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Running Head: Howard Gardner

Hannah Rodgers
Howard Gardner’s Eight Multiple Intelligences
Trinity Christian College
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Running Head: Howard Gardner
Howard Gardner’s Eight Multiple Intelligences

Howard Gardner was born on July 11, 1943 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He got his

undergraduate degree at Harvard in 1965. Then he earned his doctorate in 1971. Howard Gardner

describes himself as “a studious child who gained much pleasure from playing the piano”

(Cherry, 2016). He originally was planning to study law. However, he had discovered Jean

Piaget’s work and was inspired by his work and decided to study psychology. He also was

mentored by Erik Erikson, which is also another reason why he decided to study psychology

(Cherry, 2016).

Howard Gardner had spent a lot of time studying two groups of people. One group were

children who were normal and they were gifted. The other group he studied were children who

had brain-damage. From his observations and research, he developed his book called Frames of

Mind, which was published in 1983. This book describes his theory of multiple intelligences.

Some theories believe that people think and learn in one intelligence, known as a single general

intelligence. However, Gardner believed that people think and learn in multiple ways (Cherry,

2016).

Howard Gardner earned many awards from his theory and his book. In 1981, he received

the MacArthur Prize Fellowship award. Then in 1987, he received the William James Award

from the American Psychological Association. In 1990, Howard Gardner received the University

of Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Education. Then in 2000, he earned the John S.

Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship Award. Then in 2011, Howard Gardner, received

the Prince of Asturias Award in Social Sciences (Cherry, 2016).

Howard Gardner has eight multiple intelligences. When Gardner created the theory of

multiple intelligences, it started out by spreading through people who were working in education.
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Running Head: Howard Gardner
Therefore, the only people who knew about it were the people who were working in education.

However, for the past 25 years, it has been spreading around the world (Abeles, 2009). Gardner

says, “Intelligence is the ability to solve problems or fashion products that are of consequence in

a particular cultural setting or community” (Barrington, 2004, page 422). Gardner says that either

people have intelligence or they do not have it (Fiore, 2011). Howard Gardner’s theory of

multiple intelligences has had a huge impact on education (Smith, 2008).

Gardner’s first intelligence is linguistic. This intelligence is about communication. This is

about the ability to create words and being able to communicate with people (Fiore, 2011).

People use the linguistic intelligence to express themselves in different ways. For example,

people can express themselves rhetorically and poetically. People also use this intelligence as a

way to remember material. Some people who have a high linguistic intelligence are lawyers and

writers (Smith, 2008).

His second intelligence is musical. This intelligence is about the ability to play an

instrument, sing, and have rhythm (Fiore, 2011). People are also sensitive to things like pitch and

melody (Barrington, 2004). The musical intelligence has skills with performing and composition

in musical patterns. The musical intelligence runs parallel with the linguistic intelligence. (Smith,

2008).

The third intelligence is logical-mathematical. This is “the ability to use and understand

objects, numbers, and operations” (Fiore, 2011, page 163). When people have this intelligence

then they notice patterns more easily. They are also good at problem solving (Barrington, 2004).

The logical-mathematical intelligence is associated with math and science and the ability to think

in those ways. People with this intelligence have the ability to find patterns and to think in a

logical way. (Smith, 2008).

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Running Head: Howard Gardner
Gardner’s fourth intelligence is spatial. This intelligence has a lot to do with three

dimensions. When people have this intelligence then they have the ability to think about things in

three dimensions. They also have the ability to present objects in three dimension (Fiore, 2011).

People with this intelligence have the ability to use patterns in confined spaces, as well as, wide

areas (Smith, 2008).

The next intelligence is bodily-kinesthetic. This intelligence is defined as the ability to

use the body. People use the body in physical ways. Some examples of using the body are

dancers and surgeons (Fiore, 2011). People with this intelligence have the ability to solve

problems by using their body. According to Howard Gardner, physical and mental activities are

related (Smith, 2008).

His sixth intelligence is interpersonal. This intelligence is the ability to find the best in

others. They have the ability to distinguish everyone and interact with others. An example of this

is a teacher and a therapist (Fiore, 2011). People with this intelligence have the ability to

understand other people and their motives and desires. People with this intelligence are

salespeople and political and religious leaders (Smith, 2008).

