1 Multiple Intelligences Howard Gardner Georgia CTAE Resource Network Instructional Resources Office July 2009

Thus far Gardner's work suggests nine intelligences. He speculates that there may be many more yet to be identified. Time will tell. These are the paths to children's learning that teachers can address in their classrooms right now.

INTRAPERSONAL Children who are especially in touch with their own feelings, values and ideas. They may tend to be more reserved, but they are actually quite intuitive about what they learn and how it relates to themselves.

Self Smart Displays a sense of independence Has a realistic sense of strengths Has a good sense of self-direction Prefers working alone to working with others Learns from failures and successes Has high self-esteem

INTERPERSONAL Children who are noticeably people oriented and outgoing, and do their learning cooperatively in groups or with a partner. These children may have typically been identified as "talkative" or " too concerned about being social" in a traditional setting.

People Smart Enjoys socializing with peers Acts a natural leader Gives advice to friends who have problems Seems to be street-smart Belongs to clubs, committees, and other organizations Likes to play games with other kids Has one or more close friends Shows concern for others Likes group projects

VISUAL/SPATIAL Children who learn best visually and organizing things spatially. They like to see what you are talking about in order to understand. They enjoy charts, graphs, maps, tables, illustrations, art, puzzles, costumes - anything eye catching.

Picture Smart Reports seeing clear mental pictures Read map, charts, diagrams easily Daydreams more than peers Enjoys art activities Likes visual presentations Enjoys puzzles and mazes Understands more from pictures than words while reading Doodles on paper

VERBAL/LINGUISTIC Children who demonstrate strength in the language arts: speaking, writing, reading, listening. These students have always been successful in traditional classrooms because their intelligence lends itself to traditional teaching.

Word Smart Tells tall tales, jokes, and stories Has a good memory Enjoys word games Good vocabulary for age Good verbal communication

MATHEMATICAL/LOGICAL Children who display an aptitude for numbers, reasoning and problem solving. This is the other half of the children who typically do well in traditional classrooms where teaching is logically sequenced and students are asked to conform.

Number Smart Quickly does mental math Enjoys strategy and math games Enjoys logic puzzles or brain teasers Uses higher-order thinking skills

BODILY/KINESTHETIC Children who experience learning best through activity: games, movement, hands-on tasks, building. These children were often labeled "overly active" in traditional classrooms where they were told to sit and be still!

Body Smart Excels in one or more sports Moves, twitches, taps, or fidgets while seated for a long time Touches new objects Enjoys running, jumping or wrestling Expresses self dramatically Enjoys clay and finger painting

MUSICAL/RHYTHMIC Children who learn well through songs, patterns, rhythms, instruments and musical expression. It is easy to overlook children with this intelligence in traditional education.

Music Smart Recognizes off-key music Remembers melodies Speaks or moves rhythmically Taps rhythmically as he or she works Is sensitive to environmental noises Responds favorably to music

NATURALIST Children who love the outdoors, animals, field trips. More than this, though, these students love to pick up on subtle differences in meanings. The traditional classroom has not been accommodating to these children.

Nature Smart Would prefer to study or hold class outside Will choose subjects from nature for projects and reports Is aware of surroundings and what goes on around them Sensitivity to plants and animals Monitors the weather Identifies things by species and category

EXISTENTIALIST Children who learn in the context of where humankind stands in the "big picture" of existence. They ask "Why are we here?" and "What is our role in the world?" This intelligence is seen in the discipline of philosophy.

Spiritually Smart Wondering people Ability to question our existence and meaning of life Very philosophical Always wondering why One answer frequently contradicts another and therefore gives justification for additional searching

Adapt a Lesson (Spelling) Say the word aloud (word smart) Show a set of objects (number smart) Illustrate it with drawings or pictures from magazines (picture smart) Pantomine it (body smart)

Lesson cont. Sing the word or divide it into syllables (music smart) Have each group member explain to the rest of the group what the word means to him (people smart) Have each group member think of his own meaning or image for the word (self smart)

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