Kristen Naylor

Theorist Paper
Howard Gardner was born in 1943 in Scranton, Pennsylvania to World War II German
immigrants. Certain familial events, such as the holocaust and the death of an older brother
shortly before his birth, greatly shaped Gardners life and thinking. In 1961, he entered Harvard
with the goal of studying history, but, due to the influence of Erik Erikson, a tutor of his, he
began edging towards social sciences and psychology instead. Gardner completed a PhD in
1971 with a dissertation on style sensitivity in children (Smith, Mark K., 2002, 2008). He has
authored hundreds of research articles, and his 23 books [which] have been translated into more
than 20 languages (Plucker, J., 2007).
In 1983 Gardner developed his theory of multiple intelligences. These intelligences
identify the way individuals learn and comprehend material. The original 7 intelligences were:
bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical and
spatial, with existential and naturalistic also included by Gardner in 1999 (Smith, Mark K., 2002,
2008).
Bodily-kinesthetic involves learning through physical use of the environment,
understanding and learning through concrete experiences. Individuals within this intelligence are
often very physical and active, which Gardner believes is directly related to mental processes.
Being very bodily aware, professions for these individuals often include things such as dancer
and/or surgeon.
Interpersonal learners learn through their interactions with others, and to understand their
intentions, motivations, and desires. These people are often work well with others, and can
commonly be found in careers such as educators, salespeople, religious, counselors and politics.

Kristen Naylor
Theorist Paper
Feelings, fears, motivations, attitudes, values, are common ways through which
intrapersonal learners learn. These individuals tend to be in tune with their own feelings and shy
away from others.
Linguistic learners learn most through spoken and written words. Often these people
become writers, poets, lawyers and public speakers. This intelligence is often the traditionally
valued intelligence and is therefore the most used in classroom instruction.
Problem solving skills and logical reasoning, mathematics and sciences are typical
characteristics of logical-mathematical learners. This intelligence is also traditionally valued and
often used in classroom instruction.
Musical and rhythmic learners using the senses, auditory and otherwise, and the patterns,
rhythms, composition and performance of music. Gardner believes this intelligence is very
similar to linguistic intelligence.
Visual-spatial intelligence involves seeing concepts and ideas and the patterns of the
environment in physical space, as well as in mental planning. These individuals enjoy drawing,
jigsaw puzzles, maps, and daydreaming. Often found in professions specializing in these skills
such as architects.
An existential intelligence is often concerned with the big picture of life. Why humans
exist and our roles within our environments and the world as a whole.
Naturalistic intelligence allows individuals to learn through the features of the
environment, using classifications and categories.
Individuals in each of these intelligences learn in different ways as evidenced by the
characteristics of the style, and therefore they often require different resources to help them
understand materials. For example models, graphs and charts for visual-spatial learners; physical,

Kristen Naylor
Theorist Paper
hands-on learning activities for bodily-kinesthetic; group activities, seminars, and dialogues for
interpersonal learners; books diaries and privacy for intrapersonal learners; and computers,
games, books and lecture for linguistics.
Several events in my life have led me to understand this theory and to value its
application.
As a student in middle and high school I often found that there were times I didnt feel
like I properly understood the material, but when asked to help someone else or when explained
the material in a different way I would feel like things suddenly completely clicked and I
understood the whole thing. For example, a math problem would be explained by the teacher and
I could understand how the answer was achieved, but couldnt replicate that process on a
different problem. But when someone would show me an alternate way of thinking about the
material I would understand that method and could apply it to the way the process was first
taught, and therefore could do all the problems properly.
Recently someone asked me to help them to understand a basic algebra chapter. After a
bit of reading through the examples I was able to understand the material and began to explain it.
I was showing her based on the way the chapter taught the material, but she still did not
understand. So instead I asked her to try to do the problem as far as she could get. In doing so, I
got a feel for how she understood the material and was able to adjust how I was explaining it in a
way that she could understand. After a problem or two of teaching it to her that way she was able
to fully understand the concepts and do the problems on her own, and get the correct answers. If
it wasnt for the fact that I fully understood the material and was able to understand how she
learns best I was able to teach her in a way that met her at the highest point she was able to reach
on her own and raise her to fully understanding.

Kristen Naylor
Theorist Paper
One final event that has solidified my belief in this theory is an experience I had with a
past professor. She was also a firm believer of this, and understood the importance of these
different intelligences. She would encourage everyone to do things that would help them to learn
better, even going so far as to provide materials as aids. She provided pens and pencils and
markers in different colors, and playdoh, among other things; allowing people to pick what
works best for them and for the way they learn.
Because of all these things, I believe that it is very important for all educators to
understand the learning styles and intelligences of their students. Our role as educators, from
young children all the way through higher education (masters degrees and PhD programs), is to
provide the students with as much information as possible and to fully educate them as best we
can. The best way to do this is through fully understanding the individual and knowing how to
meet them on their level of how they learn and what they already know and using that to shape
how we present other information to them. Just as NAEYC says we should use developmentally
appropriate practice, using knowledge of how children grow and develop and knowing their
individual and cultural differences in how we build our curriculum, so should we incorporate the
idea of the intelligences of the children, as that influences the development and learning potential
as well. Knowing and understanding this theory and the children being taught fully allows us as
educators to help them reach their highest learning potential.

Kristen Naylor
Theorist Paper
References
Gardner, H. (n.d.). One way of making a social scientist. Retrieved from
http://www.howardgardner.com/docs/One Way of Making a Social Scientist.pdf
Lane, C. (n.d.). Multiple intelligences. Retrieved from http://www.tecweb.org/styles/gardner.html
McClellan, J. A., & Conti, G. J. (2008). Identifying the multiple intelligences of your students.
Journal of Adult Education, 37(1), 13-32. Retrieved from
http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ891071.pdf
Plucker , J. (2007, July 25). Human intelligence: Howard Gardner. Retrieved from
http://www.indiana.edu/~intell/gardner.shtml
Smith, Mark K. (2002, 2008) 'Howard Gardner and multiple intelligences', the encyclopedia of
informal education, Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm.