Montessori and Gardner's Theoryof Multiple Intelligences

By Patricia A. Vardin

T he revolutionarywork of HowardGardner has been

given much attention in thepast decade. Opposing thenotion of a unitary IQ andproposing that intelhgeneebe thought of as a widerange of human capabili-ties, Gardner challengedthe status quo in the fieldof psychology. Many yearsbefore his time, however, Maria Montes-sori also challenged the status quo regard-ing human abilities and potential, demon-strating that children who were "slow."deprived, and poor could thrive and growunder the right set of conditions. Thisarticle attempts to review Gardner's theoryof Multiple Intelligences, show how Mon-tessori and Gardner drew similar conclu-sions regarding human capacity and po-tential, and examine how Gardner's eightintelligences and underlying core opera-tions lie at the heart of the Montessoriexercises and activities.

In Frames of Mind: The Theory of Mul-tiple ¡lUelligences. written in 1983, HowardGardner defined intelligence as "the abilityto solve problems or to create products thatare valued within one or more culturalsettings" (1999, p. 33). Revising his defini-tion in 1999, he defined intelligence as "abiophsychological potential to process in-formation that can be activated in a culturalsetting to solve problems orcreate productsthat are of value in a culture'' (p. 34).Gardner sees intelligences as potentials,possibly neural ones, that may or may notbe activated depending upon the values ofa culture, the opportunities available in thatculture, and the personal decisions made byindividuals and/or their families, teachers,and other members of the society.

Gardner (1999) applied the followingeight criteria derived from disciplinessuch as biology, anthropology, psychol-ogy, and psychometiics to determine if amental faculty could be classified as ahuman intelligence:

• the potential isolationby brain damage;

• an evolutionary his-tory and evolutionaryplausibility;

• an identifiable coreoperation or set ofcore operations;

• susceptibility to en-coding in a symbolsystem;

• a distinct develop-mental history, alongwith a definable set of

expert "end-state" performances;• the existence of idiot savants, prodigies,

and other exceptional individuals;• support from experimental psycho-

logical tasks;• support from psychometric findings.Gardneridentifiedeighthumanintelligen-

ces (see Table I ), each one having certaincore operations—capacities that seem cen-tral to an bitelligence, for example, as pho-nemic discriminations would be to linguis-tic intelligence or mental calculations ofnumbers would be to logical-mathematicalintelligences. He believes these capacitiesare likely to be mediated by specific neuralmechanisms and triggered by relevant in-ternal or external typesof information.

Gardner originallydescribed seven intelli-gences and then sev-eral years ago added aneighth. He believes thatall human beings pos-sess the eight differentinteUigences, that eachperson has a uniqueblend of intelligences,and that no two peoplehave exactly the sameprofile of strengths andweaknesses with re-spect to intelligences.He also points out thatstrength in one area ofintelligence does notpredict strength or

weakness in other areas. Gardner also be-lieves that any intelligence can be enhancedby concerted effort.

Table 2 presents Gardner's descriptionof the eight intelligences and examples ofend-state performances. Gardner is stillconsidering other possible candidates asintelligences, including existential intel-ligence, observed in individuals con-cerned with questions regarding life'smeaning and issues of human existence.

Shared ConclusionsAlthough working in different cultures

and different times, Montessori and Gard-ner came to many of the same conclusionsregarding human development. First, bothMontessori and Gardner derived their theo-ries based upon daily, firsthand observationand experience working with people, bothnormal and with exceptionalities. Montes-soH worked first with retarded, then urban,deprived children. Gardner focused his at-tention upon adults with various forms ofbrain damage, as well as nonnal and giftedchildren. These experiences enabled themboth to understand and appreciate the widerange of abilities and capacities found inhuman nature and to challenge rigid andnarrow beliefs about human potential.

Table 1. Intelligence and Core Operations

Type of Intelligence

Linguistic

Logicai-mathematical

Musical

Bodiiy-kinesthetic

Spatial

Interpersonal

intrapersonai

Examples of Core Operations

Syntax, phonology, semantics, pragmatics

Patterns, calculations, number, relations

Pitch, rhythm, timbre

Control of bodily motions, skillful objecthandling

Mental visualization, mental manipulationand transformation of images

Awareness of the feelings, moods,motivations, and desires of others

Awareness of one's own feelings, desires,capacities

Naturalist Recognition, classification of objects in theenvironments

40 Montessori LIFE -Winter 2003

Second, as a result of their shared under-standing and appreciation of human nature,both Montessori and Gardner noted theuniqueness of each individual. They ob-served that individual differences begin toberevealed in the earliest years of life, and thatindividual strengths in one area of ability donot necessarily ensure or predict strengths inother areas. Montessori writes, "little chil-dren soon reveal profound individual differ-ences which call for very different kinds ofhelp from the teacher" ( 1964, p. 231 ). Gardner( 1997,1999) states that in the area of intelli-gence, no two people have exactly the sameintelligences, nor in the same combination,and that understanding and valuing theseuniquenesses and differences and utilizingthem for the benefit of society is of utmostimportance. He states, in fact, that takinghuman differences seriously lies at the heartof Multiple Intelligence Theory.

