Multiple Intelligences, lecture by Prof. Howard Gardner

On 7 February, 2012 we got an unusual and special opportunity to attend a public lecture on Multiple Intelligences and child-centered education by Prof. Howard Gardner at Talkatora Stadium. 5 of us teachers, Principal ma'am, Ms.Viji Vasudev, Ms. Meenakshi Malhotra, Ms. Sukhmeen and Ms. Gandharvi Mukherjee attended.   Prof. Howard Gardner is widely known across the globe as the father of the famed theory of Multiple Intelligences. Needless to say it was a once- in a- lifetime opportunity to be face- to- face with the worlds most influential educator. The lecture commenced a little after the scheduled time at around 3:45 pm. The presenter for the afternoon, Ashish Rajpal of iDiscoveri introduced Prof. Gardner to the audience and later welcomed him on stage. Prof. Gardner started by saying that the society as a whole would be better served if disciplines could be presented in a diverse ways and learning be assessed similarly by a variety of means. He named 8 kinds of intelligences in his theory that he described in his lecture:   1. Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence ( word smart)-students with this intelligence display a facility with words and language and are typically good at reading, writing, telling stories and memorising words and dates; 2. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence(Number/Reasoning Smart)-They think conceptually in logical and numerical patterns making connections between pieces of information. They are good at problem-solving, classifying and categorising information and working with abstract concepts. 3. Visual-Spatial Intelligence ( Picture Smart)-They tend to think in pictures and need to create vivid mental images to retain information. Their skills include puzzle-building, reading, writing, understanding charts and graphs,sketching, painting etc. 4. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence ( Body Smart)- They express themselves through movements of the body. Their skills include dancing, physical co-ordination, crafts, acting, miming and expressing emotions through the body. 5. Musical Intelligence ( Music smart)- They think in sounds, rhythms and patterns. They are good at singing, whistling, playing musical instruments and composing music. 6. Interpersonal Intelligence ( People Smart)- They try to see things from another's point of view in order to understand how they think and feel. Their skills include seeing things from other perspectives, listening, empathising,co-operating within groups etc. 7. Intra-personal Intelligence ( Self Smart)- They try to understand their inner feelings, dreams, relationships with others and their strengths and weaknesses. They are good at reflecting and analysing themselves and evaluating their thinking patterns. 8. Naturalist Intelligence ( Nature Smart)- They are excellent at recognising and classifying both the animal and plant kingdoms and show an understanding of natural phenomena. Their skills include observing, collecting and categorising things in nature. Prof. Gardner also spoke about the symptoms of good work, that are the 3 Es, namely, -Excellence, -Ethics and -Engagement He said that it is very important to understand who is good at what and what best can be done to bring out that best. He said, we, as educators must also understand that every child is influenced by a different mental psychology and intelligence and therefore all cannot be treated in the same traditional way. We first need to understand the characteristic of every individual student and then apply the method of teaching according to his/ her psychological interest and ability. Prof. Gardner summed up his lecture with the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson Character is more important than intellect. As reported by Ms. Gandharvi Mukherjee, teacher.