Multiple Intelligences Theory Revisited

Michael Berman, UK

Michael Berman works as a teacher, teacher trainer, and writer. Publications include The Power of Metaphor for Crown House, The Nature of Shamanism and the Shamanic Story for Cambridge Scholars Publishing, and All God’s Creatures: Stories Old and New for Pendraig Publishing. ELT publications include a resource book for teachers on storytelling, In a Faraway Land, and On Business and for Pleasure - a self-study workbook for Business English students. E-mail: michaelberman@blueyonder.co.uk, www.Thestoryteller.org.uk

Despite the acclaim with which MI Theory was welcomed into the field of ELT, by me in 1998 and by others more recently, there is in fact little empirical evidence to support it. Even Gardner concedes that this is the case, stating that he would be "delighted were such evidence to accrue" (Gardner, 2004, p. 214). He also admits that "MI theory has few enthusiasts among psychometricians or others of a traditional psychological background" because they require "psychometric or experimental evidence that allows one to prove the existence of the several intelligences" (cited in Waterhouse, 2006, p. 208). There is evidence to indicate that cognitive neuroscience research does not support the theory of Multiple Intelligences either:

[T]he human brain is unlikely to function via Gardner’s multiple intelligences. Taken together the evidence for the intercorrelations of subskills of IQ measures, the evidence for a shared set of genes associated with mathematics, reading, and g [general intelligence factor], and the evidence for shared and overlapping “what is it?” and “where is it?” neural processing pathways, and shared neural pathways for language, music, motor skills, and emotions suggest that it is unlikely that that each of Gardner’s intelligences could operate “via a different set of neural mechanisms” (1999, p. 99). Equally important, the evidence … suggests that … cognitive brain specializations have evolved to address very specific problems in our environment. Because Gardner claimed that that the intelligences are innate potentialities related to a general content area, MI theory lacks a rationale for the phylogenetic emergence of the intelligences [relating to our evolutionary development] (Waterhouse, 2006, p. 213).

Another major problem with MI Theory is how difficult it is for the newly qualified and inexperienced teacher to put into practice. For these reasons, I have come to the conclusion that an alternative model might be more appropriate for lesson planning in the ELT classroom, a model derived from ritual theory which has the advantage of being suitable for use on initial teacher training courses.

Cahill and Halpern (1991) suggest that there are three distinct stages in ceremony which need to be honoured for the experience to touch us deeply whatever our individual Intelligence Profiles may be: Severance- leaving behind the everyday world, entering Sacred Time & Space - going beyond ourselves, and Reincorporation - returning with new self-knowledge. As these are the same psychological processes that compose our lives, there is a strong case to be made for following the same steps in class.

Einstein famously remarked that we cannot solve problems from within the mind frame that created the problems in the first place. Any time that we step outside our assumptions or habitual way of seeing things by entering Sacred Time & Space, we are experiencing what Zohar (2000) calls our SQ (Spiritual Intelligence) and to some small extent, at least, using it for the purpose of self-development.

Entering the ritual space can be compared to entering a temple because it serves as a focusing lens. When we enter marked-off space everything, at least potentially, assumes significance and even the ordinary becomes sacred by having our attention directed to it in a special way (see Smith, 1982, pp.54-55).

Reincorporation, like recollection, entails the bringing together of our world inside and our world outside, the meeting of the deep, inner self and its innate wisdom or spiritual intelligence with the outer ego and its worldly concerns, strategies and activities. Recollection can be defined as SQ in action. And what Emile Durkheim wrote about ritual in connection with religion, can apply just as well to the lesson:

Once we are acquitted of our ritual duties, [in other words, once the ceremony is complete] we re-enter profane life with more courage and enthusiasm, not only because we have put ourselves in touch with a higher source of energy, but also because our forces have been reinvigorated by living briefly a life that is more relaxed, more free and easy. In this way, religion has a charm that is not the least of its attractions Durkheim, 2001, p.285).

However, it should be pointed out that this can only be achieved by creating the right kind of conditions, in which the learners can feel relaxed and thus able to produce their best work Mention should also be made of the power of ritual to bring people together, to create what Victor Turner refers to as “communitas”, something that is recognised by Rappaport (1979) too. He notes that one of the benefits to be derived from rituals is that they can alter consciousness by inducing a feeling of “loss of self”, that sense of separation we often experience in our daily lives, and they thus enable us to experience a feeling of union with other members of the congregation [class]. Driver refers to the power of ritual to bring people together too:

Three stages of ritual can be identified - preliminal, liminal and post-liminal. And the liminality of ritual can be regarded as 'a recourse from society's alienating structures to a generalized bond of unity … that is felt or intuited among humans and other beings' (Driver, 1991, p.162).

In a story telling session, you leave the everyday world behind you the moment the storyteller says once upon a time, you're transported beyond yourself into another setting during the telling of the tale, and you return with new self-knowledge if the story worked as a metaphor for you.

Through guided imagery, you can leave behind the stress of daily life through relaxation, you go beyond yourself by entering a light state of trance, and you return with the visions you had on your journey.

In a role play, you can leave behind the everyday world by taking on a new identity. You can go beyond yourself when you act out the part, and you return with new self-knowledge by discovering the kind of performance you’re capable of and perhaps by gaining a deeper insight into the nature of the character you portray.

So the next time you plan or analyze a lesson, see whether the three stages described in this model can be applied to it. If they can't, then perhaps there is something missing - a vital ingredient that could make it work better.

References

Berman, M. (1998) A Multiple Intelligences Road to an ELT Classroom, Carmarthen: Crown House Publishing.

Cahill, S., & Halpern, J. (1991) The Ceremonial Circle Shamanic Practice, Ritual and Renewal, London: Mandala.

Driver, T.F. (1991) The Magic of Ritual, New York: Harper Collins Publishers.

Durkheim, E. (2001) The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, Oxford: Oxford University Press (originally published in 1912).

Gardner, Howard. (1983) "Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences." New York: Basic Books.

Gardner, Howard. (1993) "Multiple Intelligences: The Theory In Practice." New York: Basic Books.

Gardner, Howard. (1999) "Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century." New York: Basic Books.

Gardner, H. (2004) Changing minds: The art and science of changing our own and other people's minds. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, p. 196.

Rinvolucri, M & Puchta, H. (2007) Multiple Intelligences in EFL: Exercises for Secondary and Adult Students, Cambridge University Press.

Smith, J.Z. (1982) Imagining Religion: From Babylon to Jonestown, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Turner, V. (1995) The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure, Chicago, Illinois: Aldine Publishing Company (first published in 1969).

Van Gennep, A. (1977) The Rites of Passage, London: Routledge and Keegan Paul (original work published in 1909).

Waterhouse, Lynn. (2006). Multiple Intelligences, the Mozart Effect, and Emotional Intelligence: A critical review. Educational Psychologist, 41(4), Fall 2006, pp. 207–225.

Zohar, H., & Marshall, I. (2000) Spiritual Intelligence The Ultimate Intelligence, London: Bloomsbury.

Please check the Teaching English Through Multiple Intelligences course at Pilgrims website.