Howard
Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences developed
as he worked with brain injured adults and autistic
children. He identified distinct portions of the brain
that control specific human abilities or talents like
analysis, classification, speech, self-awareness,
etc. He has identified eight distinct abilities that
he refers to as "intelligences": verbal-linguistic,
logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic,
musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and the naturalist.
In addition to the biological basis for these intelligences,
Gardner also places great emphasis on cultural influences
that may impact the development of each intelligence.
Culture
determines what parents and schools will teach their
children based on the needs of the community. Gardner
says: "It is the culture that defines the stages and
fixes the limits of individual achievement." For example,
educators have found that the Mexican American culture
places a strong emphasis on community and on family;
therefore, many members of this community have well-developed
interpersonal intelligences.
The
influence culture has on the development of the intelligences
points to one of the most important components of
the theory -- the makeup of intelligences changes
over time with age and with experience. Thomas Hatch
profiled the intelligences of several children when
they were in kindergarten and again when they were
in the sixth grade. He discovered that their intelligence
profiles had changed over time. Hatch says: "Just
because young children display particular capacities
does not necessarily mean that they will grow up to
excel in activities involving those capacities. Children's
intelligences, the manner in which they display them,
and how successful they are, shift, grow, and vary
over time."
In
other words, if intelligences change with time and
experience, they can be learned. If they can be learned,
they can be taught. As a result, students who are
not strong in one intelligence can be taught to develop
that intelligence. According to Bruce Torff: "The
intelligences develop - they grow and change over
time, which allows strengths to be exploited and weaker
areas remedied. ...If you provide the right kinds
of support for students, they build the kinds of intellectual
structures that enable them to do things."
David
Lazear says that teachers should watch for "ways to
help students stretch into new intellectual areas
- maybe areas in which they are uncomfortable or weak."
Not only are weaker areas strengthened, but students
develop a better self-image because they use a well
developed intelligence to improve a weaker one.
In
an interview with Kathy Checkley, Gardner said: "Teachers
have to help students use their combination
of intelligences to be successful in school, to
help them learn whatever it is they want to learn,
as well as what the teachers and society believe they
have to learn." In other words, Gardner believes that
teachers need to find ways to incorporate instruction
into their classrooms that encourages students to
develop weaker intelligences by drawing on their strengths.
This in turn improves both attitude toward learning
and academic achievement.
About
The Author: Michele R. Acosta is a writer, a former
English teacher, and the mother of three boys. She
spends her time writing and teaching others to write.
Visit www.TheWritingTutor.biz/articles for more articles,
www.TheWritingTutor.biz/writing_editing_service for
professional writing and editing services, or www.TheWritingTutor.biz
for writing and educational resources for young authors,
teachers, and parents.
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