Design the intellectual proles using multiple intelligences model

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Design the intellectual proles using multiple intelligences model

M.R. Bermejo, C. Ferrndiz, P. Ballester and M. Ferrando
Paper presented at the European Conference on Educational Research, University of Crete, 22-25 September 2004 1. Summary In 1983, when Howard Gardner published Frames of Mind, nobody would have imagined the educational implications that the theory was going to have. In those work the author assumes that intelligence is multi-dimensional and that people have different cognitive potentials. He has identied the existence of eight intelligences required for problem solving of for making products which are valued in a cultural context. These intelligences are Linguistic, Mathematical/Logical, Musical, Spatial, Bodily-Kinaesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal and Naturalistic. One aim of Multiple Intelligences Theory is to assess and identify the strengths of students in different learning areas. For that purpose, a set of instruments, measurements and procedures have been designed to evaluate abilities, knowledge and attitudes implicit in the learning process. (Ferrndiz, 2003; Prieto & Ferrndiz, 2003). Assessment is a dynamic process for obtaining information about individual potential, with the aim of achieving useful data about the cognitive prole of the pupils (Gardner, Feldman & Krechevsky, 1998a; Ballester, 2004). The difference between this kind of assessment and the test of IQ is that in the former, we include all kinds of information derived from the teaching-learning process within the classroom context. The objectives of this work are two. By the one hand, to design the intellectual prole of the students through Multiple Intelligences model and to analyse the educative repercussions of this model; and also to establish the relation between each of the capacities measured by an IQ test (BAD&G, General and Differential Aptitudes Set) and the performance in the marks reached by the students in the MI activities, with the aim of establishing the validity in terms of coincidence and discrimination of the different MI evaluation scales. 2. Method 2.1. Participants and School Centres The research is made of 237 students (120 boys and 117 girls), 108 are pre-schoolers (4-5 years old) and 129 belong to rst, second and fth year of primary education (6-7-10 years old). The selection of schools is made in a very simple way, by conglomerates at random, from the public, state-assisted and private schools in the Region of Murcia (Spain). The social-economic characteristics of the students families cover the usual range.

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2.2. Instruments Battery of General and Differential Aptitudes The aim is to establish the cognitive prole of the student in respect to the General Intelligence, analogical reasoning and spatial relation (Yuste, Martinez Arias and Galve, 1998). It has been used different BAD&G Battery levels, that corresponds with the ages of the students. Therefore, for the enfant education students we used BAD&G I (updated edition) and for 1 and 2 year primary education BAD&G E1 (updated edition). The BAD&G I is made of 138 items grouped in categories reefed to the following abilities: non verbal mental ability, quantitative concept, numerical, reasoning with gures, information, puzzles, graphic vocabulary, aural perception or word reproduction and perception and graphicmobile coordination. The global marks allow us to obtain a CI from global intellectual maturity. This too, results from an adding of the direct marks of the verbal general intelligences and non-verbal general intelligences. The verbal general intelligence is made of the trials referred to the numeric concepts, to the information and the graphic vocabulary. All of it allows us to nd the verbal intellectual capacity and the capacity to assume the verbal and numeric concepts. The non-verbal general intelligence comes from the adding of subtest referred to the non verbal mental ability, to the reasoning with gures and puzzles, through these sub trials we measure the capacity of pre-logical reasoning, the ability to solve problems of gurative type and the capacity to nd a common characteristic to several pictures. #9; The BAD&G E1 trial is made of 162 items grouped in several relative variables: analogical relations, numeric problems, logical matrix, numeric calculations, complex verbal commands, twisted gures, immediate memory, alteration in writing and difference discrimination. The general marks allow us to obtain an IQ from general intelligence, that it is obtained too from the adding of the 6 basic sub trials that are analogical relations, numerical problems, logical matrix, numeric calculations, complex verbal commands and twisted gures. With the Battery we can nd the logical reasoning that comes from the adding of 3 sub trials mentioned above. In few words, these trials allow us to nd the IQ reefed to the students general intelligence, as well as the partial marks on verbal, numeric and spatial factors. MI evaluation activities For MI evaluation we use 11 activities designed by Gardner and his team (1998b) in the Spectrum Project with the aim of evaluating the 8 Gardner and his team proposed intelligences in children between 4 and 5 years old. The activities have been adapted and set into our context for our students of primary education by our research team (Ferrndiz, Prieto, Ballester & Bermejo, 2004). The aim is to evaluate the skills implicit on each intelligence: Linguistics; Logical Mathematical; Visual-Space; Corporal; Naturalist; Musical and Social. For each of the activities the observers count with protocols or likert type observation scales, on which appear the abilities of each of the intelligences matter of evaluation. As follows we present briey these evaluation instruments used in this study. Naturalist Intelligence

