0.4 Multiple intelligences  (Page 2/5)

In Frames of Mind Howard Gardner treated the personal intelligences "as a piece." Because of their close association in mostcultures, they are often linked together. However, he still argues that it makes sense to think of two forms of personal intelligence. Gardner claimedthat the seven intelligences rarely operate independently. They are used at the same time and tend to complement each other as people develop skills orsolve problems.

In essence, Howard Gardner argues that he was making two essential claims about multiple intelligences:

• The theory is an account of human cognition in its fullness. The intelligences provided "a new definition of human nature,cognitively speaking" (Gardner 1999: 44). Human beings are organisms who possess a basic set of intelligences.
• People have a unique blend of intelligences. Gardner argues that the big challenge facing the deployment of human resources "is how to besttake advantage of the uniqueness conferred on us as a species exhibiting several intelligences."

Also, these intelligences, according to Howard Gardner, are amoral - they can be put to constructive or destructive use.

The appeal of multiple intelligences

Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences has not been readily accepted within academic psychology. However, it hasmet with a strong positive response from many educators. It has been embraced by a range of educational theorists, and, significantly, appliedby teachers and policymakers to the challenges of schooling. A number of schools have looked to structure curricula according to theintelligences, and to design classrooms and even whole schools to reflect the understandings that Howard Gardner develops. The theory can also befound in use within pre-school, higher, vocational, and adult-education initiatives.

This appeal was not, at first, obvious.

At first, this diagnosis would appear to sound a "death knell" for formal education. It is hard to teach one intelligence; what ifthere are seven? It is hard to enough to teach even when anything can be taught; what to do if there are distinct limits and strong constraints onhuman cognition and learning?

Howard Gardner responds to these questions by firstmaking the point that psychology does not directly dictate education, "It merely helps one to understand the conditions within which education takesplace." Even more: Seven kinds of intelligence would allow seven ways to teach, rather than one. In addition, paradoxically, constraints can besuggestive and ultimately freeing.

Mindy L. Kornhaber, a researcher at Harvard University, has identified a number of reasons why teachers andpolicymakers have responded positively to Howard Gardner's presentation of multiple intelligences. Among these are the fact that the theoryvalidates educators' everyday experience: students think and learn in many different ways. It also provides educators with a conceptualframework for organizing and reflecting on curriculum assessment and pedagogical practices. In turn, this reflection has led many educators todevelop new approaches that might better meet the needs of the range of learners in their classrooms.