Multiple Intelligences

Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences

 Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences proposes that people are not born with all of
the intelligence they will ever have.
 This theory challenged the traditional notion that there is one single type of intelligence,
sometimes known as “g” for general intelligence, that only focuses on cognitive abilities.
 To broaden this notion of intelligence, Gardner introduced eight different types of intelligences
consisting of: Linguistic, Logical/Mathematical, Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Musical,
Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalist.
 Gardner notes that the linguistic and logical-mathematical modalities are most typed valued in
school and society.
Gardner’s definition of intelligence


“biopsychological potential to
Gardner defines intelligence as a

process information that can be activated in a

cultural setting to solve problems or create
products that are of value in a culture” 
 Multiple Intelligences

1. Linguistic Intelligence
2. Logical Mathematical Intelligence
3. Spatial Intelligence
4. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence
5. Musical Intelligence
6. Interpersonal Intelligence
7. Intrapersonal Intelligence
8. Naturalist Intelligence
 1.Linguistic Intelligence (“word smart”)

Linguistic Intelligence is a part of Howard Gardner's multiple

intelligence theory that deals with sensitivity to the spoken and
written language, ability to learn languages, and capacity to use
language to accomplish certain goals.
People with linguistic intelligence, such as William Shakespeare
and Oprah Winfrey, have an ability to analyze information and Potential Career Choices
create products involving oral and written language such as Careers you could dominate with your
linguistic intelligence:
speeches, books, and memos.
• Lawyer
• Speaker / Host
• Author
• Journalist
• Curator
Linguistic Celebrity Profiles

Here's a list of people who used words to make a name for themselves. These writers and
 William Shakespeare orators also lived with a disability. Their unique combination of intelligences -- strengths as
 Robert Frost well as weaknesses -- made them such successful people.
 Agatha Christie :Legendary British mystery writer. She was learning disabled.
 J.K. Rowling  Demosthenes Great Greek orator. He had a speech impediment.
 R. L. Stine  Edgar Allan Poe American macabre poet and short-story writer. He was emotionally disturbed.
 Judy Blume  Alexander Pope 18th-century British poet and satirist. He had a spinal curvature and never
 Dr. Seuss grew taller than 4' 6".
 Shel Silverstein  Rudyard Kipling Poet and author of The Jungle Book. He was the first English author to win
the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was also sight-impaired.
 Roald Dahl
 John Irving Contemporary American author of the” The Cider House Rules and The World
According to Garp. He is dyslexic.
 
 2.Logical-Mathematical Intelligence 
(“number/reasoning smart”)
Logical-mathematical intelligence refers to the capacity to
analyze problems logically, carry out mathematical operations,
and investigate issues scientifically.

People with logical-mathematical intelligence, such as Albert

Einstein and Bill Gates, have an ability to develop equations
and proofs, make calculations, and solve abstract problems.
Potential Career Choices
Careers you could dominate with your logical-
mathematical intelligence:
• Mathematician
• Accountant
• Statistician
• Scientist
• Computer Analyst
10 Famous Person With Logical
Mathematical-Intelligence
• Albert Einstein. Einstein, a great figure in modern science, who had a high level of multiple
intelligences as well as logical mathematical intelligence.
• Stephen Hawking. ...
• Thomas Edison. ...
• Johannes Kepler. ...
• Bill Gates. ...
• Mark Zuckerberg. ...
• Marian Diamond. ...
• Paul Erdös.
 3.Spatial Intelligence (“picture smart”)

Spatial intelligence features the potential to

recognize and manipulate the patterns of wide space
(those used, for instance, by navigators and pilots) as
well as the patterns of more confined areas, such as
those of importance to sculptors, surgeons, chess
players, graphic artists, or architects.

