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I am a believer in Gardener’s Multiple Intelligences and as such I know and understand that the ‘one size fits all’ method that has permeated our education system cannot work to bring out the creativity and resourcefulness of the human beings we have pledged, as teachers, to cultivate. Thus, the teacher must create an environment in which the student learns the tools of problem solving and have ways in which they can combine and apply these tools to solve real world problems. Howard Gardner of Harvard University in his book, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, states that there are seven human intelligences, of which two, the verbal/linguistic intelligence and logical/mathematical intelligence, have dominated the traditional education system of western societies. The remaining five non-traditional intelligences are known as the spatial, musical, kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal, have generally been overlooked in education. “If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place.” Margaret Mead. However, to engage all seven intelligences, we will increase the possibilities for students’ success and create opportunities to, in Margaret Mead’s words, "weave a social fabric in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place." by developing ways to teach and learn each one. Expounding on the intelligences: Intrapersonal Intelligence – students will explore the present area of study through individual projects, reflection, or research. Interpersonal Intelligence - students develop cooperative learning skills through problem solving, answering questions, creating learning games, brainstorming ideas and discussing that day’s topic collaboratively. Musical Intelligence - students can compose and perform songs about the subject matter, build their own instruments, and learn through rhythm. Spatial Intelligence – students can explore the area of a subject using various art media, manipulables, puzzles, charts, and pictures. Kinesthetic Intelligence - students build models, dramatize events, and perform though dance, all in ways that relate to the content of that day’s subject matter. Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence - students read, write, and learn in the traditional mode of the country you reside. Information is analyzed and organized in written form. Logical/ Mathematical Intelligence - students work with manipulatives, mathematical concepts and games, science experiments, deductive reasoning, hypothesis creation and problem solving. As the information age provides the students to interact in ways that were never possible before, it is the amount background knowledge or schemata that will prove quite valuable to how much and how quickly a student can learn. Schemata are the experiences that a students have had before and the knowledge and understanding that they have built up. This is the scaffold on which new experiences are built. Through this they have the ability and desire to create societal connections. In this students work with or attempt to associate with other students that possess the knowledge or skills they would like to learn. They then watch and mimic, often times without proper instruction and they do this in a myriad of ways, hence the need for the intelligences. Students’ schema also looks at how new things learnt connect to the environment and world at large as knowledge is no longer see in bits and pieces but something connected and fluid. Through all this, the theory which best can equip students for the challenges of this century is the multiple intelligence as it encompasses all these ideas and can be used to prepare these students to challenge and develop this world. References Margaret Mead Quotes. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved March 10, 2020, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/margaret_mead_132704
