Gardner's Theory of Intelligence

Gardner's Theory of Intelligence

Gardner's theory suggests that within each human there are a variety of intelligence areas that one may succeed within. He places titles upon these areas, which include logical mathematical, linguistic, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. These categories allot for people who are better in certain areas For example, a person may be very good at playing an instrument (musical), however that same person may be horrible at sports (bodily-kinesthetic).

I.Q. scores can be relatively inaccurate on account of the presence of these "multiple intelligences". Alfred Binet saw this problem and also saw it as unfair to children who may be judged wrong and therefor tracked wrongly in schools. In result, he founded a set of 58 tests which can be administered to calculate what he coined "mental age". This number could then be used in a formula called the " intelligence quotient". This formula is thought to give a better judgement on a child's capability to do well in school, rather than just their intelligence.

2- There are two common methods of ability grouping.

The first is between class grouping. This method is also known as tracking. This concept puts children of similar abilities into a set sequence of classes. For example, in NY State high schools, there is usually a general track, regents track, honor regents track, and an AP track (although these are subject to change in NY). In general, the between class ability grouping technique is not too effective. All too often, the teaching of lower ability tracks is inferior, and the students often suffer low self esteem, lower levels of motivation, as well as being teased by other students. Also this tech...

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...n breaks in studying.

4 Least restrictive placement is a relatively new concept. The term is used for the act of placing learning disabled students within the realm of a non-disabled class, providing that they are thought to be able to handle it. This method was once considered mainstreaming. It is thought that disabled or exceptional students can, and do benefit from this movement. Severely disabled students were not put into mainstream classes, but recently some schools have toyed with the idea of full inclusion, where there would be no segregation.

One of the major problems is the lack of experience in some teachers of working with disabled students. They don't know how to handle a diverse class of this sort, and thus often either neglect the needy, or bore the advanced. Also the school must make a resource room available, for extra-personalized help.