The concept of intelligence is part of what makes people human. People use varying degrees of intelligence to complete a wide range of tasks throughout each day. However, the commonly implemented measurements of human intelligence only evaluate the verbal-linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligence, and often the layman definition of intelligence would involve memorization of facts and ability to do complex calculations.

Howard Gardner presented the theory in 1983 that more forms of intelligence exist than the two mentioned above. In fact, Gardner suggests that at least eight types of intelligence exist. In addition to verbal-linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences, there are musical, bodily-kinesthetic, visual-spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist forms of intelligence.

People are usually dominant in one or several forms, but everyone has the capacity to strengthen and excel in all types of intelligence. Multiple intelligence theory provides a new stance on teaching science that acknowledges the uniqueness of students.

Goodnough (2001) states that, “If students are offered variety and choice in the way they learn, are afforded opportunities to work cooperatively with other students, and have opportunities to receive and give frequent feedback about how and what they are learning, science is more likely to be personalized for them” (p.188).

Multiple intelligence theory supplies the variety and choice for how students from diverse backgrounds can engage in the learning process.

The Eight Types of Intelligence

The eight types of intelligences cover a broad spectrum of abilities and career proficiencies.

1. Verbal-Linguistic

A person high in verbal-linguistic intelligence possesses a sensitivity to written and/or oral language, and they are able to focus on the meaning, structure, and even sounds of words. A person with a well-developed verbal-linguistic intelligence would likely enjoy a career as a writer or orator.

2. Logical-Mathematical

People high in logical-mathematical intelligence are able to discern patterns, follow strenuous chains of reasoning, and have a well-developed capacity for computations. Many people that are computer programmers, software developers, scientists, or mathematicians have a significant logical-mathematical intelligence.

3. Musical

Musical intelligence manifests as recognizing musical rhythms, tones, and pitches, and as the ability to skillfully perform and compose musical patterns. Music artists, composers, and other musical performers are often high in musical intelligence.

4. Bodily-Kinesthetic

Other artists, such as sculptors, dancers, and actors, as well as athletes, are usually high in bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is displayed in a person as a proficiency in controlling one’s physical movements and to skillfully coordinate objects.

5. Visual-Spatial

A person high in visual-spatial intelligence use lines, shapes, colors, and perspectives to recognize and manipulate patterns in the world. Cartographer, architect, interior designer, and web page designer are careers that a person high in visual-spatial intelligence would likely excel at.

6. Interpersonal & 7. Intrapersonal

Interpersonal intelligence and intrapersonal intelligence both deal with knowing people but in different ways. Interpersonal intelligence is projected outward, and a person well-developed in this intelligence will be skillful at social cues, discerning and responding to other people’s feelings and moods, and can understand the motivation of others. People with elevated interpersonal intelligence succeed in careers that involve lots of social communication, such as counselors, politicians, and hospitality. Intrapersonal intelligence, on the other hand, deals with just one person: the individual’s own self. High intrapersonal intelligence is exhibited as reflection, meditation, and an overall capacity to understand the fears, drivers, and desires of one’s self. People with prominent intrapersonal skills can perform well as psychotherapists and entrepreneurs, but this intelligence often aids people in any discipline.

8. Naturalist

The last form of intelligence is naturalist intelligence, which encompasses sensitivity to nature, ability to discern between members of a species, and skill in classifying features of the natural world such as rocks and weather patterns. Geologists, animal activists, meteorologists, and ecologists all have high affinity for naturalist intelligence.

These eight types of intelligences do not have rigid boundaries, and they can often overlap. People usually have all types of intelligence in various levels, but they will likely have several that are stronger than the others.

Roots of Multiple Intelligence Theory

Howard Gardner developed the theory of multiple intelligences over the course of several decades while involved with Project Zero for the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Studying both stroke victims and different groups of children eventually brought Gardner to conclude that the concept of intelligence is not just limited to the type of intelligence narrowly defined by IQ tests. He realized that it is essential to include a much vaster range of competencies in discerning the realm of human cognition.

Gardner (2011) states that, “An intelligence is the ability to solve problems, or to create products, that are valued within one or more cultural settings” (p. 24).

