Multiple Intelligence Inventory

As a result of this assignment, students will:

acquire a basic understanding of Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligence
take a Multiple Intelligence Assessment to determine individual strengths and weaknesses
formulate a thesis that reflects their personal intelligence profile in the context of their educational experiences
provide ample evidence to support a thesis
demonstrate basic essay-writing proficiency

This assignment will require that you analyze your characteristics as a learner. (Psychologists call this metacognition, which means learning about how you learn.) Once you've taken inventory, you will formulate a generalization about your personal intelligence profile. Then, you will seek to support your analysis with specific evidence from your personal history as a learner.

Before we talk about the assignment specifically, however, I want you to reflect a bit about your experiences as a student. Are there certain classes you enjoy more than others? Do you think you are smarter in certain disciplines? Have you had a good experience with standardized tests? Can you recall a time in class when you felt stupid? It's likely that the way you answered these questions reveals a good deal about your history as a learner. Fact is, we all have different strengths and weaknesses--something that isn't always accounted for in the typical "one size fits all" bureaucracy.

Traditionally, most standardized tests (such as the ACT) have focused almost exclusively on specific types of learning. Educational reformer Howard Gardner, however, author of the idea of Multiple Intelligence, asserts that mental ability can be measured in at least eight different ways:

Linguistic: People with a strong linguistic intelligence often love to read, play with words, write, do crossword puzzles, and invent word games.
Logical-Mathematical: People with a strong logical-mathematical intelligence often like math, computer programming, logic puzzles, and problem solving.
Spatial: People with a strong spatial intelligence often read maps well, know where they are in space in terms of directions, and may be artists.
Bodily-Kinesthetic: People with a strong bodily-kinesthetic intelligence often need to move to learn, enjoy feeling their bodies move, may be athletes or sports enthusiasts, and are physically active.
Musical: People with a strong musical intelligence often enjoy and appreciate musical performances, may play an instrument or sing, enjoy melodic speech and writing, and may compose music.
Interpersonal: People with a strong interpersonal intelligence learn best by talking ideas over with other people, like collaborating on projects, and enjoy meeting and spending time with people.
Intrapersonal: People with a strong intrapersonal intelligence learn best on their own, at least at first, and have a good understanding of their own thinking.
Naturalistic: People with a strong naturalist intelligence enjoy being outside, see and enjoy patterns in nature, are proficient at understanding the natural world.

This idea of Multiple Intelligence has reframed the way many view traditional teaching and testing methodologies. Some feel it would be more appropriate to shift our approach in education from determining if people are smart to identifying how people are smart. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of an individual learner, perhaps we can better devise curricula that enables students to use their strengths to become better learners.

Consequently, I'd like you to begin this assignment by taking an informal Multiple Intelligence assessment. (Some additional informal multiple intelligence assessments are available here, here, and here.) This assessment should not be considered as an absolute indicator of your intelligence profile, but it does give you a basic idea of your strengths and weaknesses. All you need to do is check one box (on a scale from 1 to 5) from each dropdown list of the 70 descriptors. When you are done click the "submit form" button at the bottom of the page and note your results.

Having completed the test, make sure and print out or in some way record your results. Then spend some time reading over the different types of intelligence by perusing some of the following links, so you'll have an understanding of what each intelligence entails:

Also, the chart below, taken from Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom (2nd Edition) by Thomas Armstrong, provides a concise overview of the different types of learners and how they learn best.

**Eight Ways of Learning**
Students who are highly:	Think	Love	Need
Linguistic	in words	reading, writing, telling stories, playing word games	books, tapes, writing tools, paper, diaries, dialogue, discussion, debate, stories
Logical-Mathematical	by reasoning	experimenting, questioning, figuring out logical puzzles, calculating	materials to experiment with, science materials, manipulatives, trips to the planetarium and science museum
Spatial	in images and pictures	designing, drawing, visualizing, doodling	art, LEGOs, video, movies, slides, imagination games, mazes, puzzles, illustrated books, trips to art museums
Bodily-Kinesthetic	through somatic sensations	dancing, running, jumping, building, touching, gesturing	role play, drama, movement, things to build, sports and physical games, tactile experiences, hands-on learning
Musical	via rhythms and melodies	singing, whistling, humming, tapping feet and hands, listening	sing-along time, trips to concerts, music playing at home and school, musical instruments
Interpersonal	by bouncing ideas off other people	leading, organizing, relating, manipulating, mediating, partying	friends, group games, social gatherings, community events, clubs, mentors/apprenticeships
Intrapersonal	in relation to their needs, feelings, and goals	setting goals, meditating, dreaming, planning, reflecting	secret places, time alone, self-paced projects, choices
Naturalist	through nature and natural forms	playing with pets, gardening, investigating nature, raising animals, caring for planet earth	access to nature, opportunities for interacting with animals, tools for investigating nature (e.g., magnifying glass, binoculars)

Writing Assignment

Using the test results as a starting point, reflect on your life as a student. Examine your background in the areas you scored the highest and lowest in. For example, I scored highest in linguistic intelligence (surprise, surprise), and I can recall a wealth of positive language art experiences. Most likely this is why I'm an English teacher. I scored very poorly, however, in musical intelligence, which reminds me of how my junior high counselor discouraged me from signing up for orchestra. (Apparently I scored poorly on a basic music aptitude test. I think he said something to the effect that the only thing I should ever play is a radio.) The fact is, although I do enjoy music, it just doesn't help me interpret or deal with reality the way that words do.

By examining the generalized results of your test in the context of your real-life experiences, I think you'll begin to get a sense of how your past experiences and innate aptitudes have made you the student that you are. Also, you'll be able to practice your essay-writing skills by utilizing narrative evidence from your own life to support a generalized thesis.

The essay you write should be approximately 2 pages, typed and double-spaced. Be sure and focus on developing an effective introduction that presents a clear, well-defined thesis and on providing ample supporting evidence to substantiate your thesis.

To view examples of other students' work on this assignment, click here.

Author: Jill Haslam - Email jhaslam@dsdmail.net