Gardner on classroom implementation of MI theory

Quoted from:

Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence reframed: multiple intelligences for the 21st century.

New York, NY: Basic Books. Pp89 – 91.

In particular, I am leery of implementations such as the following:

·  Attempting to teach all concepts of subjects using all of the intelligences. . . . (p. 89)

·  Believing that going through certain motions activates or exercises specific intelligences. . . .

·  Using intelligences primarily as mnemonic devices. . . . What is not trivial is the capacity to think musically – for example, to draw on some of the structural features of the classical sonata form to illuminate aspects of concepts like biological evolution or historical cycles.

·  Conflating intelligences with other desired outcomes. [e.g. interpersonal intelligence and programs for cooperative learning] (p. 90)

·  Labeling people in terms of “their” intelligences. For many people, tossing around the terminology of different intelligences is an enjoyable parlor game. I have nothing against someone speaking of himself informally as being “highly linguistic” or “spatially impaired.” However, when these labels become shorthand references for education, they carry considerable risk. People so labeled may then be seen as capable of working or learning only in certain ways, a characterization that is almost never true. Even if it has certain rough-and-ready validity, such labeling can impede efforts to provide the best educational interventions for success with a wide range of children (p. 90-91)

“I regard MI theory as a ringing endorsement of three key propositions: We are not all the same; we do not all have the same kinds of minds (that is, we are not all distinct points on a single bell curve); and education works most effectively if these differences are taken into account rather than denied or ignored. Taking human differences seriously lies at the heart of the MI perspective” (p. 91).

Entry points

One begins by finding a way to engage the student and to place her centrally within the topic. I have identified at least seven discrete entry points, which can be roughly aligned with specific intelligences.

  1. Narrational
  2. Quantitative/Numerical
  3. Logical
  4. Foundational/Existential
  5. Aesthetic
  6. Hands On
  7. Social (p. 169-170)