Multiple Intelligence Theory

Beach Fanatic

May 1, '08 · 10:20 AM2,271

I was a bit surprised on a political thread that no one had heard of Multiple Intelligence Theory, and thought it could be considered racist. I learned about it more than a decade ago, and I'd love to hear what some of the teachers on the board think....

THE ORIGINAL SEVEN INTELLIGENCES

Howard Gardner first identified and introduced to us seven different kinds of intelligence in Frames of Mind.

Linguistic intelligence: a sensitivity to the meaning and order of words.

Logical-mathematical intelligence: ability in mathematics and other complex logical systems.

Musical intelligence: the ability to understand and create music. Musicians, composers and dancers show a heightened musical intelligence.

Spatial intelligence: the ability to "think in pictures," to perceive the visual world accurately, and recreate (or alter) it in the mind or on paper. Spatial intelligence is highly developed in artists, architects, designers and sculptors.

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: the ability to use one's body in a skilled way, for self-expression or toward a goal. Mimes, dancers, basketball players, and actors are among those who display bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.

Interpersonal intelligence: an ability to perceive and understand other individuals -- their moods, desires, and motivations. Political and religious leaders, skilled parents and teachers, and therapists use this intelligence.

Intrapersonal intelligence: an understanding of one's own emotions. Some novelists and or counselors use their own experience to guide others.

Then, Gardner identified an eighth intelligence, the naturalist intelligence.

AN EIGHTH INTELLIGENCE

Gardner discussed the "eighth intelligence" with Kathy Checkley, in an interview for Educational Leadership, The First Seven... and the Eighth. Gardner said, "The naturalist intelligence refers to the ability to recognize and classify plants, minerals, and animals, including rocks and grass and all variety of flora and fauna. The ability to recognize cultural artifacts like cars or sneakers may also depend on the naturalist intelligence. …(S)ome people from an early age are extremely good at recognizing and classifying artifacts. For example, we all know kids who, at 3 or 4, are better at recognizing dinosaurs than most adults."

Gardner identified Charles Darwin as a prime example of this type of intelligence.

The naturalist intelligence meshed with Gardner's definition of intelligence as "…the human ability to solve problems or to make something that is valued in one or more cultures." And the naturalist intelligence met Gardner's specific criteria:

"Is there a particular representation in the brain for the ability?
"Are there populations that are especially good or especially impaired in an intelligence?
"And, can an evolutionary history of the intelligence be seen in animals other than human beings?"

From http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr054.shtml

Here's a link to test your MI:
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/questions/choose_lang.cfm

Oh, and show us your code! kxr1n548128

Replies

hmmmm......can't remember

May 2, '08 · 11:24 PM#52

I know. it is really upsetting me to see it in schools. standard kids, standard teachers, standard teaching style, standard uniform clothing, standard institutional food, the same friggin paperwork, standard low end expectations because all kids are taught at the same level at the same rate... standard hairdos;-), standard piercings and tattoos... it just goes on and on.

okay, uniforms never bothered me before I started thinking of the standardization. now they seem to contribute to the whole picture. same ole same ole.

I LOVE uniforms! I wish ours weren't so complicated (shoulderboards, name tags, etc.) but I was just thinking today that it's good that the boys don't have the added distraction of worrying with clothes and know that they're expected to have their shirts tucked in. It makes sense, too, that they wear short sleeves year-round and are expected to take their jackets off for class--no one worries about being hot or cold because we all wear the same thing and the temperature is adjusted accordingly. Their hair can't go beyond a certain length, and nobody is fussing with a recent tongue-piercing.

It's one less distraction, and hopefully by the time they hit college they will have passed the age where clothing is a mitigating factor in the school day.

SoWal Guide

May 2, '08 · 11:35 PM#53

I LOVE uniforms! I wish ours weren't so complicated (shoulderboards, name tags, etc.) but I was just thinking today that it's good that the boys don't have the added distraction of worrying with clothes and know that they're expected to have their shirts tucked in. It makes sense, too, that they wear short sleeves year-round and are expected to take their jackets off for class--no one worries about being hot or cold because we all wear the same thing and the temperature is adjusted accordingly. Their hair can't go beyond a certain length, and nobody is fussing with a recent tongue-piercing.

It's one less distraction, and hopefully by the time they hit college they will have passed the age where clothing is a mitigating factor in the school day.

shoulder boards and name tags! do you wear a tie? we must get a pic of this nuttygirlteacher!

SoWal Insider

May 2, '08 · 11:38 PM#54

Parents of Nasal Learners Demand Odor based Curriculum

I found this while I was looking for evidence that Gardners MI theories in education worked (and found very little, if at all none) He may be onto something or he may be wrong, but nonetheless, I found this humorous.