The seventh intelligence is intrapersonal. This intelligence is “the ability to understand

our own feelings” (Fiore, 2011, page 163). According to Howard Gardner, this intelligence

involves having a model of ourselves. People with this intelligence have to ability to understand

their own fears and motivations, as well as, understanding their own feelings (Smith, 2008).

Gardner’s final intelligence is naturalist. When people have this intelligence then they are

sensitive to nature and the environment. An example of this is a farmer and an environmentalist

(Fiore, 2011). When people have this intelligence then they are able to relate to the natural world

(Barrington, 2004).
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Running Head: Howard Gardner
There are some things that Howard Gardner forgot. One thing that he forgot was faith.

For some people, their faith affects how much they know. For example, a pastor’s kid may know

more about the Bible than other kids do. My life is involved around my relationship and faith in

Jesus Christ. I make decisions based on my faith. Therefore, I might know a little bit more about

some things than other people do because of my faith.

Another thing that he forgot was family and genetics. Some people might know more

about something because of genes that were passed down to their children. Therefore, some

people may have more intelligence in one area because of the genes that were passed down to

them. For example, my mom was a nurse, so science is not really hard for me. My high school

chemistry teacher has told my parents that I am very bright in chemistry and that it comes kind of

easily to me. However, I do not like science and I try to avoid it as much as possible. Therefore, I

do not put that much effort into science, even though I am good at it.

Another thing that Howard Gardner forgot was how we get these intelligences. I think it

is very important to explain how we get these intelligences. Even though he studied two groups

of people and based his theory on that, I think that it is important for him to describe how each

person receives those intelligences. For example, family and genetics cannot be the only reason

why people have specific intelligences. People do not just have the same intelligences as their

parents. They need to have their own because that is how God made us. God intended for every

person to be different. Therefore, we need to have our own intelligences, so that is why Howard

Gardner needs to explain how we get our intelligences.

Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences also apply to my life. I do not have all of the

Gardner’s multiple intelligences, but I do have a couple of his intelligences. Not everyone has

the same intelligence. God intended for everyone to be different. No one was meant to be the
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Running Head: Howard Gardner
same. I believe that Howard Gardner’s eight multiple intelligences reflect what God wanted for

everyone. No one is the same person. Everyone is unique and that is how God meant for

humanity to be. When I took the multiple intelligences test, a couple of the intelligences were

high and a couple of them were low.

When I took the multiple intelligences test, my highest intelligence was musical. I scored

an 80 out of 100 on the musical intelligence of the test. I was not surprised that this was my

highest intelligence. When I was young, I played soccer and volleyball all the time. I thought that

I was a very sporty girl when I was little. I expected to go to college on a sports scholarship.

Then when I was eleven years old, I moved to a new school and they did not offer girls soccer

for my age. I wanted to do some extracurricular activity. The high school musical was inviting

elementary kids to be extras, so I thought that I would try it. The musical was Oklahoma. I loved

it so much and this experience developed my love for singing. When I got a little bit older I was

taking guitar and singing lessons. When I was taking these lessons, I knew that singing was my

passion. I continued playing soccer through senior year of high school and then I finished

playing soccer. I received a theatre scholarship at Trinity Christian College and I knew that

theatre was my passion. I was not surprised that the musical intelligence was my highest because

I have been participating in theatre, musicals, and even guitar and vocal lessons since I was

eleven years old.

The second highest intelligence from Howard Gardner’s eight multiple intelligences was

intrapersonal. I scored a 70 out of 100 on the linguistic intelligence on the multiple intelligences

test. I usually prefer to be alone and just be by myself. Therefore, I was not surprised that this

was my second highest. Whenever we get group projects, I usually like to do my own individual

part of the project by myself then bring it to the group and show them what I have done. I usually
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Running Head: Howard Gardner
want to make sure that I have done the project the right way. I would usually take feedback from

my group and then I would make improvements on my part on the project alone. I am able to

know how I am feeling most of the time. Another strength from this intelligence is that I am able

to know my fears and motivations. For example, I am an education major and my motivation is

the kids. I love children and I am not going to let anyone come between me and my students.