People with spatial intelligence, such as Frank • Potential Career Choices

Lloyd Wright and Amelia Earhart, have an ability to Careers you could dominate with your spatial
recognize and manipulate large-scale and fine-grained intelligence:
Pilot
spatial images. • Surgeon
• Architect
• Graphic Artist
• Interior Decorator
Examples of Famous People with High
Spatial Intelligence

• Leonardo Da Vinci.
• Vincent Van Gogh.
• Alfred Hitchcock.
• Frank Lloyd Wright.
• Georgia O'Keeffe.
• Henri Matisse.
 4.Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence 
(“body smart”)

Bodily kinesthetic intelligence is the potential

of using one’s whole body or parts of the body
(like the hand or the mouth) to solve problems or
to fashion products.
Potential Career Choices
People with bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, Careers you could dominate with your bodily-kinesthetic
such as Michael Jordan and Simone Biles, have intelligence:
an ability to use one’s own body to create
• Dancer
products, perform skills, or solve problems • Athlete
through mind–body union. • Surgeon
• Mechanic
• Carpenter
• Physical Therapist
 Examples of Famous People with high Bodily-
Kinesthetic Intelligence 

Here's a list of artists, athletes, and actors whose physical intelligence propelled
 Michael Jordan them into the limelight. They also happened to live with a disability. Their unique
 Babe Ruth combination of intelligences -- strengths as well as weaknesses -- made them such
 I. M. Pei successful people.
 Jim Carrey
 Mia Hamm Auguste Rodin :French sculptor. His most famous work is The Thinker. He had a
 Gabrielle Reece learning disability.
 Serena and Venus Williams Admiral Peary :American arctic explorer and naval officer. He had a
 Jon Moseley communicative disorder.
 Tiger Woods Vaslav Nijinsky :Russian ballet dancer and choreographer. He was mentally ill.
Tom Cruise :Hollywood super-star. He's severly dyslexic, but he's able to
memorize lines.
Jim Abbott :American baseball player (pitcher). He was born without a right hand.
Marlee Matlin :Film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for her role
in Children of a Lesser God. She is hearing impaired.
5.Musical Intelligence (“music smart”)

Musical intelligence refers to the skill in the performance,

composition, and appreciation of musical patterns.
People with musical intelligence, such as Beethoven and Ed
Sheeran, have an ability to recognize and create musical
Potential Career Choices
pitch, rhythm, timbre, and tone.
Careers you could dominate with your
musical intelligence:
• Singer
• Composer
• DJ
• Musician
 Examples of Famous People with high Musical
Intelligence 
Sarah Chang (violinist) Here's a list of performers and composers who hit some high notes in their careers. Each of
them also happened to live with a disability. Their unique combination of intelligences --
Michael Jackson (performer) strengths as well as weaknesses -- made them such successful people.
Cher
Mozart (composer/musician) Pop star and Academy Award-winning actress. You know she's an outrageous dresser, but did
Paul McCartney (singer/songwriter) you know she's dyslexic?
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Marin Alsop (conductor) Russian pianist, composer, and conductor. He had a learning disability.
Schumann
Carlos Santana German composer and music critic. A hand injury forced him to abandon a career as a
pianist. He had a mental illness.
Barbara Streisand Itzhak Perlman
Leonard Bernstein Celebrated Israeli violinist. He contracted polio as a child.
Ludwig van Beethoven
Jimi Hendrix Revolutionary German composer who lost his hearing as an adult. Though he could no
longer perform, he continued to compose works of great depth and complexity.
Paul Simon Stevie Wonder
Award-winning singer, composer, producer, arranger, and instrumentalist. He signed his first
Sarah Brightman
record deal at age 10. He has been blind since birth.
Miles Davis
 6.Interpersonal Intelligence 
(“people smart”)

