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Intelligence, term usually referring to a general mental capability to reason, solve problems, think abstractly, learn and understand new material, and profit from past experience. Intelligence can be measured by many different kinds of tasks. Likewise, this ability is expressed in many aspects of a person’s life. Intelligence draws on a variety of mental processes, including memory, learning, perception, decision-making, thinking, and reasoning.
Measuring Intelligence In 1983 American psychologist Howard Gardner proposed a theory that sought to broaden the traditional definition of intelligence. He felt that the concept of intelligence, as it had been defined by mental tests, did not capture all of the ways humans can excel. Gardner argued that we do not have one underlying general intelligence, but instead have multiple intelligences, each part of an independent system in the brain.
In formulating his theory, Gardner placed less
emphasis on explaining the results of mental tests than on accounting for the
range of human abilities that exist across cultures. He drew on diverse
sources of evidence to determine the number of intelligences in his theory.
For example, he examined studies of brain-damaged people who had lost one
ability, such as spatial thinking, but retained another, such as language. The
fact that two abilities could operate independently of one another suggested
the existence of separate intelligences. Gardner also proposed that evidence
for multiple intelligences came from prodigies and savants. Prodigies
are individuals who show an exceptional talent in a specific area at a young
age, but who are normal in other respects. Savants are people
who score low on IQ tests—and who may have only limited language or social
skills—but demonstrate some remarkable ability, such as extraordinary memory
or drawing ability. To Gardner, the presence of certain high-level abilities
in the absence of other abilities also suggested the existence of multiple
intelligences.
Gardner initially identified seven intelligences and proposed a person who exemplified each one.
In the late 1990s Gardner added an eighth intelligence to his theory: naturalist intelligence, the ability to recognize and classify plants, animals, and minerals. Naturalist Charles Darwin is an example of this intelligence. According to Gardner, each person has a unique profile of these intelligences, with strengths in some areas and weaknesses in others.
Gardner’s theory found rapid acceptance among
educators because it suggests a wider goal than traditional education has
adopted. The theory implies that traditional school training may neglect a
large portion of human abilities, and that students considered slow by
conventional academic measures might excel in other respects. A number of
schools have formed with curriculums designed to assess and develop students’
abilities in all of the intelligences Gardner identified.
How to Teach or Learn Anything 8 Different Ways One of the most remarkable features of the theory of multiple intelligences is how it provide eight different potential pathways to learning. If a teacher is having difficulty reaching a student in the more traditional linguistic or logical ways of instruction, the theory of multiple intelligences suggests several other ways in which the material might be presented to facilitate effective learning. Whether you are a kindergarten teacher, a graduate school instructor, or an adult learner seeking better ways of pursuing self-study on any subject of interest, the same basic guidelines apply. Whatever you are teaching or learning, see how you might connect it with
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