Multiple Intelligence Theory in Practice

Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence theory, used carefully as a planning lens and not as fixed labels for students, translates into specific teaching activities a reflective practitioner can pick from. The modalities below are the working list.

The same caveat applies. Studies referenced in current literature treat the strong version of MI (distinct, fixed intelligences in individuals) with caution. The planning use of MI, broadening the kinds of activities offered, holds up better than the labelling use.

The intelligences and their activities

There are commonly eight or nine recognised modalities in MI work. Each one can be translated into specific activities for the classroom and for the teacher’s own growth.

Verbal / linguistic

This intelligence concerns learning through the spoken and written word. It has long been valued in traditional classrooms and traditional assessments of intelligence and achievement.

Activities that draw on this modality include lecture, reading, writing, reporting, presenting, reciting, discussing, and online discussion.

A lesson that includes only verbal/linguistic activity is the default in many schools. The reflective practitioner notices when this default has taken over and varies it deliberately.

Logical / mathematical

This is learning through reasoning and problem-solving. It has also been highly valued in traditional classrooms, especially through logically sequenced delivery of instruction.

Activities include problem-solving, brainstorming, hypothesising, investigating, experimenting, Socratic method, and online searching.

This modality lends itself to inquiry-based teaching. A teacher who builds in genuine problem-solving rather than working through pre-set answers gives students space to use this kind of thinking.

Visual / spatial

This is learning visually and organising ideas spatially. It includes seeing concepts in action to understand them, and the ability to picture things mentally when planning to create a product or solve a problem.

Activities include observing, symbolising, drawing, outlining, conceiving, imagining, visualising, and video.

A reflective teacher whose lessons rarely include visual representation often misses opportunities to make abstract ideas more accessible.

Bodily / kinaesthetic

This is learning through interaction with one’s environment. It is not the domain only of overly active learners. It promotes understanding through concrete experience.

Activities include building, imitating, and performing.

In subjects like science, where concepts can be embodied through hands-on work, kinaesthetic activity is natural. In subjects often taught entirely through text, the reflective teacher has to work harder to include it.

Musical / rhythmic

This is learning through patterns, rhythms, and music. It includes auditory learning but extends to identifying patterns through all the senses.

Activities include listening, patterning, mirroring, and repeating.

This modality is often underused in subjects that are not explicitly musical. The reflective teacher can notice this gap and consider whether pattern-based or rhythmic approaches could serve a particular topic.

Intrapersonal

This is learning through feelings, values, and attitudes. It is the affective component of learning, where students place value on what they learn and take ownership of it.

Activities include supporting, advising, advocating, characterising, defending, evaluating, judging, and challenging. These are activities that ask the student to bring their own values and stance to the work.

A teacher whose lessons leave no room for personal stance often produces students who can recall but do not own the material.

Interpersonal

This is learning through interaction with others. It is not simply being talkative or social. It promotes collaboration and working cooperatively.

Activities include sharing, leading, helping, managing, collaborating, influencing, and team-building.

Group work draws on this modality, but only when the group work is genuinely cooperative rather than parallel work in clusters. The reflective teacher distinguishes between the two.

Naturalistic

This is learning through classification and categories. It picks up on subtle differences in meaning. It is not simply the study of nature; it can be used in all areas of study.

Activities include categorising, contrasting, classifying, organising, semantic or concept mapping, and graphing.

Concept mapping in particular is a versatile tool that draws on this modality and supports learning across many subjects.

Existential

This is learning by seeing the big picture. It asks questions like: why are we here, what is my place in my family, school, and community. It seeks connections to real-world understanding and the application of new learning.

This modality does not have a fixed activity set. It shows up when lessons include reflective questions that connect content to wider meaning.

A teacher who never connects content to wider meaning misses this modality. A teacher who occasionally pauses to ask “what does this mean for how we live” engages it.

Planning with MI: a useful rule of thumb

For any sort of identity-building activity, a useful rule is to focus on at least three intelligences and no more than five.

The reasoning is simple. Fewer than three intelligences and the activity stays narrow, missing the point of using MI as a planning lens. More than five and the activity becomes scattered, with no modality engaged deeply.

Three to five gives variety without dilution. The teacher picks the modalities deliberately based on what the lesson is trying to achieve.

Using MI for the reflective practitioner’s own growth

MI is not only a tool for designing lessons. It can also be a lens for the reflective practitioner’s own professional development.

The practitioner can ask:

1. Which modalities am I strongest in as a learner and as a teacher?
2. Which modalities am I weakest in or most uncomfortable with?
3. What would it look like to develop a weak modality?

A teacher whose own learning has always been verbal can deliberately work on visual or kinaesthetic approaches. The growth often parallels the development of new teaching strategies.

This use of MI is internal. It is about the teacher’s own development, not about students.

A path to growing professional identity through MI

The reflective practitioner can think of professional identity growth as a path through the intelligences. Different modalities support different aspects of identity development.

For example:

1. Visual/spatial modalities support the practitioner’s ability to see patterns in their own teaching, including reflective concept maps and visual records of practice.
2. Verbal/linguistic modalities support articulation of the practitioner’s beliefs, values, and reflections in writing.
3. Logical/mathematical modalities support analysis of patterns in evidence, including data from student work and observation.
4. Intrapersonal modalities support self-reflection, awareness of values, and the kind of inner work that surfaces PPT.
5. Interpersonal modalities support participation in professional communities, mentoring relationships, and collaboration.
6. Existential modalities support reflection on the larger purposes of teaching.

A practitioner who develops along several of these paths simultaneously builds a more rounded professional identity than one who develops through a single modality.

Flashcard

What is the rule of thumb for using MI in lesson design, and what cautious use of MI does current research support?

Tap to reveal

Answer

Focus on at least three modalities and no more than five for variety without dilution.

Current research supports using MI as a planning lens for varied lessons and as a frame for the teacher’s own development. It is more cautious about using MI as fixed-trait labels for individual students. The recommended use is for designing varied teaching, broadening the teacher’s repertoire, and reflecting on which modalities the teacher uses or avoids in their own practice.

Limits and what to keep in mind

Three reminders are worth holding when using MI in practice.

1. The modalities are useful categories, not strict scientific separations. Real activities usually draw on several modalities at once.
2. Students are not best served by being labelled. A student who happens to engage well with kinaesthetic activity in one context may engage well with verbal activity in another. Fixed labels close off possibilities.
3. Variety is the practical takeaway. Whether or not the strong theoretical claims about distinct intelligences hold up, the practice of designing varied lessons is well supported.

A reflective teacher uses MI as a tool. The tool is most useful for planning and self-reflection. It is least useful as a way to sort students into types.