BMCC Early Childhood Education Program

I recently started a Blog page on Early Childhood Ed topics. This is a copy of my first post.

Multiple Intelligence Theory- A Mind Mash-up

Some years ago when I was still employed in an Early Childhood Education program as the Education/Disabilities Director, I had the good fortune to be able to listen to a lengthy lecture by Dr. Howard Gardner on Multiple Intelligence Theory in Education. This was the first time I had heard of the concept and I, at first, was having a hard time 'hearing' what Dr. Gardner was saying to me. As is my style, I had to mull it over for a while to understand for myself and tease out what was important to me as an educator.

The most important immediate takeaway for me was 'how was this information valuable to me as an individual person?'. I wanted to know about MY intelligences and how I fit in within this theory. So I began to read.

Initially, Gardner came up with several categories of intelligence. They are presented to us as eight, non-static, measurable ways of being of which we all have varying degrees. They are non-static, according to Gardner, because we can increase these levels. And, they can also, as I can attest, decrease in level. It seems as natural as breathing to me now, but at first the idea was contra to all of the typical testing and hype about a static, singly measured I.Q.; Gardner calls each of them a " mental computational power", and it has rocked my educational world.

Visual-spatial intelligence
Linguistic-verbal intelligence
Mathematical intelligence
Kinesthetic intelligence
Musical intelligence
Interpersonal intelligence
Intrapersonal intelligence
Naturalistic intelligence
An additional suggested intelligence that Gardner has proposed is Existential intelligence.

So where was I going with this? Oh yeah, I remember. I currently no longer work directly with young children but have taken on the role of an instructor in a two-year college teaching teachers of young children the basic stuff they need to become the best teachers they can. In many of my courses, I talk a bit about multiple intelligences and have them all take a little quiz to find out where they may fall on the scale of each. We talk about how to observe children to see where maybe their strengths are and what intelligences they are 'working on'. We play with it and have fun, but in all seriousness, I hope we do enough to help inform teacher decision-making when it comes to guiding young children. There is just so much more we can do to energize learning for children.

Howard Gardner is still alive and well and working with Harvard Graduate School and Project Zero. I went to the website for Project Zero and found a wonderful example of how focusing on these "mental computational power" can become exhilarating learning opportunities. I found an article there, The Evolution of Passion Day at the International School of Billund. When I read the article I was so excited! I even found a FaceBook link with a short video posted on the school site.
https://www.facebook.com/isbillund/videos/327047471029171/?v=327047471029171
On this atypical school day, children planned and chose activities they had interest or "passion" in. They spent time on the things that energized their learning- their agenda not teacher's. Adults acted as guides and facilitators to what seemed to be an exciting curriculum involving, face painting, sewing, skateboarding, learning to play a musical instrument, science and food experiences and much more. This is the kind of education I would have loved as a geeky, artsy, looking out the window instead of focusing, kind of kid. I think I will go find something to do right now that feeds my passion.

Gardner, H. (1983;2003). Frames of Mind. The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: BasicBooks.
Cherry, K. (2019, March 09). Howard Gardner Bibliography. Retrieved from Https://www.verywellmind.com.
The Evolution of Passion Day. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.pz.harvard.edu.