MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

Howard Gardner has questioned the idea that intelligence is a single entity, that it emerges from a single ability, & that it measured by IQ tests. He viewed intelligence as the capacity to solve problems or to fashion products that are valued in one or more cultural setting. When Gardner introduced the theory in his book frames of mind (1983), he suggested that each individual possesses at least seven such relatively independent mental abilities or intelligences. The first two are ones that have been typically valued in schools, the next three are usually associated with arts, & the final two are what Howard Gardner called personal intelligences.

1.  VISUAL/SPATIAL INTELLIGENCE:  It is the ability perceives the visual. Learners who possess this at a higher level tend to think in terms of pictures, they can create vivid mental images to retain information. They enjoy closely observing maps, charts, pictures, videos & movies. Their skills includes: puzzle building, studying charts & graphs, a good sense of direction, sketching, painting, creating, visual metaphors & analogies, manipulating images, constructing, fixing, designing practically useful objects, interpreting visual images.

Possible career interests: persons with high spatial intelligence will make efficient navigators, sculptors, visual artist, inventors, architects, interior designers, mechanics, and engineers.

2.  VERBAL/LINGUISTIC INTELLIGENCE: it is the ability to use words & language. Learners who are high in this have generally elegant speakers. They think in words rather than pictures.

Their skills include: listening, speaking, writing, storytelling, explaining, teaching, using humor, understanding the syntax & meaning of words, remembering information convincing someone of their point of view, analyzing language usage, flow & fluency of word using appropriate words, etc……

Possible career interests: poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, political translator.

3.  LOGICAL/MATHEMATICAL INTELLIGENCE: it is the ability to use reason, logic & numbers. Learners who are high in this think conceptually in logically & numerical patterns making connections between pieces of information. Always curious about the world around them, these learners ask lots of questions & like to do experiments.

Their skills include: problem, solving, classifying & categorizing information, working with abstract concepts to figure out the relationship of each to other, handling long chains of reason, doing controlled experiments, exploring & wondering about natural events, performing complex mathematical calculation, working with geometric shapes, interpreting & appreciating number patterns & combination, etc……

Possible career paths: scientists, engineers, computer programmers, researchers, accountants, mathematicians.

4.  BODILY/KINESTHETIC INTELLIGENCE: It is the ability to control body movements & handle objects skillfully. Learners who are high in this express themselves through movement. They have a good sense of balance & eye-hand Co-ordination. Through interacting with the space around them, they are able to remember & process information.

Their skills include: dancing, physical co-ordination, sports, hands on experimentation, using body language, crafts, acting , miming, using hands to create or build, expressing emotions through the body, smooth & rhythmic movements.

Possible career paths: athletes, physical education teachers, dancers, actors, firefighters, artisans, circus artists.

5.  MUSCIAL/RHYTHMIC INTELLIGENCE: it is the ability to produce & appreciate music. These musically inclined learners think in terms sounds rhythms & patterns. They spontaneously respond to music either by appreciating or criticizing what they hear. Many of these learners are extremely sensitive to environmental sounds.

Their skills include: singing, whistling, playing musical instruments, recognizing tonal patterns, composing music, remembering melodies, understanding the structure & rhythm of music, modulating voice in tune with emotions.

Possible career paths: musician, singer, composer.

6.  INTERPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE: it is the ability to understand others, interact with them & establish pleasant relation. Such learners try to see things from other people’s point of view in order to understand how they think & feel. They often have an uncanny ability to sense feelings, intentions & motivations of others & can empathies with others. They will be great organizers, although they sometimes resort to manipulation. Generally they try to maintain peace in group settings & encourage co-operation. They use both verbal & non-verbal languages to open communication channels with others.

Their skills include: seeing things from another person’s perspectives, patient listening, empathizing, & understanding other people’s moods & feeling, counseling with groups, noticing people’s motivations & intentions, communicating both verbally & non-verbally, building trust, arriving at peaceful resolution for conflicts, establishing positive relations with other people.

Possible career paths: counselor, salesperson, politician, business person, social worker, volunteer of social service organizations.

7.  INTERPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE: it is the ability to self-reflect & be aware of one’s inner state of being. Learners having high intrapersonal intelligence try to reflect upon their inner feelings, dreams, relationships with others, & strengths & weakness. Thus they will develop healthy self concepts.

Their skills include: recognizing their own strengths & weaknesses, reflecting & analyzing themselves, acquiring awareness of their inner feelings, desires, & dreams, evaluating their thinking patterns, reasoning with themselves, understanding their role in relation to others.

Possible career paths: researchers, theories, philosophers, religious workers.

8.  NATURALIST INTELLIGENCE: it is the ability to recognize & categorize plants, animals, & other objects in nature. Farmers, gardeners, botanists, geologists, florists & archaeologists all exhibit this intelligence.

Their skills include: closely observing all the natural phenomena in the immediate environment & later in distant places internalizing all the salient attributions of various natural phenomena, constructing mental images of natural phenomena, identifying various plants, animals & other creatures by observing relevant attributes, classifying classes & categories being able to describe the salient characteristics of natural phenomena both external & internal.

Possible career paths: Agriculturist, botanist, Gardener, Geologist, Archeologist organizer of nurseries for plants, pets, etc……

RENJU

SOCIAL SCIENCE