Each Brain has a Mind of Its Own – The Multiple Intelligences Theory
Each Brain has a Mind of Its Own – The Multiple Intelligences Theory.
“It’s not how smart you are, it’s how you are smart.” (Dr. Howard Gardner, Frames of Mind).
Imagine this scene… You are with your family and close friends for your traditional Thanksgiving meal, and you proceed to place only three chairs around the long dining table, leaving everyone else who came to enjoy a meal the frustrating experience of sitting near the table but not at it, enjoying the aromas of the luscious foods while observing the joyful fellowship of diners lapping up the food. The guests who were not one of the privileged few at the table were just out of luck. Of course, this would be unthinkably unfair and would lead to resentment on the part of the unlucky few who were invited only to be rejected. Besides that, the rejected guests would become hungry as well and would have to scrounge for whatever they could find in the kitchen or pantry.
Traditional education often continues to make the same mistake in terms of the learning in the classroom and keeping in practice a narrow view of education. Without meaning to, many educators refuse to give their students permission to be different. Natural differences among individual students include not only personality, genetics, home context and personal background. But there is also a unique difference in how each student thinks, processes information, solves problems, and approaches the whole learning experience. If we aren’t careful about how we teach, we can inadvertently exclude some students from the table of learning and growing.
Dr. Howard Gardner, a Professor of Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education who specializes in developmental psychology and neuropsychology, wrote a groundbreaking book in 1983 after years of research and classroom experience, entitled Frames of Mind. He identified eight intelligences inherent in each student: logical-mathematical; linguistic; musical; spatial-visual; bodily-kinesthetic; naturalist; interpersonal; and intrapersonal. Each of these intelligences is relatively distinct from each other, and these eight intelligences are uniquely developed to different degrees in each child. Sometimes one mode of thinking is primary and highly developed, and the other modes are much lesser developed. With other children, though, several intelligences might be well-developed without one dominant mode.
Each student in every classroom has a singular blend of these eight modes of learning, which means that each child in a classroom best learns in a uniquely gifted way. Unfortunately, most traditional educators focus heavily on the way they were taught when they were students, which was usually the logical and linguistic modes. The ideal learning experience though will involve a balanced blend of all these different approaches to learning, not only so each student can process the content in their own way, but also to enable each intelligence of a student to be strengthened and developed. A classroom that is “intelligence-fair” would need to include these ways of processing information:
(1.) Logical-Mathematical: able to discern numerical and logical patterns, is a natural at problem-solving, and using chains of reasoning; learns best when it makes logical sense; tends toward becoming a scientist, a mathematician, a computer technician, a philosopher.
(2.) Linguistic: has a sensitivity to word meanings and rhythms, the functions of language, loves the sound of words; learns best when the words are well-constructed and attractively presented; tends toward becoming a poet, journalist, lecturer, novelist/writer, translator.
(3.) Musical: appreciates rhythm, pitch and timbre of all kinds of music, tends to learn best if content is put to music or rhythm; leans naturally to a musical career such as composer, instrumentalist, vocalist, conductor, or simply is one who is a life-long lover of musical expression.
(4.) Spatial-Visual: learns best when picturing the content area through visual arts; able to perceive the visual-spatial world accurately; loves geometry as opposed to algebra; leans toward becoming an artist, a sculptor, a navigator, an architect, a surveyor, a builder.
(5.) Bodily-Kinesthetic: a natural at handling objects skillfully, controlling body movement, general coordination; learns best when using the body; tends to become a tradesman, an athlete, a dancer, a farmer, an adventurer, a painter and other form of physically demanding arts.
(6.) Naturalist: tends to learn best when in the context of the great outdoors; good at recognizing and organizing living things, categorizing patterns in nature and identifying species or reading weather patterns; understands elements of the environment with a deep affinity for the outdoors; a natural curiosity about how the natural world works; tend to become a veterinarian, a biologist, environmental scientist, park ranger, animal trainer, conservationist, landscape architect, farmer.
(7.) Interpersonal: good at ‘reading the room,’ discerning the moods and desires of others, understanding another’s temperament or motivation; relates naturally with others and easily builds rapport; tends to become teacher, minister, social worker, doctor, therapist, salesperson, politician. This intelligence vital to everyone.
(8.) Intrapersonal: accurate knowledge of their own strengths and weaknesses, loves to introspect and think inwardly, aware of personal desires and goals, uses self-knowledge to guide behavior and develop relationships; everyone alive could use constant strengthening of this intelligence.
These eight ways of processing information and learning content tend to cluster around three main learning styles: auditory (about 20% of the students), visual (about 45%), and kinesthetic (about 35%). Even though students have their own unique combination of these styles, each child will probably learn best in one of those three styles. The auditory student will learn best through what they hear and then process logically; the visual student understands best through what they see and grasp pictorially; the kinesthetic student will process most effectively through touch and physical movement. All three types of students are “smart.” They merely learn in different ways. Those students who are only taught in one particular style or intelligence, and each student who is tested in only one style or intelligence, will not be given the best opportunity to show what they have learned.
By approaching class content from all kinds of angles in many different ways, where there is something for everyone, a teacher would more likely be able to provide opportunities for all the students to learn and succeed in school. So it makes sense to have a multi-sensory approach to teaching, a teaching style that would incorporate as many of the intelligences and learning styles as possible. Well-rounded students are the goal, not just sticking with what a particular student might prefer. For example, a student who naturally leans toward logical and linguistic usually need a constant challenge to be creative risk-takers, to go without closure and to deal with structural ambiguity. The students who operate best in the other modes tend to require ongoing demands toward academic excellence, task commitment, and project completion. Every teacher needs a big bag of tricks to reach the student in their area of gift while at the same time strengthening those areas that are not their natural gift. By varying teaching method and styles and assessments, the teacher is in effect giving permission for each one-of-kind prize package to remain one-of-a-kind and be successful.
So as the teacher sets the table for all to be richly fed, the classroom will be a feast for all the guests, the delectables will be accessible to everyone, and each student will be able to grow and learn to their heart’s content.