Another example is that I understand my fears. I am afraid of bugs, but more specifically, I am

deathly afraid of spiders. I always freak out when I see a spider, no matter how small the spider

is.

When I took the multiple intelligences test, I had two intelligence that tied for my

weakest intelligence. My two weakest intelligences were interpersonal and linguistic. The first

weakest intelligence was interpersonal. I scored a 20 out of 100 on this intelligence when I took

the multiple intelligences test. I was not surprised that the interpersonal intelligence was one of

my weakest. Since I usually like to be alone, then I was not surprised that this was my weakest. I

like to be alone. Then that means that I do not understand other people as well. I do have some

friends that I enjoy being with. For example, I am only in touch with one of my friends from

high school. We went back to our school and we saw the spring play. Even though the play was

not very good, I still enjoyed being with her and spending time with her. Even though I like to be

alone and my interpersonal intelligence is my weakest intelligence, I still enjoy being with

people and spending time with them.

The other intelligence that tied with interpersonal was linguistic. I had also scored a 20

out of 100 on this intelligence when I took the multiple intelligence test. I was very surprised that

this was one of my lowest intelligences. My mom has frequently told me that she almost has no

memories of me not talking, so I started talking at an early age. Also, my dad, sister, and I have
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Running Head: Howard Gardner
played the app called Words with Friends a lot. We have played a lot of games over the last few

years. I have only lost a few times. I usually make up words that neither my sister nor my dad

have any clue that they exist. I am not sure if a few of those words are even words, but the game

accepted them. Therefore, I just went with them. Both my dad and my sister have told me that I

should do something with linguistics. For example, they have told me that I should do something

with politics. However, I do not really like politics. I am not even registered to vote. Therefore, I

decided that being a politician was not the right career path for me. I was surprised that the

linguistic intelligence was one of my lowest intelligences, but now I know that this intelligence is

something that I need to work on.

I learned a lot from doing community service for class. For my service hours I served at

three things. The first thing I did was the Letter for Kenya, which was for one hour. The second

thing that I did for my service hours was that I decorated and filled bags for restoration

ministries, which was for an hour and a half. The third thing that I did for my service hours was

that I served at Elim Christian Services, which I did for seven and a half hours. Therefore, all of

these total up to ten hours. I learned a lot about the populations that I served at and I also learned

about myself when I served.

The first thing that I did for my service hours was that I wrote a letter for a child in

Kenya. When I was writing it, I realized that this letter could give a child hope. The child that I

am writing this to might not have a lot. I realized that I have so much and they do not have a lot.

Therefore, the least that I could do was to give the child some hope and tell them a little bit about

God. That way, they could hopefully put their hope in God and realize that God has a plan for

them and that He knows what is best for them.

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Running Head: Howard Gardner
I was using the linguistic intelligence to write my letter to a child in Africa and to

decorate bags for Restoration Ministries. I was using different ways to express my feelings.

When I was writing the letter to a child in Africa, I was trying to tell that child that there is hope.

Also, I was telling that child that God has their life in His hands and that He knows what is best

for them. God has a good plan for them and they need to rely on Him. I was using this letter to

express my feelings of hope to that child in Africa.

The second thing that I did to fulfill my service hours was I decorated and filled bags for

Restoration Ministries. I realized that the kids that I am decorating these bags for might need a

little joy in their life. Therefore, when I was decorating these bags, I wanted to try to make them

as joyful as possible and not put anything negative on them. I realized that sometimes the biggest

thing that someone can give a child in need is hope and joy. This is what I was trying to do when

I was making these bags.

I was also using the linguistic intelligence to decorate bags for restoration

ministries. I wanted to make the bags as joyful as possible, so that the kids that would receive

them would be happy. Therefore, I was trying to express my feelings of joy on to the pictures of

the bag.

The third thing that I did for my service hours was that I served at Elim Christian

Services. Some teachers were teaching their students sequencing and one way to do this was

through little Lego sets. The teachers found little Lego sets that had directions in them.

