Using Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom

September 2006

Speaker:  Edward Fierros, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Education and Human Services, Villanova University 

Reported by David Robinson, Main Line Times 

The Committee for Special Education provides education, support and networking for families within Lower Merion School District who have children with diverse abilities. Through their new Web site, www.lmsce.org, parents and educators can find explanations of terms, interventions and programs, relevant Web sites and links to information resources, as well as book lists for children, parents and teachers. This past Monday evening, Pam Grossman, president of the CSE, welcomed Edward Fierros, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of education and human services at Villanova University, and co-author of Multiple Intelligences, Best Ideas and Research Practices, to provide a basic introduction to the concept of multiple intelligences. Fierros explained that, out of college, he was a quantitative data-cruncher looking at testing and the popular measures of intelligence. He then was involved in the work of Howard Gardiner’s theories of multiple intelligences and became a convert.

Problems with the SAT

 Fierros gave the audience a practical problem, but — as he said — insufficient information for a concise outcome. He said that standardized testing is equally limited at predicting precise results... or a student’s future ability and potential. He also pointed out that a parent’s income is a better indicator of college success than the SAT test that “only provides an indication of student success in the first semester of college.” He then explained Gardiner’s list of intelligences and fielded questions from the audience.  For a very good introduction not only to multiple intelligence theory, but also to what is being done in school systems today, his book Multiple Intelligences, Best Ideas and Research Practices, written with Mindy Kornhaber and Shirley Veenema, is a must read. 

 Gardiner’s theories

The book notes that it has been 23 years since Howard Gardiner posed his theories of multiple intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial (surgeons/ architects), musical, bodily-kinesthetic (dancers/sculptors), interpersonal (sales people/therapists), intra-personal (sociologists) and naturalistic (hunters/farmers). Yet most of this country’s educational system is still geared to the linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences that receive spoken and written information in block sessions and regurgitate that same information back via written tests. The problem with schools — as learning difference specialist Richard Lavoie has often said — is that they measure only two intelligences, “These kids go to school for a living. This is their job and their identity. How would you feel if you failed every single day you went to work?” Gardiner has always insisted that most people have part or all of these seven intelligences in various strengths and weaknesses. Real world situations such as walking, driving, thinking, planning, doing taxes, listening to a friend, voting, gardening, carving a turkey, arranging furniture, reading or listening to music, use these various intelligences. The good news is that Multiple Intelligences, Best Ideas and Research Practices documents the progress that is being made to reach all kinds of minds in schools today. The book is easily readable, understandable, and thought-provoking for both educators and parents as it discusses Gardiner’s theories and how they are being utilized in a range of 41 schools.

Gardiner’s entry points

 Fierros’ book notes that an early problem with applying multiple intelligences practices in the classroom was that educators felt they had to type each student as one of the eight intelligences, and then shape each lesson to cover that student’s intelligence. To help educators teach all kinds of minds, Gardiner posited “entry points” as a framework of doors leading into the curriculum requirements. He suggested that using stories opens the “narrative” door,  looking at the rational order or numbers opens the “logical-quantitative” door, art and visual projects opens the “aesthetic” door, hands-on projects opens the “experiential” door, and group projects open the “interpersonal” door. Gardiner says that asking questions such as, “Why or how did this happen?” opens the “existential/foundational” door. By combining a blend of these entry points for a subject or block of information, the educator is not just reaching one person and one intelligence at a time, but crossing boundaries and bringing together the multiple intelligences of all.

Pittsburgh’s McCleary School

One example of the many schools profiled in the Multiple Intelligences is The McCleary School in Pittsburgh. The authors note the school is a near poverty level school with 30 percent African- American and 60 percent white students, with 77 percent receiving free or reduced priced meals. They explain how the teachers made changes to the “old” school style of top down management and education. They began with the cafeteria, where discipline was a problem. As a multiple intelligence exercise, they turned the cafeteria into a student run restaurant, where everyone learned real-world problems, expectations and outcomes. They planned meals (learning nutrition, measuring, temperature, preparation) gained knowledge about costs and handling money; and made changes in social behaviors as courtesy was expected from greeters and customers alike. Another adaptation at The McCleary School was “looped” classrooms, where kindergartners and their teacher moved into first grade together for continuity. Second and third grades occupied combined classrooms, as did the third and fourth grades. To teach hard-work and early critical thinking, teachers and students used the students’ first draft as a starting point for a discussion about how they might improve the work.  Each new block of learning began using “controlled choices,” where students brainstormed and suggested how they might best learn a new topic. This allowed teachers to assess the existing level of student knowledge and establish a “word bank” of terms. The discussion also gave teachers an idea of the students’ interest level on the topic and helped teachers formulate entry points. Another discussion established the “rubrics” or standards that the teacher and students would use to measure work. These rubrics helped students develop critical thinking about the process of learning and improved their work. With “choice,” teachers found that students became more committed to the work. The teachers could then guide students outside their “comfort” zone to develop new skills. Group activities, discussions, journaling, drawings, hands-on projects and reading assignments used the entry point ideas for teaching to multiples intelligences. In nearly every school studied, behaviors of previously marginal students improved along with their class participation.

Albuquerque’s Governor Bent School

At The Governor Bent School in Albuquerque, N.M., the authors point out that the staff had to change their “old” school mentality, where students were “separated into those who do and do not belong.” In addition to learning and implementing multiple intelligence ideas, the faculty added other goals for students such as persistence, organization, goal setting, humor, thoughtfulness, cooperation, a positive attitude, kindness, mastering impulsivity and respect for others. To teach responsibility, each child was accountable for neatness in one area of the classroom. To teach cooperation and consideration, one teacher put a bell on her desk for students to use when the noise level was too high.

Mini-math labs

To examine individual methods for a block of learning, the authors discuss the use of plastic bins as mini math labs. Each bin has math task cards that guide groups of students through hands-on activities. These mini-labs make use of interpersonal skills and co-operation, linguistics skills as students follow task card directions, logical-mathematic skills in the exercises and spatial intelligence in the activity. To help educators develop their own multiple intelligence projects, the authors present the thoughts and reasoning of the mini-lab’s teacher/designer as she developed the project. The authors also provide a dissection of the literacy building activities of the language arts curriculum at The Governor Bent School and the multiple intelligence aspects of hands-on publishing business for third-graders at the John F. Kennedy School in Brewster, N.Y. For fifth and sixth-graders, the authors examine a Seattle family heritage project that encapsulates social studies, language arts, math and the arts. In Maine, an archaeology dig uses science, social studies and history as fifth-graders gather artifacts for display at a local museum and are judged against real-world standards for archaeology and museum exhibitions. With each school, Multiple Intelligences profiles the school and focuses on what they call “Compass Point Practices” providing a map into the “educational culture” of the school. In these profiles, readers can see how schools create belief in each child’s strength and potential, an atmosphere f caring, respect and hard work, and enthusiasm that education is exciting for all kinds of minds.

Villanova’s Edward Fierros, Ph.D., co-author of Multiple Intelligences, Best Ideas and Research Practices.