Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences: A Parent's Guide

In 1983, Dr. Howard Gardner proposed a theory that there was more than one type of intelligence. In fact, Dr. Gardner, a professor at Harvard University, proposed there were seven different types of intelligence.

Seven?

Initially.

Verbal-Linguistic

• "Word Smart"
• Have a way with written and spoken words
• Excellent communicators
• Excel in careers such as journalists, copywriters, teachers, lawyers, and PR consultants
• May enjoy word games, puns, reading, and poetry

Logical-Mathematic

• "Number Smart/Reasoning Smart"
• Skilled with detecting and analysing problems
• Able to perform mathematic calculations
• Enjoys scientific reasoning
• Excel in careers such as analysts, computer programmers, statisticians, researchers, and scientists
• May enjoy brainteasers, chess, and puzzles

Musical

• "Music Smart"
• Recognises musical patterns
• Can tell if a musician is off-key
• May be a singer, musician, composer, or a music-lover
• Appreciates the effect music has on emotion
• Excel in careers such as musical performers, DJs, voice coaches, and acoustic engineers.
• May sing in a choir or play an instrument

Bodily-Kinesthetic

• "Body Smart"
• Good hand-eye coordination
• Good agility and manual dexterity
• Enjoys being active; finds it hard to be still for too long
• Excel in careers such as dancers, athletes, physical therapists, physical education teachers, and anthropologists.
• May enjoy origami, building models, running, horse-riding, walking in woodland, and riding rollercoasters.

Spatial-Visual

• "Picture Smart"
• Skilled with the creation and interpretation of visual images
• Can clearly recall visual details
• Sensitive to the effects of colour
• Excel in careers such as photographer, architect, sculptor, artist, cartographer, and city-planner
• May enjoy jigsaw puzzles, reading books with lots of pictures, painting or other graphic arts, and learning to read maps

Interpersonal

• "People Smart"
• Able to relate well to others
• Can interpret the behavior of other people
• Enjoy socialising; may belong to organisations
• Enjoy teaching other children
• Excel in careers such as teacher, advertising, mentor, counsellor, healthcare professional, and psychologist
• May enjoy team sports

Intrapersonal

• "Self Smart"
• Understands own needs, and own relationships with the world
• Have a realistic view of own strengths and weaknesses
• Has good self-esteem
• Excel in careers such as psychologist, entrepreneur, therapist, theologian, and psychology teacher.
• May keep a diary or enjoy private hobbies.

However, that's not the end of the story

Gardner has since discovered two more kinds of intelligence, and admits that there may be other types that are yet to be uncovered:

Naturalist Intelligence

• "Nature Smart"
• Discovered in 1994
• Love exploring, getting their hands dirty
• See the beauty of the world
• Instinctively know if people or pets feel unwell
• Excel in careers such as scientist, naturalist, landscape architect, gardener, or veterinarian.
• May read nature books, keep scrapbooks, collect natural objects (rocks, shells, fossils); may enjoy camping

Existential Intelligence

• "Wondering Smart"
• Discussed in 1999
• Sometimes regarded as the 8-and-a-half intelligence (rather than a separate intelligence of its own)
• Enjoys tackling deep questions about human existence ("Why are we here"; "What happens when we die?")
• Excel in careers such as scientist, philosopher, theologian, and member of the clergy.
• May ask more of the "big questions" that adults find it difficult to answer

How Parents Can Work With the Multiple Intelligences

Using the Multiple Intelligences in the Home

If you now have more of an idea what intelligence your child is strongest with, here's how you can tailor in-home learning experiences:

Verbal-Linguistic ("Word Smart")

• Play games like Boggle and Junior Scrabble
• Play word games on the computer
• Ask your child to discuss information they've learned with you
• Ask your child to read aloud to you
• When doing at home experiments, ask the child to tell you exactly what they are doing. Then make a little book to keep a record. Verbal-Linguistic children will enjoy writing the book more than performing the experiment.

