1. M ultiple Inteligences
l
“Octagen” for the Brain

2. A brief introduction to the
Theory of Multiple Intelligences
• O u r s e ns itivity to th e d ive rs e ways in wh ich ch ild re n
think, s olv e problems , and expres s thems elves is
ofte n lim ite d b oth b y ou r notions of inte llige nce and ou r
own inte lle ctu al p re fe re nce s .
• Inte ntionally or not te ach e rs d e s ign th e ir
clas s room (cu rricu lu m , ins tru ction, as s e s s m e nt)
to re fle ct their ideas ab ou t inte llige nce and
h ow le arning h ap p e ns as we ll as their own ways
of m aking s e ns e of th e world .

3. • Alm os t all of u s can fall into b e lie ving th at if we
can m ake cle ar th e way we have come to
unders tand s omething , oth e rs will u nd e rs tand , too.
• Bas e d on long and care fu l ob s e rvation, e s p e cially of
ch ild re n wh o d o not s e e m to u nd e rs tand e as ily wh at
m ay s e e m ob viou s to oth e rs , m any te ach e rs re cognis e
th at th e re are , ind e e d , many different ways of
perceiv ing the world and multiple ways of making
s ens e of one ’s e xp e rie nce s .
• A clos e r look at Th e orie s of Inte llige nce s can p rovid e a
m id d le grou nd b e twe e n th e id e a th at th e re is a s ing le
way in which minds works and th at notion th at every
mind is unique.

4. What is MI Theory and Where does it come
from?
• Th e th e ory of M u ltip le inte llige nce s (M I th e ory) was firs t
p rop os e d in th e Howard G ardner's b ook “ Frames of
Mind” .
• Th e th e ory of m u ltip le inte llige nce s p rovid e s a u s e fu l
p e rs p e ctive on th e is s u e s b y d is tingu is h ing am ong e igh t
d im e ns ions of h u m an inte lle ctu al fu nctioning.
• Wh e re as th e trad itional, u nitary p e rs p e ctive s on
inte llige nce – s u ch as a IQ le ad s to a qu e s tion th at “ Is
the pers on intelligent , M I th e ory offe rs a p lu ralis tic
vie w th at “in what way is the pers on intellig ent”.

5. • In h is 1 993 p u b lication, ‘M u ltip le inte llige nce s - Th e
th e ory in p ractice ’, G ard ne r d e fine s inte llige nce as th e -
“Ability to s olve problems , or to fas hion products , that are
valued in one or more cultural or community s ettings ”
• G ard ne r p oints ou t, ind ivid u als are b orn with p ote ntials
in all the eig ht intellig ences . Th e y th e n d e ve lop th is
initial inte lle ctu al p rofile in m anifold ways , d e p e nd ing on
th e cultural, local and pers onal context within which
they g row.
• M i th e ory acknowle d ge s th at inte llige nce s d o
not work in is olation, b u t rath e r in cons ort and
in context to th e p rob le m s in th e re al-world
d om ains .

6. What is that relation between MI theory and
Traditional ideas about intelligence
• G ard ne r, like oth e r p as t and cu rre nt th e oris ts argu e s
for a more pluralis tic notion of intellig ence.
• R ath e r th an fixing th e inte llige nce at b irth , as
s om e trad itional id e as of inte llige nce im p ly,
MI theory s ug g es ts that intellig ences chang e
and g row.
• In trad itional conce p t of inte llige nce – its s ays th at
intellig ence remains the s ame in all s ituations , it
d oe s n't ch ange wh e th e r one is s olving a p rob le m , or
le arning to d ance , or find ing one 's way in th e ne w
city.

7. Accord ing to a trad itional d e finition, intellig ence is a
uniform cog nitive capacity people are born with. Th is
cap acity can b e e as ily m e as u re d b y s h ort-ans we r te s ts .
Accord ing to H oward G ard ne r, inte llige nce is :
• The ability to create an effective product or offer a
s ervice that is valued in a culture;
• A s et of s kills that make it pos s ible for a pers on to
s olve problems in life;
• The potential for finding or creating s olutions for
problems , which involves gathering new knowledge.

8. S ome common Mis conceptions of MI theory
• A s ou rce of confu s ion is th e e qu ation b e twe e n MI and
the Learning S tyles .
• Le arning s tyle s re fe rs to th e different approaches th at
ind ivid u als take wh e n trying to m ake of d ive rs e kind s of
conte nt. A le arning s tyle is th ou gh t to cu t cros s all
conte nt are as .
• E g.if a p e rs on is a tactile learner, s h e will le arn
b e s t b y u s ing h e r h and or s e ns e of tou ch wh e n
le arning ne w m ate rial – wh e th e r h is tory or cooking.

9. • Wh e re as th e inte llige nce re p re s e nts potentials or
capacities th at are linke d to neurolog ical functions
and s tructures th at re s p ond to a p articu lar conte nt.
• We cannot as s u m e th at b e cau s e one h as demons trated
a g ood memory or ability to focus in mus ic th at h e or
s h e will b e h ave s im ilarly wh e n p re s e nte d with lingu is tic or
s p atial inform ation.
• M ore ove r, u nlike le arning s tyle s , intellig ences have
dis tinct developmental paths th at are tie d to th e
ach ie ve m e nt of th e valu e d role s in ou r s ocie ty.

10. Implications for curriculum des ign and
ins truction.
• If we u nd e rs tand th is , th e n we m u s t know th at s tu d e nts
p os s e s s a range of ab ilitie s th at s tand ard clas s room
fare ne ith e r acknowledg es , celebrates nor nurtures .
• S o, we h ave to as k ou rs e lve s , how can one mode
of ins truction and one mode of tes ting e ve r tru ly
allow u s to re ach ou t to e ve ry ch ild ?
• F or th e im p lication of M I th e te ach e rs s h ou ld b e fam iliar
with e ach s tu d e nt’s inte re s ts , s tre ngth s and
we akne s s e s , and s hape their ins tructional practices
according ly.

