What is Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences?

The theory of multiple intelligences was introduced in 1983 by psychologist

Howard Gardner in his book Frames of Mind. The essence of Gardner’s
Multiple Intelligences (MI) is that each person has eight types of intelligence.
According to Howard Gardner, intelligence means “the ability to learn, to
solve problems”. This can be done in multiple ways. Each person has
developed other intelligences more strongly, leading to different kinds of
cleverness. With his theory of multiple intelligences, Gardner aims to
emphasise that teachers must assess their student’s learning process in a
way that provides a correct overview of their strong and weak suits.

8 Types of Multiple Intelligences (MI)

-

1. Verbal-linguistic; words, language and writing

People with high linguistic-verbal intelligence are typically good with words,
both in speaking and in writing. These people are often very good in writing
stories, retaining information and reading. If your linguistic-verbal
intelligence is highly developed, good career choices include:
Writer/journalist, lawyer and teacher.

2. Logical-mathematical; analysing problems and mathematical

operations

People with high logical-mathematical intelligence have a strong capability to

reason, recognise patterns and logically analyse problems. These people
often tend to think conceptually about numbers, connections and patterns. If
your logical-mathematical intelligence is highly developed, good career
choices include: Scientist, mathematician, computer programmer, engineer
and accountant.

3. Visual-spatial; visual and spatial insight

People high in visual-spatial intelligence are good at visualising objects, such

as instructions, maps, graphs, videos and images. If your visual-spatial
intelligence is highly developed, good career choices include: Architect, artist
and engineer

4. Musical-rhythmic; rhythm and music

People with high musical intelligence are good at thinking in patterns,

rhythms and sounds. They have a strong appreciation for music and often
excel at musical composition and performance. When your musical
intelligence is highly developed, good career choices include: Musician,
composer, singer, music teacher and conductor.

5. Bodily-kinaesthetic; physical movement, motor control

Those with high physical-kinaesthetic intelligence are good at moving their

body, carrying out actions and physical control. People who are strong in this
area generally have excellent hand-eye coordination and agility. When your
physical-kinaesthetic intelligence is highly developed, good career choices
include: Dancer, building, sculptor and actor.

6. Naturalistic; finding patterns and relationships with nature

Naturalistic is the most recent addition to Gardner’s theory and was opposed
more than his original seven intelligences were. According to Howard
Gardner, people who have high naturalistic intelligence are more in harmony
with nature and are often interested in cherishing, exploring the
environment and learning from others. These people are often said to be
very aware of even the most subtle changes in their surroundings. When
your naturalistic intelligence is highly developed, good career choices
include: Biologist, conservationist, gardener and farmer.

7. Interpersonal; obtaining insight into and dealing with other

people

Those with high interpersonal intelligence are good at understanding and

dealing with other people. These people are able to evaluate the emotions,
motivations, desires and intentions of those around them. When your
interpersonal intelligence is highly developed, good career choices include:
Psychologist, philosopher, counsellor, salesman and politician.

8. Intrapersonal; introspection and self-reflection

Individuals with high intrapersonal intelligence are aware of their own
emotional conditions, feelings and motivations. They tend to enjoy
introspection and analysis, including daydreaming, exploring relationships
with others and assessing their personal strong suits. When your
intrapersonal intelligence is highly developed, good career choices include:
Philosopher, author, theoretician and scientist.

Application of the Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences

theory

In the classroom

By means of examples, we will briefly explain how you can apply the Multiple
Intelligences theory as a teacher.
For each type of intelligence, you can come up with various learning
activities and project ideas.
Below, you will find a number of examples for each type of intelligence.

Verbal-linguistic

Completing crossword puzzles with vocabulary words, playing word games,

writing short stories for a newsletter, writing poems for a class poetry book,
telling a story to the class or holding a debate.

Logical-mathematical

Playing mathematical games such as mancala, dominoes, chess, checkers

and Monopoly, looking for patterns in the classroom, at school, outside and
at home, playing logical games and making analogies.

Visual-spatial
Making photos for assignments and newsletters in the classroom, using clay
or playing with dough to make objects or concepts that represent lessons,
use of pictorial models such as flow charts, visual cards, Venn diagrams and
timelines to connect new materials to known information, taking notes with
concept mapping, mind mapping and clustering or using cards to study
geographic locations that were discussed in class.

Musical-rhythmic

Writing own songs and music about different subjects, writing a poem to
music and subsequently performing this for the rest of the class, recording a
self-written poem with an existing melody or listening to music from various
historical periods.

Physical-kinaesthetic

Playing motion games such as Twister and Simon Says, using charades to
express characters from a book, vocabulary words, animals or other objects,
organising scavenger hunts, looking for items that are related to a theme or
unity, building objects with building blocks, cubes or Legos to represent
concepts from history lessons and using electronic motion simulation games.

Naturalistic

Caring for plants in class, caring for pets in class, sorting and classifying
natural objects, such as leaves and stones, studying animal habitats,
observing the natural environment or organising or participating in cleaning
activities in parks.

Interpersonal

Working in collaborations to design and complete projects, working in pairs

to learn mathematical facts, interviewing people with knowledge on certain
subjects, tutoring younger students or classmates or using dolls to do a
puppet show.

Intrapersonal

Writing reflective articles on content-related subjects, writing essays from

the perspective of historical figures, writing a literary autobiography, writing
down goals for the future and thinking of ways to achieve these, keeping
journals or logs for a year or making a scrapbook for their poems, papers
and reflections.

Now it’s your turn

What do you think? Do you recognise the explanation about multiple
intelligences or do you have anything to add? When do you think the
multiple intelligences theory is effective? What do you believe are success
factors that contribute to the practical application of this theory?

Share your experience and knowledge in the comments box below.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our Free Newsletter for the
latest posts on Management models and methods. You can also find us
on Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.