COLUMBUS, OH--Backed by olfactory-education experts, parents of nasal learners are demanding that U.S. public schools provide odor-based curricula for their academically struggling children.
"Despite the proliferation of countless scholastic tests intended to identify children with special needs, the challenges facing nasal learners continue to be ignored," said Delia Weber, president of Parents Of Nasal Learners, at the group's annual conference. "Every day, I witness firsthand my son Austin's struggle to succeed in a school environment that recognizes the needs of visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic learners but not him."
Weber said she was at her "wit's end" trying to understand why her son was floundering in school when, in May 1997, another parent referred her to the Nasal Learning Research Institute in Columbus. Tested for odor-based information-acquisition aptitude, Austin scored in the 99th percentile.
"My child is not stupid," Weber said. "There simply was no way for him to thrive in a school that only caters to traditional students who absorb educational concepts by hearing, reading, seeing, discussing, drawing, building, or acting out."
Austin's experience is not unique.
"My 15-year-old daughter Chloe couldn't sustain her interest in academics and, as a result, she would goof off with her friends and get in trouble," said Michael Sweeney of Oswego, NY. "Now I realize that all those Ds and Fs did not represent any failure on my daughter's part, but rather her school's failure to provide an appropriate nasal-based curriculum."
According to Reyna Panos, director of the Nasal/Olfactory Secondary Education (NOSE) certification program at Brown University, children begin to indicate their nasal needs as early as the first grade, so parents need to be on the lookout for the telltale signs.
"Nasal learners often have difficulty concentrating and dislike doing homework," Panos said. "They also frequently have low grades in math, reading, and science. If your child fits this description, I would strongly urge you to get him or her tested for a possible nasal orientation."
Educators have been slow to recognize nasal learners, said Panos, even though her research finds that 10 to 20 percent of all students fall into the category.
"In the early years of educational psychology, children were believed to fall into one of two camps: visual and auditory. Eventually, kinesthetic and tactile learning styles were recognized, as well," Panos said. "But, to this day, nasal learning continues to go unacknowledged."
Panos said nasal learners do best when they are encouraged to use odor-based recall techniques in testing situations, and are allowed to organize and prioritize items by scent. The biggest challenge now, she said, is to "educate the educators."
"It's very gratifying to be a pioneer in a totally new field of education, but at the same time, it's frustrating to come up against such strong resistance," Panos said. "That's where groups like Parents Of Nasal Learners make all the difference: They've got to push, push, push until their children's needs are finally met."
Scholastic Scents is a Cambridge, MA, company attempting to fill the void in educational materials geared toward nasal learners.
"Our line of scratch-and-sniff textbooks won't be available until next school year," Scholastic Scents president Randy Bauer said, "but we do have a variety of educational packets such as the Oregon Trail fragrance set and our 'Speak & Smell' language workshops. I'd also recommend you browse our non-text book selections, such as the all-odor version of The Yearling."
However, according to Dr. Ira Greene, author of The Nose Knows: A Nasal-Based Curriculum Development Guide, such efforts do not go far enough. Greene said there are three distinct types of nasal learners: the goal-oriented nasal learner, the activity-oriented nasal learner, and the learning-oriented nasal learner. Each type, he said, must be treated differently.
"It's important to understand that not every nasal learner is the same," Greene said. "For example, while goal-oriented and activity-oriented nasal learners may see the prospect of olfactory reward at the end of a task as sufficient motivation, the learning-oriented nasal learner needs something more to sustain his interest."
For parents who suspect their children may be nasal learners, Panos recommended the Stanford-Binet Nasal Index Exam.
"This test asks students to respond to statements like, 'I enjoy smelling things,' and 'I would rather write a book report than smell one that has already been written,'" Panos said. "From this, we can determine the best way for parents to help teach that child. It would be nice if the schools gave such tests, but the sad fact is, for the child with special nasal needs, today's educational system stinks."

From: The Onion - http://www.theonion.com

SoWal Expert

May 3, '08 · 11:52 AM#55

Too bad it's from the Onion - I thought we had a stunning new entry in the WTF parents category! :rofl:

margarita brocolia

May 5, '08 · 11:29 AM#56

.................. "My 15-year-old daughter Chloe couldn't sustain her interest in academics and, as a result, she would goof off with her friends and get in trouble," said Michael Sweeney of Oswego, NY. "Now I realize that all those Ds and Fs did not represent any failure on my daughter's part, but rather her school's failure to provide an appropriate nasal-based curriculum."
...........................................................
"From this, we can determine the best way for parents to help teach that child. It would be nice if the schools gave such tests, but the sad fact is, for the child with special nasal needs, today's educational system stinks."

From: The Onion - http://www.theonion.com