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For the evaluation of this intelligence we use the activities of "discovery" and the "oat and sink". All are oriented to evaluate through a likert type scale from 1 to 4, the precise observation abilities, relation identication, hypothesis formulation and testing, experimentation, interest in the naturalist intelligence and knowledge of the natural world that according to Gardner the are implicit in the naturalist intelligence. Visual Spatial Intelligence The evaluation of visual-spatial intelligence is developed in two sessions with the following structured activities: create an sculpture, draw an animal, draw a person and draw an imaginative animal for this activity we use likert type scale from 1 to 4 that pretends to evaluate the representation, exploring and artistic talent activities. Corporal Kinaesthetic Intelligence For the evaluation of this intelligence we use the activity called "creative movement" oriented to value, through likert type scale from 1 to 4 the abilities of: rhythm, sensibility, expressivity, corporal control and generation of ideas through movement. Linguistic Intelligence The linguistic intelligence is developed through two sessions, one for the activity of Story teller" and another for the "reporter" both oriented to value through a likert scale 1 to 4 the following abilities: primary functions of the language (telling, interactions with adults, research, description and categorization); telling abilities (telling structure, subject coherently, use of telling voice, use of dialogue, temporal sequences, expressivity, level of vocabulary and sentence structure) and the abilities reefed to information (level of scaffolding, content precision, argument structure, vocabulary complexity, level of details and sentence structure). With the aim of making the data analysis procedure more operative these abilities have been grouped in 3 variables: language primary functions, telling abilities and informing abilities. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence This intelligence is valued through the activity "dinosaur game" oriented to value, through a likert type scale from 1 to 4 the ability of: numeric reasoning, logical and spatial reasoning. Musical Intelligence The musical intelligence is evaluated with the activity of "singing" that pretends to evaluate the sensibility to the tone, to the rhythm and musical capacity. These abilities are valued using a likert type scale from 1 to 4. Social Intelligence The musical intelligence is evaluated with the activity of "classroom model" that pretends to evaluate the Knowledge that the child have about her/his-self; about the others, and the knowledge that has about social roles. 2.3. Procedure The general procedure to follow in this work is developed in four sections.

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In the rst one, we adapt and set in context the different MI evaluation instruments. The second one we applied the evaluation of each intelligence is developed following this order: Naturalist, Corporal-Kinaesthetic, Visual Space, Linguistic, Logic-Mathematical, SocialMusical. Each activity is done within the classroom context but the "creative movement" that is done in the psychomotor activity room. In every activity teachers are always present with every group of students taking part in the evaluation process. The duration of each activity is 60 minutes. Finally we continue with the test marking, valuation of the different activities as MI evaluation instruments, we process the data and its statistical analysis, we value the results obtained and we make conclusions. 2.4. Data design and analysis Data analysis includes a descriptive analysis on the marks obtained on each of the items that conform each intelligence such as averages and standard deviations. We present the design of the intellectual prole of the students taking part in the research on the different intelligences proposed by Gardner. The aim is to analyse in what intelligences the students obtained the better skills and difculties, in order to shape an instruction suitable to the cognitive needs of our students. We as well, using Krechevsky and Gardner (1990) methodology and with the aim of valuing the benets coming from the theory for applying them to the exceptional students, we show the individual prole of two students, one of them shows a talented prole and the other shows difculties in some of the intelligences. We carried out, also, correlation analysis, among the different items that conform the scales of each of the intelligences and between these and the marks obtained in the BAD&G psychometric test, with the aim of analysing the existing relations between them and determine the concurrent and discriminatory of the MI evaluation scales. 3. Results 3.1. Participants Cognitive Prole With the aim of showing the usefulness that the evaluation procedure used by Gardner has to the conguration of a more suitable instruction adequate to our students, we present the intellectual prole of our participants in this research for each of the different intelligences CorporalKinaesthetic, Musical, Linguistic, Logic-Mathematical, Naturalist, Visual-Space, Social. Following the methodology and analysis done through Spectrum Project (Krechevsky and Gardner 1990) the marks obtained were transformed into "z" marks. It was considered that boys obtaining standard deviation, or more, above the average, were gifted with a determine intelligence, while the boys obtaining a standard deviation, or less, below the average, show disadvantage in that intelligence. The results show that the majority of the students demonstrate abilities and skills in the different intelligences, existing a great variability in the marks obtained. It is the Visual-Space intelligence on which we can see a great number of students where the values are below the average (61.2%); and it is also in this intelligence where there is a majority with weak points, because a 20.7 % obtains marks below a-1z. If we analyse in which intelligence the students show generally better
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abilities we nd that 52.1 % obtain marks above the average when they work on social competence duties related, the intelligence is the linguistics where we nd a bigger number of students with strong points or abilities (39.2 %), because their marks are equal or bigger that a+1z. Finally, we observe that with the exception of Social Intelligence, there are many students obtaining marks below average in the different intelligences although we have to point out that students, generally, show more abilities or strong points than difculties in the different intelligences but Visual-Space whereas we have commented, appears a high percentage of students with difculties below 1z.