11. • As e d u cators , p are nt, and oth e r ad u lts re cognize th at all
children are born with a multitude of intellig ences
th e y can b e tte r nu rtu re th e fu ll range of ch ild ’s ab ilitie s .
• Be fore a te ach e rs s tarts to ad op t th e M I ap p roach in th e
clas s room , it m igh t b e u s e fu l to id e ntify s om e of th e
ques tionable ins tructional practices that purportedly
follow from MI. M I is not a m and ate to te ach e ve ry top ic
in s e ve n or e igh t ways .
• M I h e lp s te ach e r to h onor th e s tu d e nts s tre ngth s ,
h owe ve r ce le b rating th e s tre ngth s is not e nou gh ; th os e
s tre ngth s ne e d to b e conne cte d to wh at s tudents need
to know and unders tand.

12. Principles for des igning as s es s ments
Th e p rincip le s of as s e s s m e nt:
• As s e s s m e nt s h ou ld b e e m b e d d e d in meaning ful,
ong oing , real world activities .
• Th e y s h ou ld als o d raw th e m ate rial and tools of th e
d om ains , rather than always relying on paper –
pencil tes t.
• As s e s s m e nt s h ou ld allow for divers e modes of
res pons es or multiple ways to demons trate
unders tanding . P ortfolios are ofte n fu ll of e xam p le s of
d ive rs e ways in wh ich s tu d e nts re p re s e nt th e ir ins igh ts
and id e as .

13. 4. As s e s s m e nts s h ou ld h e lp to track th e g rowth over
time of ch ild ’s ab ility to u s e th e ir inte llige nce s . MI
s ays that intellig ences are educable. M aintaining
th e e vid e nce file s h e lp s te ach e rs for tracking and
e xam ining th e growth .
5. As s e s s m e nt is a fu nd am e ntal p art of th e le arning
p roce s s . Throug h eng ag ing in reflection and s elf
as s es s ment s tudents can come to unders tand
their own intellig ences and how they work.
G ard ne r id e ntifie s two inte llige nce s ove r h e re –
inte rp e rs onal and intrap e rs onal.

14. Tools for as s es s ments
• Obs ervation : th e m os t p owe rfu l as s e s s m e nt is th e
careful obs ervation on the children at work and
play. As G ard ne r’s d e finition of inte llige nce , s im p ly
watch ing ch ild re n as th e y e ncou nte r p rob le m s or try
to m ake th ings can b e ins tru ctive .
• Few things what a teacher s hould look for:
• N otice ch ild re n's choices wh e n th e y are give n
op tions .
• Watch th e roles th e y take wh e n working toge th e r to
com p le te a tas k.
• O b s e rve h ow th e y handle u nanticip ate d p rob le m s .
• N ote wh at captures one ch ild 's atte ntion and
p as s e s anoth e r b y.

15. Documenation: is an inform al way of as s e s s m e nt.
• Ke e p ing note s of th e ch ild re n (ane cd otal m om e nts ),
e s p e cially h e lp th e te ach e rs as th e y s eek to find
patterns in th e ways ch ild re n u s e th e ir inte llige nce s .
• Maintaining notes of children's convers ations as
th e y lis te n for qu e s tions and id e as th at aris e
s p ontane ou s ly.
• Portfolios of s tudents work:
• Wh e n s tu d e nts are give n as s ignm e nts th at allow for
divers e modes of res pons e or m u ltip le ways to
d e m ons trate u nd e rs tand ing, th e y ofte n produce
complex and s triking work.
• P ortfolios can p rovid e vivid e vid e nce of g rowth and
development.

16. • P ortfolios in th e m s e lve s , are only colle ctions of work.
As s e s s m e nts h ap p e ns wh e n th e te ach e r and s tu d e nts
review thos e portfolios throug h particular lens es ,
s u ch as :
• H ow d o stud e nts ap p roach and sol p rob l m ?
ve e
• H ow d o stud e nts und e rstand the m e thod s of a
p articul acad e m ic d iscipl , d e m onstrate the ir
ar ine
cap acity to use those m e thod s, and m ake se nse of
the ir find ings ?
• H ow d o the y com m unicate the ir thoughts and
p e rce p tions m ost e ffe ctive ly?

17. • S tudent reflection and S elf as s es s ment:
• Trad itionally, as s e s s m e nt and e valu ation h ave b e e n th e
domain of the teacher. S tu d e nts h and in th e ir work
and te ach e r j d ge s it.
u
• Bu t M I cau tions th at b y e xclu d ing th e s tu d e nt in h is
as s e s s m e nt m e ans th at a world of ins ig ht is los t as
b oth te ach e r and s tu d e nts can le arn im p ortant le s s ons
from e ngaging s tu d e nts deeply and reg ularly in
re fle cting on and as s e s s ing th e ir own work.

18. • R e fle ction can b e written or verbal and can occu r at
th e m id d le or th e e nd of th e p roj ct, or e ve n m onth s
e
afte r its com p le tion. It can b e a conve rs ation or a
m onologu e .
• O nce s tu d e nts are e ngage d in th e ir re fle ction and s e lf
as s e s s m e nts ,it b e com e s m u ch e as ie r to h ave a
convers ation about their work.
• Th e y can com e to an opinion ab ou t th e ir work and it
• give s th e te ach e r a b e tte r ins igh t into h ow th e s tu d e nts
approach and think ab ou t th e ir work.