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| |    Multiple Intelligences in Theory by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. reviewed by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. The theory of multiple intelligences (often shortened to MI) argues that the traditional view of intelligence as a single quantity that can be measured by a so-called intelligence test is too narrow. Intelligence quotient (or IQ) tests are helpful in predicting the grades a child will get in school, but they don't tell us anything about a host of other abilities that are important in real life, such as the ability to connect with other people emotionally or the knack for visualizing objects in three dimensions (as one might do in designing a car, for example). MI theory maintains that humans have multiple intelligences, not just the two gauged in traditional IQ tests (verbal and mathematical). Among these are spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic (movement), interpersonal (relationships with others), intrapersonal (self-understanding and insight), and naturalist (understanding and classifying objects in nature). By expanding our focus to include multiple intelligences, we can appreciate and nurture more of our strengths. The origin of the theory Howard Gardner, a professor of education at Harvard University, is famous for having laid out the theory of multiple intelligences in two books, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1983) and Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice (1993). A more recent book, Intelligence Reframed (1999), brings the theory up-to-date. Gardner defines an intelligence as the potential ability to process a certain sort of information (for example, information about tones and rhythms, or about the position of one's body in space). The different types of intelligence are for the most part independent of one another, and no type is more important than any other. Drawing on brain research, Gardner asserts that each of these intelligences is located in one or more particular areas of the brain. Some of the evidence comes from studies of people who have had brain damage from strokes and other causes. For example, people who have damage to the part of the brain that controls expressive speech may be unable to talk, but they may be quite able to sing words (since their musical ability is housed in another location and is unimpaired). Uneven pathways Even people without brain damage aren't equally endowed across the board in all the different intelligences. Unevenness in the capacity of different learning pathways gives rise to differences in abilities and learning styles: One child learns best by listening, another by watching, another by holding something physical in her hand, and still another by acting out a concept with her whole body. Someone can be quite gifted verbally, but completely at a loss when it comes to figuring out what to tip a waiter at lunch. Just think about your own abilities and limitations and you're sure to realize that you're much more gifted in some areas than others. In my own case, for instance, I am a great talker, but I can't hit a baseball to save my life. I can play a musical instrument, but I've never been able to draw a horse that actually looks like a horse (although I once tried for several months). Learning disabilities Greater degrees of unevenness give rise to learning disabilities. Dyslexia--that is, learning disability for reading and writing--is usually the result of a weakness in the language intelligence system, while other learning pathways (mathematical or spatial, for instance) are often quite strong. Children who don't have strong language and math intelligences often do poorly in school, and usually come to believe that they are stupid, a belief that may be reinforced by traditional IQ tests. Nonetheless, these children may have terrifically strong musical, spatial, interpersonal, and other intelligences, and may end up being quite successful in the real world, which (unlike many schools) places high value on a wide range of talents and abilities. Perhaps the greatest contribution that MI theory has made to society--and the educational community in particular--is that it helps us realize that people can be smart in many different ways.
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