He continues to point out that the definition of intelligence does not include a method of measurement or testing of said intelligence, and the definition does not depend on the source of one’s intelligence.

While Gardner offers a broad definition of intelligence, he also includes distinct criteria for identifying different types of intelligence, which led to his partitioning of the eight types of intelligence. The criteria range from neurological and physiological expressions to the existence of individuals displaying proficiencies throughout history.

Gardner also drew up ideas formulated by Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and Erik Erikson. Each of these individuals incorporated some aspects of cognitivist and constructivist ideals into their works.

Studies on multiple intelligences theory in classrooms involve heavy use of constructivism in implementing lessons that follow one or a few types of intelligence.

Constructivism is student-focused and posits that people use their experiences to construct an idea of the world around them; knowledge is dependent on social interactions and cultural background, and it is always in flux. In the same way, multiple intelligence theory argues strongly that a person’s biophysical and cultural knowledge is brought into the classroom with them such that students are not assumed to be blank slates waiting to be transformed by teachers.

Effective implementation of multiple intelligence theory enhances students’ ability to generate connections between forms of learning and present knowledge. More connections between past and existing knowledge is necessary for modern students due to the wide assortment of information they are expected to understand. With the modern student classroom, technology is ever-present, but the flourishing of digital learning actually benefits the integration of multiple intelligence theory into the learning community.

Multiple Intelligence Theory and Digital Learning

With global connections and interactions pervading every aspect of students’ lives from academic to social and family life, a single instructor may struggle with reaching every student in the classroom. The instructor may have a diverse background, but they are likely limited to their own cultural influences and upbringing. Therefore, the instructor’s modes of intelligence may differently greatly from that of the students’, making communication of information difficult.

Prior to the 21st century, the world was not as globally linked as it is now. However, diversity is now a normal feature of everyday social life. Instructors must be competent in delivering information and skills to diverse students that all possess various backgrounds that strengthen certain types of intelligences.

Digital learning opens the door for more personalization for each student and enables teachers to tie in additional information with cultural and biopsychological influences as a supplement to lessons. Digital activities and assignments also supply both students and instructors with a new level of accountability and progress recording. Students can become more invested in their own learning when they have the tools available to them. Online simulations and interactive videos offer students information whenever they need it, and students can review material at their own pace.

Digital learning and multiple intelligence theory intersect in the science classroom quite well. One example is a program called FlipItPhysics that was developed at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, under a different name in the mid 2000’s. FlipItPhysics covers both calculus and algebra-based physics for classical mechanics and for electricity and magnetism. This program includes interactive simulations and pre-lecture tutorial videos.

For example, in the unit for circuits the student participant is given a rough outline of a circuit with an inventory of capacitors, resistors, and voltage readers. The program will then ask the student to create a condition where the final voltage is 5V, so the student can experiment with various combinations of components in order to figure out how a circuit operates.

This digital method appeals to students with a high affinity in visual-spatial and logical-mathematical intelligence types. It also supports constructivist theories that students learn best through experience. The pre-lecture tutorial videos can be paused at any moment, and they include diagrams and animations, again appealing to visual-spatial intelligence. However, they also include questions throughout the video, bringing in verbal-linguistic intelligence.

Another example of digital learning with multiple intelligence theory in a science classroom is the use of a wave simulator, such as the PhET Interactive Simulator developed by the University of Colorado Boulder. In the section on waves, students can participate in simulations that analyze radio waves, wave interference, use Fourier transforms to create wave patterns, and several other activities. In the Fourier transform simulation, students can actually select to play a game in which a musical sound is played. The student must then decipher how many sine and cosine waves and at which amplitudes must be summed in order to replicate the musical tone.

This form of digital learning again incorporates visual-spatial and logical-mathematical intelligences, but it also includes musical intelligence. Digital tools coupled with multiple intelligence theory can therefore make science appealing to many students rather than just to those stereotypically high in logical-mathematical intelligence.

A Science Education Case Study

Although multiple intelligence theory is becoming a popular education paradigm, there is not a wealth of studies conducted on how multiple intelligences are incorporated into a science classroom. Scientific literacy can be a challenge for both instructors and students alike. Instructors must understand and be able to confer the three dimensions of science: learning science, learning about science, and doing science.

