Background Information on Multiple Intelligences
Find information on Multiple Intelligences -- what this means for your child and your understanding of him or her.
In this article, you will find:
Introduction
What are multiple intelligences?
How do multiple intelligences work?
What do the special gift checklists measure?
What are multiple intelligences?
In his groundbreaking 1983 book, Frames of Mind, Harvard professor of education Howard Gardner theorized that people can be smart in a number of ways. He suggests that environments, cultures, and genetic makeups determine how all of our intelligences work together, and which ones become more developed. Gardner eventually came up with a list of eight recognized intelligences:
- Linguistic
- Logical-Mathematical
- Spatial
- Musical
- Bodily-Kinesthetic
- Interpersonal
- Intrapersonal
- Naturalist
In 1994, author Thomas Armstrong incorporated Gardner's theory in his book, Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom (ASCD, 1994). The checklists we've used in this online questionnaire are from his book.
The information about Multiple Intelligences that appears on each "intelligence page" is adapted from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Developments' (ASCD) Professional Development Online.