Therefore, the students would have to start with step one instead of step four. The teachers

wanted me to laminate the directions and make them into little booklets, so that they could keep

them for multiple years. When I was doing this, I realized that I am very grateful for my ability

to do things. The students at Elim have the ability to do things, but it does not come easily to
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Running Head: Howard Gardner
them—so they have to find different ways to do things. My ability to sequence comes easily to

me. Therefore, I am very grateful for my ability to do things because I do not have to find

different ways to do things.

While I was serving at Elim Christian Services and creating these directions, I was using

the logical-mathematical intelligence. Creating those directions into booklets was a tedious

process and I needed to organize and find a pattern to do them. It took a while, but I eventually

found a pattern for me to do them. I was using the logical-mathematical intelligence because I

had a problem and I was able to solve it. I had to put the directions into a booklet and then I had

to laminate them. After I laminated them, I had to put holes in them using a hole punch. I

realized that I needed something put through the holes to connect the booklet. Therefore, I was

able to find rings and I was able to put them through the holes and that is how I made the

booklets. I was able to use the logical-mathematical intelligence to solve this problem and create

the booklets for Elim Christian Services.

I really enjoyed my community service. When I first got the assignment to do 10 hours of

community service, I first thought that ten hours was going to take forever to accomplish and I

did not think that a semester was enough time to accomplish ten hours. As I was writing the

letter to a child in Africa and decorating bags for Restoration Ministries, I saw it as a blessing to

spread some joy to some children. When I was serving for Elim Christian Services, I realized

that I love special needs kids. I am a special education minor and I did not really know why I

chose special education as my minor, but I just felt that God was calling me to be a special

education minor. After I served at Elim Christian Services, I now know that I love special needs

kids and I want to continue my journey in the special education field. It was such a blessing to

me to serve these kids and to spread some joy. I also loved spreading the Word of God to these
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Running Head: Howard Gardner
kids. I also loved to tell these kids to find their hope in God and to trust in Him because He is the

one who holds our lives. He has a great plan for us and we need to trust in Him. Even though I

was very skeptical about doing ten hours of community service in one semester, it ended up

being a great experience because I got to spread the Word of God and share some joy with some

kids.

In conclusion, Howard Gardner created the theory of eight multiple intelligences. Not

everyone has all of them. However, everyone has at least a few that are really high for each

individual person. 1 Corinthians 11:19 says, “No doubt there have to be differences among you

to show which of you have God’s approval.” This Bible verse is saying that God made everyone

different. Howard Gardner is honoring what God had intended for humanity because everyone

had different multiple intelligences. My highest intelligence was musical. My second highest

intelligence was intrapersonal. I had two intelligences that were tied for my weakest and they are

interpersonal and linguistic. I also had the chance to use some of the multiple intelligences while

I was doing my community service. I was using the linguistic intelligence to write my letter to a

child in Africa. When I was decorating bags for Restoration Ministries, I was also using the

linguistic intelligence. When I was serving at Elim Christian Services and creating the booklets

with directions, I was using the logical-mathematical intelligence. I did not think that I could

accomplish ten hours of community service in one semester and I thought that they were not

going to be any fun. However, they went very fast and I enjoyed doing the ten hours of

community service. Completing the ten hours was pretty fun and I hope to continue them in the

future. I am able to use Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences every day and I am improving

my weakest intelligences. I know that I cannot have every intelligence be high, but I can always
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Running Head: Howard Gardner
work on trying to improve them and I am continuing to keep my highest intelligences high,

according to Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences test.

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Running Head: Howard Gardner
References

Abeles, N. (2009). Exporting multiple intelligences. Psyccritiques, 54(51), doi: 10.

1037/a0017980

Barrington, Ernie. (2004). Teaching to Student Diversity is higher education: How Multiple
Intelligence Theory can Help. Teaching is Higher Education, 9(4), 422.

Cherry, Kendra. (2016). Howard Gardner Biography. About Health, Retrieved from
http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesal/p/howard-gardner.htm.

Fiore, L. (2011). Lifesmart. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Smith, Mark K. (2008). Howard Gardner, Multiple Intelligences and Education. Infed, Retrieved
from http://infed.org/mobi/howard-gardner-multiple-intelligences-and-education/.