Multiple Intelligence Theory
The theory holds that all individuals have several, relatively autonomous intelligences
that they deploy in varying combinations to solve problems
or create products that are valued in one or more cultures.
Together, the intelligences underlie the range of adult roles found across cultures.
MI thus diverges from theories entailing general intelligence, or g,
which hold that a single mental capacity is central to all human problem-solving
and that this capacity can be ascertained through psychometric assessment.
~ Mindy L.Kornhaber (The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence , pp. 659 - 678)​​
​
The modern study of intelligence can be traced to Alfred Binet, whose research was conducted in the late 1800’s and early 1900's. In 1905, Binet and his colleague Theodore Simon proposed that intelligence was fixed and quantifiable. And although they debated how fixed intelligence was, and how accurately it could be tested, they created a test to measure it. High scores in the test were indicative of high intelligence; low scores indicated low intelligence. IQ testing immediately became very popular and it is still widely used.
I remember my whole class going through intelligence testing when I was 11 or 12. No one explained what the test was, and we were never given any results. It was only many years later, seeing examples of intelligence test questions, that I realised that that was what the test had been. It is an interesting aside that sometimes I had not understood the question, but had just guessed at a possible answer. Would that mean that my test score was inaccurate, or was my inability to understand the question indicative of a lack of intelligence?
​​It is noteworthy that all the questions of the intelligence test are directly related to either mathematics or language skills. By the 1970's the thought that intelligence was also expressed in other ways led to the development of other models of cognition and learning styles. In 1983 Howard Gardner published a book called Frames of Mind in which he suggested that there were at least eight intelligences worthy of consideration, not just two. As people have many different ways of thinking and learning, traditional ways of measuring intelligence were too narrow. His theory of multiple intelligences also proposed that people were not born with all of the intelligence they would ever have. He thus challenged the traditional notion that there was only one single fixed type of intelligence (‘g’ - general intelligence) which could be measured and which would stay the same throughout the person's life. He argued that while linguistic and logical mathematical modalities were the most valued in school and society, other types of intelligence were equally valuable.
He recognized at least 8 different types of intelligences.
-
Intrapersonal intelligence
-
Kinesthetic intelligence
-
Linguistic-verbal intelligence
-
Mathematical intelligence
-
Musical intelligence
-
Naturalistic intelligence
-
Visual-spatial intelligence
He also suggested that there might be other intelligences eg spiritual intelligence, existential intelligence, and moral intelligence.
Gardner's conceptualization of intelligence as more than a single, solitary quality has opened the doors for further research and different ways of thinking about human intelligence.
​
Website:
Books by Howard Gardner:
-
Intelligence Reframed (2000): Gardner provides an update on the theory, its evolution and revisions. He offers practical guidance on educational uses and responds to critiques levelled against it. He also introduces two new intelligences (existential intelligence and naturalist intelligence) and argues that the concept of intelligence should be broadened, but not so absurdly that it includes every human virtue and value.
-
Changing Minds (2006): Gardner examines one of the most puzzling and most examined questions of human psychology: why it's so difficult to change our own minds and each other's and what happens when we do actually change our minds.
-
Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons in Theory & Practise (2008): Multiple Intelligences distills nearly three decades of research on multiple intelligences theory and practice, covering its central arguments and numerous developments since its introduction in 1983. Gardner includes discussions of global applications, multiple intelligences in the workplace, and an assessment of multiple intelligences practice in the current conservative educational climate.
-
Five Minds for the Future (2009): Gardner shows how we will each need to master "five minds" that the fast-paced future will demand: the disciplined mind, the synthesizing mind, the creating mind, the respectful mind, and the ethical mind.
-
Frames of Mind (2nd Edition, 2011): First published in 1983 and now available with a new introduction by the author, Gardner's trailblazing book revolutionized the worlds of education and psychology by positing that rather than a single type of intelligence, we have several- most of which are neglected by standard testing and educational methods.
-
The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think and How Schools Should Teach (2011): Merging cognitive science with educational agenda, Gardner makes an eloquent case for restructuring our schools by showing just how ill-suited our minds and natural patterns of learning are to the prevailing modes of education.
-
The Essential Howard Gardner: On Education (2024): During his long and distinguished career as scholar and teacher, Howard Gardner has made vast contributions to our understanding of learning and how to create environments that support growth in all learners across their lifespans. In this compelling collection of his writings, Gardner lays out his principal ideas about education.
-
The Essential Howard Gardner: On Mind (2024): For over half a century, Howard Gardner has studied the mind in its various shapes, forms, and operations, culminating in his best-known work, the theory of multiple intelligences. This volume compiles his most compelling essays on the conduct, contours, and complexity of the human mind.
​​