Logical-Mathematic ("Number or Reasoning Smart")

• Play dominoes, chess, or Monopoly with your child
• Play math games on the computer
• Conduct home science experiments (Mentoes and diet coke; can the child make a contraption so an egg won't break when dropped from a height)
• Sign the child up for a computer club to learn coding
• If your child gets bored when reading picture books, as her to count the number of a certain kind of objects she sees on the page

Musical ("Music Smart")

• Get your child an instrument if they want one (tip: plenty of parents get rid of barely-used instruments at a knock-down price when their little ones give up playing after one or two lessons)
• Make music on household objects
• Record your child telling a story or reading a poem to appropriate sound effects (slosh water from cup to cup for a running stream, for example)
• Listen to music, or hum together

Bodily-Kinesthetic ("Body Smart")

• Use role-play and dress-up to re-enact stories and teach history
• Play games of charades
• Build physical models (of the pyramids, of the solar system)
• Go on trips to see the things your child is learning about

Spatial-Visual ("Picture Smart")

• Make charts and graphs of information
• Build with play-dough or clay
• Teach your child to make notes with mind-mapping
• Use photographs and picture books to teach new concepts

Interpersonal ("People Smart")

• Talk through puppets
• Discuss ideas with your child
• Play group games

Intrapersonal ("Self Smart")

• Ask your child to write stories from the perspective of historical people, such as a suffragette or a slave
• Make scrapbooks of their best work that year
• Encourage them to keep a diary

Naturalistic ("Nature Smart")

• Garden with them
• Raise a tomato plant or herb together
• Take the child for woodland walks and notice interesting flora and fauna
• Read about animals and their habitats
• Go out at night and look at the stars

Existential ("Wondering Smart")

• Answer questions as honestly as you can
• Admit when you don't know the answer
• Research alternate views together and answers in age-appropriate books
• Raise some money for charity together

But is any of this supported by science?

The jury has been out for thirty-three years, and looks likely to remain out.

Educators have widely accepted Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences, and education that appeals to many different styles of learning is widely supported by recent research.

Darling-Hammond (2010) shows that children are more likely to be engaged in their education if information is delivered in multiple ways, ways that they relate to. The same study demonstrates that multiple-information delivery increases skills, and enables teachers to better assess skills accurately.

Hattie (2011) confirmed that allowing students to access the same information in multiple ways increased learning.

Dr. Bernard Luskin, Ed.D is very enthusiastic about the extent to which Gardner's theory has been accepted, saying:

"MI theory makes sense. Multiple intelligences have been widely accepted and little by little, formal education is evolving to acceptance."

However, not everyone shares this view. Scott A. McGreal, MSc, takes the view that the theory of Multiple Intelligences is seductive with its assertion that, no matter how well or poorly a person may perform in a conventional IQ test, everyone is intelligent in their own unique way. McGreal says:

"This all sounds warm and fuzzy, but making people feel good is not an index of scientific validity."

McGreal further asserts that there has never been any evidence that Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences is correct, saying:

"the first empirical study to test the theory was not published until 23 years later (Visser, et al., 2006a) and the results were not supportive."

McGreal says that one of the main problems with Gardner's theory is that many of the types of intelligence are difficult to clearly define and assess.

So What Should Parents Do?

As with almost any theory, Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences is not without its critics. So should you use it in your daily interactions with your children?

Evidence suggests that children exposed to the widest amount of possible styles are most likely to have a lasting improvement in skills and learning. So, to help your child to grow with the most balanced childhood possible:

• be aware of the theory
• be aware of strengths and weaknesses children may have
• know about the variety of different activities that could help your child learn and develop, and do them all while your child is young
• notice the activities that your child has most interest in 
• toward adolescence, begin to plan more activities that suit your child's learning style, and encourage your child to study in a way that may be useful for them (such as making charts and mind-maps for spatial-visual thinkers). However, don't shut-out other activities; your child needs a rounded childhood.

And that can't be a bad thing.