Product Description

"To respect the many differences between people"--this is what Howard Gardner says is the purpose of learning about multiple intelligences (MI). Now, in the 2nd edition of "Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom," Thomas Armstrong has updated his best-selling practical guide for educators, to incorporate new research from Gardner and others. Gardner's original studies suggested that the mind comprises seven intelligences--linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal.

This new edition includes information on the eighth intelligence (the naturalist), a chapter on a possible ninth intelligence (the existential), and updated information and resources throughout the text to help educators at all levels apply MI theory to curriculum development, lesson planning, assessment, special education, cognitive skills, educational technology, career development, educational policy, and more. The book includes dozens of practical tips, strategies, and examples from real schools and districts--as well as solid outcomes of MI, including improved test scores and discipline. Armstrong provides tools, resources, and ideas that educators can immediately use to help students of all ages achieve their fullest potential in life.

Thomas Armstrong, an educator and psychologist from Sonoma County, California, has more than 27 years of teaching experience, from the primary through the doctoral level. He is the author of two other ASCD books, "Awakening Genius in the Classroom" and "ADD/ADHD Alternatives in the Classroom."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30124 in Books
• Published on: 2000-05-15
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Download Description
"To respect the many differences between people"--this is what Howard Gardner says is the purpose of learning about multiple intelligences (MI). Now, in the 2nd edition of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, Thomas Armstrong has updated his best-selling practical guide for educators, to incorporate new research from Gardner and others. Gardner's original studies suggested that the human mind is composed of seven intelligences--linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. This new edition includes information on the eighth intelligence (the naturalist), a chapter on a possible ninth intelligence (the existential), and updated information and resources throughout the text to help educators at all levels apply MI theory to curriculum development, lesson planning, assessment, special education, cognitive skills, educational technology, career development, educational policy, and more. The book includes dozens of practical tips, strategies, and examples from real schools and districts. Armstrong provides tools, resources, and ideas that educators can immediately use to help students of all ages achieve their fullest potential in life. Thomas Armstrong, an educator and psychologist from Sonoma County, California, has more than 27 years of teaching experience, from the primary through the doctoral level. He is the author of two other ASCD books, Awakening Genius in the Classroom and ADD/ADHD Alternatives in the Classroom.

Download Description
"To respect the many differences between people"--this is what Howard Gardner says is the purpose of learning about multiple intelligences (MI). Now, in the 2nd edition of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, Thomas Armstrong has updated his best-selling practical guide for educators, to incorporate new research from Gardner and others. Gardner's original studies suggested that the human mind is composed of seven intelligences--linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. This new edition includes information on the eighth intelligence (the naturalist), a chapter on a possible ninth intelligence (the existential), and updated information and resources throughout the text to help educators at all levels apply MI theory to curriculum development, lesson planning, assessment, special education, cognitive skills, educational technology, career development, educational policy, and more. The book includes dozens of practical tips, strategies, and examples from real schools and districts. Armstrong provides tools, resources, and ideas that educators can immediately use to help students of all ages achieve their fullest potential in life. Thomas Armstrong, an educator and psychologist from Sonoma County, California, has more than 27 years of teaching experience, from the primary through the doctoral level. He is the author of two other ASCD books, Awakening Genius in the Classroom and ADD/ADHD Alternatives in the Classroom.

Customer Reviews

The Way Education Should Be
For years educators and psychologists presumed that one could "measure" intelligence by giving a test to students in an artificial setting, scoring their multiple choice responses against a norm, and then giving a numerical label to the child. The problem with this sort of assessment is that it has little to do with how intelligence is used in the real world, namely as a way of solving problems within a specific cultural setting. Enter Howard Gardner. In 1983 Gardner offered a new vision of intelligence which suggested that humans were hardwired with 7 separate intelligences, or modalities of problem solving. These were linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial reasoning, interpersonal, intrapersonal, musical and bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. He later concluded that naturalist intelligence, the ability to derive meaning from and relate concepts to the natural world, was an 8th form of intelligence. Each type of intelligence, Gardner argued, has value and can be used for problem solving. Many of us have gifts in one or more of these intelligences, but others are relatively weak or undeveloped.

Education professionals were among the first to see practical applications for Gardner's theory. In the first instance, it explained quite a bit. Little Johnny may not be able to read well, but he certainly has a knack for music. Incorporating musical elements into instruction can help little Johnny develop his own talents and also assist him in language arts. Similarly, the child figetting in the corner may well have real talent for bodily expression and could learn faster if these talents were incorporated into the classroom curriculum. Indeed, one of the author's key contentions is that a child's "misbehavior" in a traditional classroom setting may well offer clues as to what that child's intellectual strengths are.

The value of this book is that the author, Thomas Armstrong, gives many practical applications for ways lessons can incorporate all intelligences. Some of these are rather trite. (Naturalistic intelligence nearly always gets the short end of the stick. I can't count the number of times Armstrong recommends that students draw an animal to remember a concept.) But many of these are solid. Chants and song to help remember concepts in history, science, and math are excellent learning aids. Associating body movements with concepts and operations is also helpful. Another implication of MI theory is that assessments need not always be of the paper and pencil variety. But Armstrong also offers a more radical vision in this 2000 book: perhaps the very content of our curriculum should be structured around developing the intelligences our kids have rather than molding them into some preconceived vision of what an "educated" child should be. What a radical vision! Treating children as individuals rather than little blank slates to be written upon by teachers and administrators is one of those wonderful libertarian visions that could benefit society as a whole by developing each unique individual part.

Alas, it is also not going to happen. Innovative as the ideas in this book are, they fly in the face of the current political climate educators work in. In 2001 Republicans and Democrats united to pass "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) legislation, a cornerstone of the Bush administration's new education policy. Like almost all other "bipartisan" legislation, this bill could best be described as an unqualified disaster. Flying in the face of nearly 20 years of research inspired by Gardner, NCLB narrowly defined education as proficiency in math and language arts. This pleased the back to the basics conservatives while the heavy federal controls and uniform bureaucratic implementation of the bill insured the strong support of such liberals as Sen. Kennedy. But in terms of helping students, it has damaged education beyond measure. As schools have struggled to meet the 100% proficiency requirements, courses that emphasize other intelligences have fallen by the wayside. PE, art, music, theatre, and industrial arts programs are now virtually non-existent in elementary and middle schools, and declining rapidly in high schools. Indeed, one middle school in my district now offers only six academic periods: three in language arts and three in math. They even dropped science in a desparate attempt to mold their kids into test taking maestros in these two federally approved subjects so they can meet the increasingly rigid NCLB standards. Talk about a failure of education.

It is no surprise then that this book, immensely popular when it first came out, has not seen a new edition since 2000. Just as multiple intelligences were starting to make a significant difference in educational communities across the country, the whole project was derailed. I strongly recommend it nonetheless. As public schools abandon their responsibilities to students in order to meet federal mandates, parents and private schools will need to pick up the slack. This book should give informed citizens an appreciation of what education can be. It offers an alternative vision for the future, one in which each child has an opportunity to explore and develop her talents to the fullest. Only then will no child be truly left behind.

Excellent book for educators!
I can't wait for the new school year to begin! I think I will be able to really help those students on IEP's.

art curriculum
This book is very informative and makes the concepts applicable for teachers to use in the classroom every day. I have learned a lot and it is enhancing my teaching methods!