Figure 1. Cognitive Prole of participants sample in the eight intelligences (% of students that obtain scores above of +1z, above of the average, below of 1z and below of average in each one of multiple intelligences).

3.2. Analysis of exceptionally students One of the implications that the MI evaluation model has on education is the usefulness for designing the intellectual prole of a classroom and especially that of exceptionality students. The intellectual prole of a pre-school (4 years) student with difculties in most of the Gardner dened intelligences showed that with the exception of Social Intelligence the student had difculties and weak points in all the intelligences evaluated. Being these difculties much more

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stressed in abilities related to Logic-Mathematical and Musical Intelligence in which the marks was higher than 2s . However, we can observe that the student showed adequate social abilities, where the marks was close to the average. A second year Primary Education girls intellectual prole with potential signs of being talented showed, that it is Social Intelligence in which she got the highest mark well above +2,5s , follow by the Visio -Space getting +1,8s , both will conform potential areas of talent. But besides she showed marks above the standard deviation in the Corporal-Kinaesthetic, Musical, Linguistic and Logic-Mathematical intelligences. Her marks was moderated for Naturalist Intelligence in which she obtained a mark close to average. We can state that from the MI evaluation model the competence of any student is much more dened and it help us in a very enriching way, much more than the general factor tests, for designing the intellectual prole of potential students with high cognitive abilities indicators. 3.3. Relation between Multiple Intelligence and General Intelligence It can be observed, in general, high and signicant correlations between the different variables from the same scale in the model of Gardner. On the contrary the correlations between the different Gardner scales and the psychometric test used are low. The correlation between the total mark of Corporal-Kinaesthetic Intelligence and CI is low, from .154 to a signication level of .05. In relation to the analysis referred to the Logic-Mathematical scale, the existing correlations between the variables of such scale are very high, all at a signication level of .01, this same thing happen between the total mark and scale variables. However, the existing correlation between CI and the total mark of Logic-Mathematical Intelligence is low and no signicant, what it gives discriminative validity to the evaluation scale. Given the conceptual similarity between this intelligence and some of the BAD&G A and E subtests (Logical Reasoning, LR; Non verbal General Intelligence, nVGI; Verbal Number Problems Resolutions, NR; and Number Calculations), we believe that it is convenient to analyse the kind of relation established between them. The results show that contrary to what it happens in the IQ, the correlations between the BAD&G subtest and the Logic-Mathematical Intelligence variables are in general signicant to a .01 level, aspect that supports the Logic-Mathematical Intelligence scale validity.
Table 3. Pearson correlation coefcients between the CI and the Logic-Mathematical Intelligence variables.

Direction Movement

Counting Election Given

Election Movement

Election Given Number

Direction Movement

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Counting

,500**

Election Given

,580**

,514**

Election Movement

,331**

,485**

,483**

Election Number Given

,370**

,450**

,418**

,563**

CI

,078

,049

,143*

,097

,097

Logic-Mathematical Total

, 663**

, 735**

.749**

, 751**

, 840**

L.R.

