Teach English in TiAnpinglu Jiedao - Shanghai Shi

Multiple IntelligenceMultiple Intelligence Growing up surrounded by people, working and interacting with them on a daily basis, makes one thing clear: People are different from one another. One aspect people differ in is intelligence. Traditionally intelligence is defined rather narrowly. The American Heritage Dictionary defines it as 'The capacity to acquire and apply knowledge' or 'The faculty of thought and reason'. Multiple Intelligence is a model of intelligence proposed by Howard Gardner. Unlike traditional definitions his approach is much broader. He defines intelligence as "the ability to solve problems, or to create products, that are valued within one or more cultural settings" (Gardner, 1983/2003, p. x). Intelligence doesn't just hinge on someone's linguistic and mathematical skills, one can also be socially (often referred to as soft skills) or musically intelligent. This article gives a brief insight into Gardner's concept and its logic. Further it summarizes the main critique of the theory and elaborates on its implications for teaching. The eight intelligences In order for an intelligence to be part of Gardner's model, eight criterias need to be fulfilled. A main influence for Gardner to develop this theory was the extraordinary abilities of some autistic people. Despite low abilities in almost every area, these people were highly gifted in mathematics or music. This lead Gardner to believe that they are separate intelligences, not depending on the traditional IQ. More details and the other seven criterias can be found in Armstrong (2009). Eight abilities fulfill these criterias: Spatial intelligence People with high spatial intelligence are great at visualizing things, they for example remember places, the shape and colour of things. Linguistic intelligence This includes the versatile use of words, be it orally or written. People with this intelligence can be great speakers, poets or writers. Logical-mathematical intelligence Next to linguistic intelligence, traditional schooling is mainly focused on this kind of intelligence. Logical-mathematical intelligence is the ability to use numbers and to reason well. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence Actors, athletes, artists and craftsmen use this kind of intelligence. Good control of the body, precise movements and an ability to skillfully use objects show high bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. Musical intelligence A sensitivity for tones, rythms and melodies describe a musical intelligent person. This intelligence is heavily based on auditory skills. Since language learning is to a significant part auditory, musical people are good at learning new languages. Interpersonal intelligence People with a high interpersonal intelligence are great at picking up the mood of others and they know how to appropriately respond and deal with it. It might be easiest to describe this as being socially smart. Intrapersonal intelligence Unlike interpersonal intelligence, which is focused outwardly, intrapersonal intelligence is inward-focused. It's about self-knowledge, knowing about your strenghts and weaknesses and how oneself responds to certain situations. Naturalistic intelligence This intelligence was added by Howard Gardner more recently. It describes a good knowledge of one's environment, be it nature or city. Each person possesses and can develop all the eight intelligences. While two people can be especially gifted in the same category, the way it shows can differ significantly. One person with a high linguistic intelligence can be a great public speaker, while the other is an awful speaker, but a great writer. Critique The theory of multiple intelligences isn't well established in the academical world, most academics reject it. Many argue that it's just common sense, people are different. It waters down the term 'intelligence', which historically developed to describe abilities such as mathematics and linguistics. Some critics see this model as just a description of different abilities or talents. Of course it's attractive because everyone can be smart in some way. Others point to the lack of empirical evidence compared to e.g. traditional IQ tests. Furthermore neurologists didn't find evidence for each intelligence working through different pathways in the brain, hence there can't be different intelligences, but are rather all part of one general intelligence. Implications for teaching Despite all the critiques of Gardner's model, it points out one important aspect: People are different. Each person has different abilities and talents. Each person has different interests. Each person has a different best style of learning. So even if one rejects the theory of multiple intelligence, one can't deny people's uniqueness. In the classroom this needs to be taken into account. The teacher should make sure that his lessons are balanced, that he uses a mix of different activities. His approach should be versatile, just as people are many-sided. He should use visuals, music and sound, interpersonal and intrapersonal activities, bringing in objects, but also just traditional writing, reading and grammar practices. References Armstrong, Thomas. (2009). Multiple intelligences in the classroom. alexandria, VA: ASCD. 3rd ed. Gardner, Howard. (1983/2003). Frames of mind. The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: BasicBooks.