Multiple intelligences
Multiple intelligences is Howard Gardner's 1983 theory that human ability is not one general intelligence but several separate ones, such as linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial and musical. It is popular in schools, but research has not shown that the eight intelligences are independent, or that teaching to a student's strongest one raises learning.
In more detail
Gardner named eight: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalistic. He argued that school tests mostly measure the first two and that a person can be strong in one area and average in another. The theory first appeared in his book Frames of Mind (1983).
Psychologists push back on two points. Scores on different cognitive tests tend to correlate, which points to a general factor rather than independent intelligences, and studies have not found that matching teaching to a preferred intelligence improves results. Gardner himself has said the theory is not a teaching method and is not the same thing as learning styles.
The useful part is simpler. Presenting an idea in more than one way, through words, a diagram, an example, a problem to solve or a discussion, helps nearly everyone, because memory gets more routes to the same idea. Use it to vary how you practice a topic, not to label yourself as a visual or musical person.
Example
Mia says she is a spatial learner, so she only redraws the diagrams from her biology slides. A quiz shows she cannot explain the processes in words. She adds a second pass: draw the cell cycle, then explain each stage out loud in two sentences. The drawing helps, and the explanation fixes the gap the drawing hid.
How to use it
- 1
Pick the topic you find hardest, not the format you like best.
- 2
Study it in two forms, for example a diagram and a written explanation.
- 3
Test yourself with a question you must answer in words or numbers, not by recognizing a picture.
- 4
Keep the form that exposes your gaps, even if it feels less comfortable.
How StudyPDF does this
StudyPDF turns the same material into different forms: flashcards that can carry figures from your slides, a mind map, a quiz and a study guide. Use them to see a topic from several angles, and let the per-concept results, weakest first, tell you where to spend your time instead of a type label.
See also
Common questions
What are the 8 multiple intelligences?
Linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalistic. Gardner proposed seven in 1983 and added the naturalistic one later.
Is the theory of multiple intelligences proven?
Not in its strong form. Many psychologists see it as a useful way to describe varied talents, but not as a set of independent intelligences, and there is no solid evidence that teaching to a preferred type improves learning.
Put it to work on your own course
Upload your lectures and ask Bo. Cited answers, plus flashcards, exams, and more built from your material.