Multiple Intelligences

There are multiple opinions about the theory of multiple intelligences, as two sparring panelists demonstrated at a Saturday breakout session, but they did agree on one thing. It was “a masterstroke” for Howard Gardner to label his theory of different strengths in how to learn as “intelligences.”

For Daniel Willingham of the Department of Psychology at the University of Virginia, Gardner’s use of “intelligences” rather than “abilities” is a rhetorical plus. That is, if the goal for schooling is self-actualization. However, if the goal is to use Multiple Intelligences theory to prepare students for the workforce, “it likely seems a disaster.” Willingham said it had added little to scientific knowledge about the functioning of the mind, although it actually is a theory of the mind rather than educational practice, he noted. He agrees with Gardner that Multiple Intelligences should not be taught in schools. Rather, schools need to set goals, according to Gardner, then use Multiple Intelligences to guide the curriculum.

Branton Shearer, on the other hand, supports the use of Multiple Intelligences theory in schools as a tool to offer more diverse learning opportunities for students. “It can change schools from a factory model to “inspired places for learning,” he said. Shearer is a lecturer at Kent State University and chair of the American Educational Research Association special interest group on Multiple Intelligences. He also has developed a self-assessment tool for students and parents to help them create students’ multiple intelligences profiles. He has edited a forthcoming book on the global view of the theory of Multiple Intelligences to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of Gardner’s work on the theory.

The two panelists also agreed that using abilities or Multiple Intelligences t o help students learn is good practice. “It is good to play to students’ strengths and appeal to their interests,” Willingham said, “but the instruction needs to know when and how to shift to larger learning goals.”

Asked about a new mandate in New Jersey to develop “personalized instructional programs” for all students, Willingham said that teachers say they like them, but research shows they hardly ever use them. Shearer does not believe such a top-down mandate will work because it takes time and training to change the culture of a school, which can only happen from the bottom up.

Gardner has set criteria for what has grown to eight “intelligences” in his theory, including linguistic, spatial, musical, logical-math, kinesthetic, naturalist, interpersonal and intrapersonal.

-- Anne Lewis