Gardner(1983/1993ascitedinK&S1998)definesan
intelligence
astheabilitytosolveproblemsorfashionproductsthatare
valued

byat
leastoneculture.

Ithasbeen30yearssinceGardnerpublishedhisgroundbreakingworkFrameofMind
whicharticulatedhistheoryofmultipleintelligencetoalayaudience.Furtherworkby
heandhissuccessorsatHarvard,notablyRonRitchart,maketheroleoftransmissionof
culturalmoresbyeducationevenmoreexplicit.Inhisbook
Creatingculturesofthinking
The8ForcesWeMustMastertoTrulyTransformOurSchools
,Ritchart
callson
teacherstoshapecultureandmanagemessagestoenablestudentstosolveproblems.

Culturalmoresinfluencewhichproblemstheteacherfocusesthechildrenon.For
instance,theteachercanfocusthestudentsontreatinghealthproblemsthatafflictthe
mostwelltodomembersofsocietyintheirfinalyearsoronchanginghowcultures
distributegrainsurplusestopreventthehealthproblemsthathandicapmalnourished
childrenforlife.InthedecadessinceIgraduatedfromhighschool,manyteachershave
focusedtheirstudentsonenvironmentalproblemsandtheresultisculturalmoresthat
valuecleanair,safewaterandnaturallandscapesandfauna.

Gardnerstheoryofmultipleintelligencesdevelopsthestudentdispositionsessentialto
Ritchartsviewofaqualityeducation.InRitchartsview,ratherthandefiningeducation
asthetransmissionofknowledgemeasuredbyatest,aqualityeducationisthe
acquisitionbythestudentsofthedispositionsneededforstudentstobecomeactive
learnersandeffectivethinkerseagerandabletocreate,innovateandsolveproblems.
Ritchartdefinesdispositionsasanenduringcharacteristicortraitofapersonthat
servestomotivatebehaviorOurdispositionsdefinewhoweareaspeople,asthinkers,
aslearners.Inpreviouswritings,Ivearguedthatthedispositionsthatdefineusas
thinkersmakeupourintellectualcharacter.(Ritchart2002ascitedinRitchart2015).

ManyteachershavefoundGardnerstheoryofmultipleintelligencesusefulforengaging
andmotivatingstudentstolearn.Searchingthewebrecently,Ifoundthateverymajor
booksellerstillcarriesteachershandbooksforactivitiestoengageanddevelopvarious
intelligencesofchildren.OneeditedbyGardner(Chen1998)hassectionsdevotedto
activitiesforeachofthesevenintelligencesGardneridentifiedinhisclassicbook
Frame
ofMind
,andthesesectionscontainseveralactivitiesthatdevelopnaturalistic
intelligence,hiseighthintelligence.Inmyclasses,Iplantouseobservationaland
questioningmethodsdescribedina1998paperbyMaraKrechevskyandSteveSeidelto
assesstheeffectivenessoftheseactivitiesfordevelopingthevariousintelligencesof
earlyelementaryagechildren.

References

1.DarlingHammondetal.(2003).TheLearningClassroom:TheoryIntoPractice.
Detroit:AnnenbergMedia.

2.JayGillen(2014).
EducatingforInsurgency:THEROLESOFYOUNGPEOPLEIN
SCHOOLSOFPOVERTY
.Oakland,CA:AKPress.

3.MaraKrechevskyandSteveSeidel(1998).MindsatWork:ApplyingMultiple
IntelligencestheClassroom.InIntelligence,Instruction,andAssessment:Theoryinto
Practice,RobertJ.SternbergandWendyM.Williams(eds.).Mahwah,NewJersey:
LawrenceErlbaumAssociates,Inc..

4.RonRitchart(2015).
CreatingculturesofthinkingThe8ForcesWeMustMasterto
TrulyTransformOurSchools.
SanFrancisco,CA:JosseyBass,AWileyBrand.

5.JieQiChen(editor)withEmilyIsbergandMaraKrechevsky(contributingeditors)
(1998).
ProjectSpectrum:EarlyLearningActivities.
Volume2oftheseries
Project
ZeroFrameworksforEarlyChildhoodEducation,
GeneralEditorsHowardGardner,
DavidHenryFeldman,MaraKrechevsky.NewYork:TeachersCollegePress.