Multiple Intelligences

Caroline McHale
PDST
Multiple Intelligences
 Enhance Learning
 No Guarantees…………magic words
 Suggestions…Professionals Cautious
 Task of Teaching…delicate/sensitive/difficult
 How a student Learns …….complex
 Uniqueness of each student

‘Necessity is the mother of invention’

Multiple Intelligences

“Tell me and I forget,

Show me and I remember,
Involve me and I know”
Chinese Proverb
How much do you remember?
 Recall peaks a few minutes after the learning
experience ends
 Up to 40% of the material is forgotten within 5
minutes!
 Up to 80% of the material is forgotten within 24
hours!
 Average Retention Rates
 Lecture 5%
 Reading 10%
 Audio Visual 20%
 Demonstration 30%
 Discussion 50%
 Practice by doing 75%
 Teach others 90%
Improve Learning
 Build in reward
 Use relaxation or energising techniques
 High expectations
 Use positive, affirming language
 Pre- process
 Give the big picture first
 Chunk it down
 Connect left and right for the whole brain
learning
 Utilise all the intelligences
 Provide work at individual, pair and group
Improve learning
 Use visual displays
 Provide multi-path learning opportunities
 Use spiral learning
 Provide opportunities to demonstrate new
knowledge
 Build in review
 Memory maps for note taking
 Music in the background
 Teach time and priority skills
 Use creative visualisation
 Build in fun!
Understanding
 Asking questions is fundamental to
developing understanding
 Asking questions without fear or
embarrassment is crucial to
protecting self-esteem
Multiple Intelligences
Howard Gardiner, Psychologist

 Dissatisfied with narrow range of ability

that I.Q. tests measure
 Fascinated with how the brain works
 Studied different cultures, brain
damaged adults and autistic children
 Wanted to devise a broader concept of
intelligence
 At least 8 systems for learning and for
coming to awareness
A Change in Emphasis……

Is He/She Clever?
To
In What Ways is He/She Clever?
 Multiple Intelligences
Dr Howard Gardiner identified eight main categories of human
intelligence:

 Linguistic
• Bodily-kinaesthetic
 Logical/
mathematical

• Intrapersonal
 Visual/spatial

• Interpersonal
 Musical

• Naturalist

Some people excel in one of these areas at the expense of the others,
while others have a more balanced profile
 Linguistic / Verbal
 Sensitivity to sounds, rhythms and
meanings of words
 Associated with arguing, debating,
persuading and telling stories
 Like to read, write and listen
 Enjoy writing stories
 Often spell words accurately and easily

Identify a linguistic student…

Am I Linguistic?
 Linguistic / Verbal
 Difficult words/ tell a story
 Word games /Crosswords
 Like to hear
 Library ….exercising /
 Early age……..baby is born with the potential
of learning any language
 Improve Travel, Reading, listening to current affairs,
 Notice words
 Diary of an entrepreneur
 Logical / Mathematical
 The capacity to recognise logical or
numerical patterns
 Like to experiment, solve puzzles
 Enjoy working with numbers and
mathematical formulas
 Love the challenge of a complex problem
to solve
 Ask the questions “how?” and “ why?”
Identify a logical student….
Am I Logical?
 Logical / Mathematical
 Later in childhood
 Peaks in adulthood….40
 Begin with a logical question…
 Order in life
 Time lines
 Lists
 What will happen next?
 Musical
 Love music and rhythmic patterns
 Sensitive to sounds in the environment
 Often reproduce a melody after hearing
it only once
 Like to have music in the background
when working
 Often quite skilled at mimicking sounds,
language and accents
Identify a musical intelligent student
Am I musically Intelligent?
 Musical
 Early and remains
 Power Christmas/funerals/
 Beta- attentive – Problem solving
 Alpha – relaxed – learning
 Theta – meditation
 Delta – deep sleep
 Key words to a familiar tune or rap
 Suzuki
 Visual / Spatial
 Think in images and pictures
 Often aware of objects, shapes, colours
and patterns
 Like to draw, paint, make interesting
designs and patterns
 Love jigsaw puzzles, reading maps and
daydreaming
 Strong opinions about such things as
colours that go together, textures that
are appropriate and pleasing!
Identify a visual intelligent student..
Am I visually intelligent?
 Bodily / Kinaesthetic
 Control of body movements and the
capacity to handle objects skilfully
 Learn through their body sensations,
enjoy touching, feeling and tapping
 Enjoy role-play simulations, physical
exercises
 Movement is essential
 Easily bored if they are not actively
involved
Identify a kinaesthetic Student….
Am I Kinaesthetically Intelligent?
 Intrapersonal
 Like to work alone
 Self reflective
 Think about thinking
 Highly intuitive
 Inwardly motivated rather than
needing external rewards
 Other people will come to them for
advise
Identify an Intrapersonal student..
Am I Intrapersonal person?
 Interpersonal
 Sensitivity to moods, feelings, motivation
and desires of other people
 Enable us to work with others
 Listen effectively, negotiate, handle
conflicts and get along well with diverse
groups of people
 Enjoy participating in cooperative learning
groups
Identify an interpersonal Intelligent student?
Am I an Interpersonal person?
 Naturalist
 Notice characteristics and patterns
of the environment
 Like to collect items from nature,
study them and group them
 Farmers, gardeners, botanists,
geologists, florists.

Identify a naturalist Intelligent student…

Am I a naturalist intelligent person?
You may be interested in knowing what engineers discovered in a wind
tunnel about why geese fly in a “V” formation. As each bird flaps its
wings, it creates lift for the goose immediately following. By flying in a
“V” formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater range than if
each bird flew on its own. Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it
suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone, and
moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the
bird immediately in front. When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates
back in the wind and another goose flies point. The geese honk from
behind to encourage those up front to keep their speed. Finally, when
a goose gets sick, or is wounded by gun shots and falls out of
formation, two geese fall out with him and follow him down to help
protect them. They stay with him until he is either able to fly, or until
he is dead. Then they launch out on their own or with another
formation to catch up with the group
 When we tap into our
strongest intelligences……

We hit a pool of energy

 Our attention is caught
 Our interest is aroused
 Our understanding is enhanced
 Our memory is improved
“Multiple Intelligences does not
demand an overhaul of a
Curriculum; it merely provides a
framework for enhancing
instruction and a language to
describe ones efforts”
With regard to discipline
 Weak in a particular intelligence eg
Linguistic
Talking is the least effective
approach to convey the seriousness
of a discipline issue
Multiple Intelligences

A Journey of a Thousand Miles

starts with the First Step!
 We rarely use a single intelligence on its
own…………………

 We will invite you to do just that, so you

can check out how you feel and what you
think about that intelligence…………
Work Shop
 A very practical and fun
approach to Multiple Intelligences!
 Each person must attempt 8
tasks representing the
different Intelligences.

Enjoy!
Multiple Intelligences
 Does the theory make sense in the light
of your experience?
 How does it affect your view of the
students?
 Does it affirm your current work?
 Does it offer good Resources For
Teaching?
 Does it show useful ways of engaging
students in their learning?
Multiple Intelligences
Determine what is most
appropriate for my teaching
approach, Content, and Students.
1. One intelligence
2. Students choice
3. Other………………
 Multiple Intelligences

A key to meeting the needs of the

many different types of learner is
variety.

But variety does not happen by

chance – it has to be planned for.
Multiple Intelligences

email :[email protected]

087 9598538