Multiple Intelligences: Curriculum Implications
Through out our lives, we are faced with many different learning experiences. Some of these experiences have made a more profound impact than others. This can be attributed to the fact that the mind has many ways of learning and assimilating data. A learning style is the method though which people gather information about their environment. As educators, it is our responsibility to inform ourselves of all learning styles, in order to reach each of our students in the most effective way. Howard Gardner, a professor at Harvard University, introduced his theory of Multiple Intelligences in 1983. The general idea of traditional intelligence is the idea that we are born with a single, finite intelligence that cannot be changed, and is measurable by a calculated measure. Gardner believes that there are eight different intelligences in humans.
Gardner’s eight intelligences are: verbal linguistic, visual spatial, bodily kinesthetic, mathematical logic, musical, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and naturalist. Understanding and adopting his theory of intelligence has become a very popular and respected practice. Deciding to adopt his ideas and implement them can help an educator to design his/her classroom in a way that will appeal to all students. As an administrator, Gardner’s theory can aide in restructuring curriculum in a more universal and effective way. It is our job to understand and interpret what will be the most practical way to implement this change in curriculum. We might also be able to curb discipline problems by offering a variety of ways to reach a difficult student. This may provide a method that could perhaps make more “sense” to the student and have a more profound effect on learning. We can include all of the intelligences in lessons to accommodate all of the students’ different learning styles simultaneously. By reaching each student via their dominant intelligence we can assume that a student will perform better, this in turn will
Gardner’s eight intelligences are: verbal linguistic, visual spatial, bodily kinesthetic, mathematical logic, musical, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and naturalist. Understanding and adopting his theory of intelligence has become a very popular and respected practice. Deciding to adopt his ideas and implement them can help an educator to design his/her classroom in a way that will appeal to all students. As an administrator, Gardner’s theory can aide in restructuring curriculum in a more universal and effective way. It is our job to understand and interpret what will be the most practical way to implement this change in curriculum. We might also be able to curb discipline problems by offering a variety of ways to reach a difficult student. This may provide a method that could perhaps make more “sense” to the student and have a more profound effect on learning. We can include all of the intelligences in lessons to accommodate all of the students’ different learning styles simultaneously. By reaching each student via their dominant intelligence we can assume that a student will perform better, this in turn will
Cited: Campbell, L. 1997. How teachers interpret MI theory. Educational Leadership, 55, 1, pp. 15-19.