 Interpersonal intelligence is the capacity to

understand the intentions, motivations, and
desires of other people and consequently to
work effectively with others.
 People with interpersonal intelligence, such as
Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa, have an
ability to recognize and understand other Potential Career Choices
Careers you could dominate with your
people’s moods, desires, motivations, and
interpersonal intelligence:
intentions. • Teacher
• Psychologist
• Manager
• Salespeople
• Public Relations
Examples of Famous People with high
Interpersonal Intelligence 
 Mahatma Gandhi
 Mother Teresa
 Oprah Winfrey
 Bill Clinton
 Confucius
 Jean Paul Sartre
 Gandhi
 Martin Luther King, Jr.
Here's a list of some great thinkers and leaders who also happened to live with a disability. Their
unique combination of intelligences--strengths as well as weaknesses--made them such successful
people.
Helen Keller
This American author, lecturer, and humanitarian was blind, deaf, and mute. Her life story and
writings continue to inspire people from all walks of life.
General George Patton
This brilliant American military strategist who served in both World Wars was dyslexic.
Nietzsche
This German philosopher's theories had a widespread influence on social, political, and cultural
movements throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. He had a behavioral disorder.
Aldous Huxley
This British writer and social critic is best known for his visionary, futuristic novel Brave New
World (1932). Huxley was sight impaired.
Aristotle
This eloquent Greek philosopher studied under Plato and had a profound influence on western
thought. Aristotle was a brilliant orator and thinker who also had a communicative disorder.
 7.Intrapersonal Intelligence 
(“self smart”)

 Intrapersonal intelligence is the capacity to understand

oneself, to have an effective working model of oneself-
including own’s desires, fears, and capacities—and to use
such information effectively in regulating one’s own life. Potential Career Choices
 People with intrapersonal intelligence, such as Aristotle and Careers you could dominate with your
Maya Angelou, have an ability to recognize and understand intrapersonal intelligence:
his or her own moods, desires, motivations, and intentions. • Therapist
 This type of intelligence can help a person to understand • Psychologist
which life goals are important and how to achieve them. • Counselor
• Entrepreneur
• Clergy
Examples of Famous People with high Intrapersonal Intelligence 

 Mark Zuckerberg
 Virginia Woolf
 Albert Einstein
 Martin Luther King Jr.
 Michelle Obama
 Amartya Sen 
 Anne Frank
 Mahatma Gandhi
 Leonard Cohen
 Emma Watson
 8.Naturalist intelligence (“nature smart”)

 Naturalistic intelligence involves expertise in the

recognition and classification of the numerous species—
the flora and fauna—of his or her environment.
 People with naturalistic intelligence, such as Charles
Darwin and Jane Goddall, have an ability to identify and Potential Career Choices
distinguish among different types of plants, animals, and Careers you could dominate with your
naturalist intelligence:
weather formations that are found in the natural world. • Botanist
• Biologist
• Astronomer
• Meteorologist
• Geologist
Examples of Famous People with high Naturalist intelligence 

 John Muir
 Rachel Carson
 Charles Darwin
 John James Audubon
 Jacques Cousteau
 David Suzuki
 Jane Goodall
 Steve Erwin
 Neil deGrasse Tyson,
 Implications for Learning

A common misconception about the theory of multiple intelligences is that it is synonymous with learning styles.
Gardner states that learning styles refer to the way an individual is most comfortable approaching a range of tasks
and materials.
Multiple intelligences theory states that everyone has all eight intelligences at varying degrees of proficiency and
an individual’s learning style is unrelated to the areas in which they are the most intelligent.
For example, someone with linguistic intelligence may not necessarily learn best through writing and reading.
Classifying students by their learning styles or intelligences alone may limit their potential for learning.
Research shows that students are more engaged and learn best when they are given various ways to demonstrate
their knowledge and skills, which also helps teachers more accurately assess student learning
In the classroom

By applying the theory of multiple intelligences in the classroom, educators take into
consideration the different types of learners they might have in their class, reinforce all
types of intelligences in every student, and allow for an individual learning process that
will ultimately enable each learner to utilise his or her specific abilities and demonstrate
learning.
Presenting topics using the theory of  multiple intelligences, that is using different
pathways and tools to study information, can have a very positive effect on our students’
learning experience. Incorporating for example, role play, collaborative work, picture
puzzles or field trips allows for a learning experience that will not only allow different
types of learners to learn but will enrich every individual’s understanding of the topic.
 
Thank you