Howard Garners Theory of Multiple Intelligences - Literature review Example

Because of the never ending debate in theories of intelligence, it is helpful to take a deeper look to one of the most important work and theory discovered by Howard Gardner. This paper aims to intensely discuss how to describe the nature of intelligence by studying Howard Garner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences. Gardner (1983), in the end, identifies eight (8) intelligences and suggests that intelligence lies on not one but eight bell curves, one for each type of intelligence. Introduction What is intelligence? A normal person will definitely answer it as the ability to think and understand things. Intelligence is the capacity of the person to understand situations, solve and answer problems, ability to read and write and comprehend ideas. Students sometimes regard intelligence as one of the vital or major determinant of success. An intelligent person is believed to be more likely to become successful in the future. But these definitions are what people understood of the word. What really is intelligence according to the experts and scholars? Definition of Intelligence There are various definitions of intelligence. Kowalski and Westen (2009) stated that intelligence can be defined comprehensively, functionally, and culturally. Intelligence is said to be multifaceted because it can be expressed in many fields. Intelligence can be expressed in the realm of academics, sports, music, dance, and even cooking. A person is said to be intelligent if he excels in school, ranks first in chess, tops in the world best pianist, excels in street dancing and even ranks as the best world chef. Therefore, defining intelligence in this way is identifying a person’s capability and competence in different fields. The second way to define intelligence is defining it through function. An intelligent behaviour is said to be the ability to accomplish a task or solving a problem or crisis (Kowalski and Westen, 2009)Thus according to Kowalski and Westen (2009), intelligence can be defined as the “the use of cognitive skills to solve problems or obtain desired ends.” A person is said to be intelligent if he is able to overcome problems by using his skills to solve it. The ability to survive against tests and trials by a person is an indication of intelligence. Even without proper education and training, a person is deemed intelligent if he is able to survive and solve problems not only in academics but in life in general. Another way to define intelligence is culturally. Gardner (1983) defined intelligence as “as the application of cognitive skills and knowledge to learn, solve problems, and obtain ends that are valued by an individual or culture.” Intelligence is therefore influenced by the personal qualities, skills, and cognitive styles that cultures value and foster tend to be related to their ecology and social structure (Kowalski and Westen, 2009). Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences The famous theorist Howard Gardner views intelligence as “an ability or set of abilities that is used to solve problems or fashion products that are of consequence in a particular cultural setting”(Walters & Gardner, 1986, p.165). According to Gardner (1997), the only question you need to ask yourself is “How are you smart?”(Chen & Gardner, 1997). Now we come to the discussion of the famous theory of Multiple Intelligences which Gardner listed eight intelligences namely: musical, bodily/kinaesthetic (such as the control over the body and movement that distinguishes great (athletes and dancers), spatial (the use of mental maps), linguistic or verbal, logical/mathematical, naturalist, intrapersonal (self-understanding), and interpersonal (social skills). According to Gardner (1983), a person can be intelligent in Music but terrible in body-kinesthetic. Someone who is really brilliant in Math is horrific in linguistics. Thus, in this theory, Gardner claims that these intelligences hardly ever operate independently but they are utilized at the same time and complement each other in solving problems. Thus in his theory, Gardner (1999) claims that humans possess sets of intelligences and their challenge is how to develop these intelligences. Impact of Multiple Intelligences Linguistic Intelligence can be said to cater the verbal intelligence of a person. It is how the person speaks and uses his spoken and written language to communicate and accomplish or solve a problem. I believe that this kind of intelligence can help a person achieve his or her goals by being able to communicate and express oneself through language. The people who have high linguistic intelligence are presumed to become successful lawyers, poets, speakers and writers. These kinds of professions use language to excel and overcome the challenges. A person cannot be a good lawyer if he or she does not know how to express himself or her. A lawyer needs language to do the job. It deals with clients and defense which is done by trial in public. Also, before a person can become a lawyer, he or she needs to read thousands of articles and cases, piles of books, and memorize provisions. If a person has high linguistic intelligence, all of these challenges will be conquered without difficulty. Thus for me to be able to succeed in this line of profession, then I really have to develop my writing and speaking skills and become comfortable communicating with people and expressing myself through language. Bodily-kinesthetics intelligence deals with the body movements and its capacity to solve issues or problems. This is in connection with the mental abilities to control and coordinate physical movements. This type of intelligence can help me succeed by enhancing the strength and skills of my body to become a great athlete. Pursuing a career in sports is a good career path for me. I always dreamt of becoming a famous athlete. By developing the capabilities of mental control of physical movements, I can definitely have a spot in the hall of fame for famous athletes of the world. Logical-mathematical intelligence is consist of the ability to analyze problems logically, solve mathematical problems, and experiment and resolve scientific issues. It is simply the ability to reason deductively and think rationally. This type of intelligence is very helpful when you choose the path of becoming a scientist. Logical-mathematical intelligence is the most important factor to help a person become a successful scientist because science is about numbers, experiments, logical thinking and problem solving. This vocation requires complicated or complex thinking thus a well developed logical-mathematical intelligence to handle and surpass all the challenges ahead. Conclusion There are a lot of ways on how to define intelligence. But as described by Kowalski and Westen (2009), intelligence is “the application of cognitive skills and knowledge to learn, solve problems, and obtain ends that are valued by an individual or culture. Intelligence is multifaceted and functional, directed at problems of adaptation. It is also to some extent culturally shaped and culturally defined, since cultural practices support and recognize intellectual qualities that are useful in the social and ecological context.” Intelligence can be defined in many ways, but it all ends to the capability of humans to survive and achieve their goals or ends. Of the many theories about intelligence, Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences is one of the most popular among the academe. Gardner (1983) indentifies eight multiple intelligences which include musical, bodily/kinesthetic, spatial, linguistic or verbal, logical/mathematical, naturalist, intrapersonal, and interpersonal intelligences. These intelligences complement each other. The challenge is how human will develop these capabilities to help them achieve their personal success. Reference: Kowalski, R. & Westen, D. (2009). Psychology (5th ed.).Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Read More