, 155

, 212*

, 250**

, 280**

, 326**

nVGI

,329**

,494**

,352**

,249*

,373**

NR

,119

,126

,186*

,230*

,269**

Numerical Calculation

, 090

, 179

, 124

, 341**

, 288**

*Correlation is signicant at 0,05 level (Bilateral) ** Correlation is signicant at 0,01 level (Bilateral)

The existing correlations between variables in the Musical Intelligence scale (tone, rhythm and Musical capacity) are very high, all with a 0.01 signicance level as well as the correlation between these and the total scale mark, as expected. However it is not the same between these variables and IQ, the relationship between them are extremely low (0.97) what it gives constructor discrimination validity to the Musical Intelligence scale. In general, there are not relationships between the variables that measure the Social Intelligence (self-knowledge, knowledge of the others, assuming and knowledge of the social roles), these results supports the hypothesis that the three aspects that conform the Social Intelligence are all different, it seems to be that the self-knowledge related to Intra-personal Intelligence would be independent from the rest of the knowledge, closer to the interpersonal Intelligence. In relation to the existing links between these three variables and the intellectual quotient according to the results form the analysis done, the relationship would be very low and only signicant at 0.05 level between the assumption and knowledge of social roles and IQ (.170). In respect to the existing correlation between the Social Intelligence total scale mark and IQ, there is not relation between them; this data offers constructor-discrimination validity to such scale. It seems clear that, the self-knowledge and the knowledge of the others are independent from the

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intellectual quotient. The analysis of variables that dene the Naturalist Intelligence shows the great relationship between them, the correlations are signicant to .01 between all the variables studied and between these and the total mark, the marks are very high between the observation and relation identier variables with a .630 as coefcient and between the experimentation and hypothesis formulation variables with a.799 as coefcient. In connection with the existing relationship between the Naturalist Intelligence and Intellectual Quotient we can see that there are little relation between the last one and the variables referred to the observation and relationship identier. On the contrary, there is a relationship between the experimentation and hypothesis formulation variables and IQ and the existing correlation of this last one and the Naturalist Intelligence total mark having 0.209 as a coefcient reaching .01 of signicance. It seems that the Naturalist Intelligence abilities that require a much more logical thinking would be related to a kind of thinking measured in the psychometric test used in the research. The variables that dene the Linguistic Intelligence, according to the Gardners model, shows a signicant relationship between them, in a way that the correlation analysis offers a value of .802 between the primary language functions and the narration or inventive abilities to a signicant level of .01; a correlation of .236 between the language primary functions and the abilities to inform at a signicant level of .01 and a correlation of .315 with a level of signicance of .01, between the abilities involved in the narration and invention of a story and the ones involved in the task of informing about the story seen previously. The existing correlations between the variables in the BAD&G psychometric test that measures the verbal aspects and the ability to inform of the Linguistic Intelligence are very high and signicant reaching 0,01 above all the ability to inform of the Gardner scale (.296). Aspect that is due to the number of IQ and BAD&G test as they have a great number of comprehension enunciations, besides IQ and BAD&G have a great amount of logic and accuracy, both are very necessary in the informative skills. This correlation would contribute with more concurrent validity to these abilities. The existing relationships between the variables that dene the Visual-Space Intelligence (representation; exploration and artistic talent), are high, all of them are signicant to a .01 level with indexes reaching .65. The correlation analysis done between the Visual-Space analysis and the BAD&G A and B psychometric test current validity to the Visual-Space Intelligence evaluation scale. However the existing correlation between general IQ and Visual-Space Intelligence evaluation scale total mark, although signicant, it is low, this would give validity to the discrimination scale.
Table 4. The Pearsons correlation coefcients between the variables of Visual-Space Intelligence and CI.

Representation

Exploration

Artistic Talent

CI

Representation

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Exploration

,698**

Artistic Talent

,672**

,707**

Visual-Space Total

,888**

,890**

.896**

,155*

IQ

,095

,137*

,179**

Jigsaw

,315**

,185

,207*

Logical Matrix

,224*

,294**

,280**

Rotated gures

,149

,225*

,221*

Difference discrimination

,303**

,473**

, 450**

*Correlation is signicant at 0,05 level (bilateral). ** Correlation is signicant at 0,01 level (bilateral)

The existing correlation indexes between the total marks of each of the MI evaluation scales and the intellectual quotient show that correlations are in general weak between the different Gardner proposed intelligences and IQ, being the highest correlation in the Naturalist Intelligence and IQ with a value of .209 to a level of signicance of .01.
Table 5. Pearsons correlation coefcients between the each of the MI Intelligences and IQ.