These three dimensions range from acquiring the theoretical knowledge, such as learning about the components of atoms, to gaining awareness of connections between science and society, like learning the historical and political context for the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union, to conducting experiments and solving problems using the tools of science, like analyzing meteorological maps and soundings to provide a weather forecast.

Multiple intelligence theory is one method of encouraging interest and sparking curiosity in both instructors and students.
Karen Goodnough conducted a research study that explored multiple intelligences theory in the context of science education through the experiences of several science teachers.

One high school teacher of focus was given a pseudonym of ‘Dave’, and he incorporated multiple intelligences into a science unit on space and astronomy. Dave introduced the concept of multiple intelligences to his ninth-grade students through discussion and a short assignment in which his students could complete using any type of intelligence. For this initial assignment, most students chose to utilize verbal-linguistic intelligence since this form of intelligence was most familiar to them.

Dave developed multiple activities over the course of several weeks that included at least two types of intelligences. One activity’s goal was to illustrate the methodology of collecting evidence and generating scientifically-based knowledge. The background information provided for this goal was a video on space exploration and the future of the space industry. Dave selected to have the students develop a rap song that they would perform about the information. Grading criteria included teacher and student evaluations on the scientific content and accuracy, effectiveness of incorporating musical rhythm and beat, and even the design of costumes.

This activity draws on the well-known verbal-linguist and logical-mathematical intelligences, but it shifts away from the traditional instruction mode by including musical and bodily-kinesthetic intelligences into the lesson plan. Dave found that students struggled with exhibiting musical intelligence, which is attributed to the undeveloped skills in the classroom for that intelligence type.

Another activity Dave developed touched on other forms of intelligence. One evening he transitioned his class to an environmental center to partake in star gazing. Students were highly engaged in using binoculars and attempting to determine which celestial points were planets or stars and what the name of each object was. Towards the end of the activity, Dave instructed the students to spread out and silently look at the stars. Dave engaged them with a brief Greek mythological tale about several constellations before allowing them to reflect by themselves for 15 minutes.

This activity includes bodily-kinesthetic, naturalist, interpersonal, and intrapersonal intelligences. Using binoculars involves bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, identifying various stars and planets incorporates naturalist intelligence, the discussion, debating, and collaboration for figuring out the identification of each celestial object draws on interpersonal intelligence, and the solitary reflection provides a space for students to increase their intrapersonal intelligence.

While multiple intelligences theory seems appealing theoretically, it still needs to be tested for significant impacts on students. In order to accomplish this, Dave measured the success of his students through traditional means (examinations) and through portfolios students created of their coursework throughout the unit. When evaluated through standard exams, the student class average score only increased by 4% compared to the previous unit, which is accredited to exams pulling from a verbal-linguistic centered intelligence. However, the class average increased by 13% compared to the previous unit when evaluated using the portfolios.

There are many factors that could have influenced the results, such as a general class interest in astronomy over the previous unit, which was cell structure, or greater previous knowledge in astronomy than for cell structure. While there are still unknowns and bias present in this study, it provides an example for how multiple intelligences theory can be intertwined with science education to produce positive results.

Can I get a summary of that?

How humans define modern intelligence is changing. At the beginning of the 1900’s, intelligence was primarily thought to be any relation to logical-mathematical or verbal-linguistic intelligences.

In the 1980’s Gardner proposed a new perspective on what constitutes intelligence, and he supplanted the single intelligence paradigm with the multiple intelligences theory. This theory is supported by constructivist pedagogy since it allows for students to explore new topics through intelligences that resonate with them, and it provides a new learning experience when students must engage in material via an intelligence that they have a lower proficiency in.

Digital learning facilitates multiple intelligence theory in the science classroom by providing materials with foundations in numerous cultural and knowledge backgrounds. Digital tools, like FlipItPhysics and Phet simulations, provide opportunities for students to engage several forms of intelligences that cross stereotypical boundaries from disciplines, like the belief that only students high in logical-mathematical intelligence can excel in science classes.

The implementation of multiple intelligences theory in science education is still in its relative infancy, but experimentation by instructors around the world yields promising results. Encompassing a view that intelligence has many facets affords students and teachers alike many possibilities for increasing learning, raising the desire to learn, and improving scientific literacy in communities.

Want to know more?

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