THEORY OF MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

When you hear the word intelligence, the concept of IQ testing may immediately
come to mind. Intelligence is often defined as our intellectual potential; something we
are born with, something that can be measured, and a capacity that is difficult to
change. The advent of 21st century education advocates harnessing multiple
intelligences for maximum learning, especially in the early stages of a child’s student
life.

The K to 12 Curriculum was designed not to solely develop the knowledge

competence of the learners across learning areas. The learner as the center of the
entire teaching-learning process must be holistically developed to fully realize the
mission statement of the department related to developing life-long learners.

Learners ‘engagement must be more relevant and meaningful to the learners.

These will be attained by designing learning tasks which will integrate and hone the
multiple intelligences of the learners. The main author of the theory, Howard Gardner,
recognizes that intelligences is not only IQ rather it could be musical, mathematical,
bodily kinesthetics, spatial, intra and interpersonal, naturalist and the others.

Recognizing these intelligences to the diverse learners in the classroom will

ensure their total development. The multi-intelligences of the learners are just normal
expectations in today’s management of instruction. It is therefore a great challenge on
the part of the teachers to continuously enrich the K to 12 competencies across learning
disciplines.

Enriching is creating greater opportunities for the multiple intelligences of the

learners to be equally enhanced with their content-based and skill-based competencies
prescribed by the K to 12 Curriculum.

All intelligences are needed to live life well. Teachers, therefore, need to attend
to all intelligences, not just the first two of verbal-linguistic or mathematical-logical
intelligences, which have historically taken precedence.