Corporal Musical Social Naturalist Linguistic Visual-SpaceLogicIQ Mathematical

Corporal

Musical

, 290**

Social

,097

,140*

Naturalist

,221**

,086

,189**

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Linguistic

,246**

,007

,126

,290**

Visual-Space

,172**

,080

,144*

,272**

,308**

LogicMathematical

, 351**

, 234**

,284**

, 223**

, 267**

, 293**

IQ

, 154*

, 097

, 120

, 209**

, 193**

, 155*

, 124

*Correlation is signicant at 0,01 level (Bilateral) ** Correlation is signicant at 0,05 level (Bilateral)

4. Discussion and conclusions The results of our work, obtained in a classroom natural context, and with the same evaluation instruments used by Professor Gardner and his team, show that the MI evaluation model represent an complementary to the psychometric evaluation and it is useful for designing the classroom development prole and especially that of children with retarded cognitive problems or difculties, underlining the strong points and vacuums referred to basic abilities on which each intelligence is based. This means that we can use the strong points for ghting the intelligence imbalance (Ferrndiz, 2003; Ferrndiz, Prieto, Ballester & Bermejo, 2004). The correlation analysis established between the different intelligences and the intellectual quotient show the existence of evaluation scales discriminatory validity assigned to value the different intelligences. In general, as we have commented before individually for each scale, it seems to be that aspects evaluated by IQ are, in most of the cases, different to those evaluated by the different scales analysed. The constructor discrimination validity would be, nally, established for the MI Intelligences evaluation scales. In order to nish, we can say that the MI evaluation model represent an alternative to the psychometric evaluation and it is useful for designing the classroom development prole and especially that of children with retarded cognitive problems or difculties, underlining the strong points and vacuums referred to basic abilities on which each intelligence is based. This means that we can use the strong points for ghting the intelligence imbalance (Prieto & Ballester, 2003; Ballester, 2004). 5. References Ballester, P. (2004). Evaluar y atender la diversidad de los alumnos desde las Inteligencias Mltiples. Tesis Doctoral. Universidad de Murcia Ferrndiz, C. (2003). Evaluacin y desarrollo de la competencia cognitiva. Un estudio desde el modelo de las Inteligencias Mltiples. Murcia: Servicio de publicaciones de la Universidad de Murcia.

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Ferrndiz, C., Prieto, M.D., Ballester, P., & Bermejo, M.R. (2003). Validez y abilidad de los instrumentos de evaluacin de las Inteligencias Mltiples en los primeros niveles instruccionales. Psicothema Vol.16 n1 pp. 7-13 Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind. New York: Basic Books. Gardner, H; Feldman, D. & Krechevsky, M. (1998a). Project Spectrum: Building on Childrens Strengths: The Experiene of Project Spectrum. N. Y.: Teachers College press. Gardner, H; Feldman, D. & Krechevsky, M. (1998b). Project Spectrum: Preschool Asessment Handbook. N. Y.: Teachers College press. Krechevsky, M. & Gardner, H. (1990). The emergence and nurturance of multiple intelligences: the Project Spectrum approach. In M.J.A. Howe (Ed.), Encouraging the development of exceptional skills and talents. Leicester, UK: The British Psychological Society Prieto, M.D.& Ferrndiz, C. (2001). Inteligencias Mltiples y curriculum escolar. Mlaga: Aljibe Prieto, M.D. & Ferrndiz, C. (2003) Foreword. In Coreil, C. Mltiple Itelligences, Howard Gardner and new methods in College Teaching (pp.:11-14). New Jersey: New Jersey City University Prieto, M.D. & Ballester, P. (2003) Las Inteligencias Mltiples. Diferentes formas de ensear y aprender. Madrid: Pirmide SPSS/PC 11.0 for Windows (2001). Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. SPSS Inc. Yuste, C.; Martnez, R. & Galve, J.L. (1998). BADyG. Manual Tcnico. Madrid: CEPE
This document was added to the Education-line database on 17 September 2004

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