Third, for both Montessori and Gardner,the interaction of nature and nurture playsa significant role in the development ofhuman capabilities. With respect to ge-netic heritability, Montessori observes thatthe origins of development lie within theindividual and that children seem to pos-sess what she calls natural tendencies.

Both Montessori andGardner see humandevelopment as the

restât of an ongoing anddynamic interactionbetween genetic and

environmental factors.

In a similar vein, Gardner posits thathuman abilities, like human differences,have a genetic base. Both Montessori andGardner, however, see human develop-ment as the result of an ongoing and dy-namic interaction between genetic and en-vironmental factors. Montessori (1995)strongly believed that the child's mind ab-sorbs the environment, leaving lasting im-pressions upon it, forming it, and providingnourishment for it. She warned that thequality of the environment can greatly en-hance a child's life or seriously diminish it.Gardner, too, emphasizes the importance

Table 2. Gardner's Description of Intelligences

Intelligence and Description

1. Linguistic: sensitivity to spoken and writtenlanguage; the ability to leam language; the capacity touse language to accomplish goals

2. Logical-tnathematical: capacity to analyzeproblems logically, carry out mathematical operationsand Investigate issues scientHically

3. Musical: entails skill in performances, composition,and appreciation of musical patterns

4. Bodily-kinesethetic: entails fhe potential of usingone's whole body or parts of fhe body (like the hand ormoufh) to solve problems or fashion products

5. Spatial: involves fhe pofenfial to recognize andmanipulate fhe pafterns of wide spaces and confinedspaces

6. Interpersonal: denotes a person's capacify founderstand the infentions, mofivafions, and desires ofother people

7. ¡ntrapersonal: involves the capacity to understandoneself, to have an effective working model of oneself,including one's own desires, fears, and capacifies, and touse such information effectively in regulating one's own life

8. Naturalist: demonstrates experfise in therecognifion and classification of the numerousspecies—the flora and fauna—as well as artificialobjects in the environment

Examples: End-state Performances

Lawyers, speakers, writers, teachers

Mathematicians, logicians, scientists

Instrumentalists, composers,conductors

Dancers, actors, athletes, surgeons,mechanics, artisans

Navigators, pilots, sculptors, chessplayers, graphic artists, architects

Salespeople, teachers, clinicians,politicians, actors, religious leaders

Farmers, botanists, geologists,archeologists

of the environment on the development ofhuman capabilities. Gardner believes thatthe "smarter" the environment and themore powerful the interventions and re-sources, the more competent individualswill become and the less important will betheir particular genetic inheritance. He as-serts that even individuals who seem giftedin a specific intelligence will accomplishlittle if they are not exposed to resourcesand materials that support that intelligence.

Differences In FocusDespite similarities in their viewpoints,

Montessori and Gardner differ to somedegree in the focus of their work.

First, from the beginning of her career,Montessori was concemed with the educa-tion and welfare of children, especially poorchildren. Her concem and passion for theneeds of children translated directly into theestablishment of a school, the developmentof a teaching method, a curriculum, didacticmatetials, parent education, teacher training,and social action in the community. Montes-sori based her pliilosophy and methodologyon her work with children and teachers and,intitm,herdevelopingphilosophyandmeth-odology influenced her practice.

In contrast, Gardner's work from itsinception was theoretical, based uponobservation and research, not practice.His work led him to the redefining ofhuman intelligence and the constructionof a new theory of human ititelHgence.Gardner did not develop a specific educa-tional approach or specific application ofmultiple intelligence theory to practice,nor view his theory as an educationalprescriptive. He believes that educatorsshould determine how multiple intelli-gence theory should guide their practiceand warns against superficial or self-serv-ing applications of the theory in educa-tional settings.

Second, Montessori ' s philosophy, theory,and method encompass all aspects of hu-man potential, including character, moral

Montessori LIFE «Winter 2003 41

Area/Exercise

Practical LifePouringButtoningSweeping

SensorialTOUC/Î; Geo. Solids

Visual: Solid insetsCylinder boxes(2-3 children)

Auditory:Set of Bells

(2-3 children)

Smell:Smelling Boxes

LanguageSandpaper LettersMovable Alphabet

Objects with wordson cards(2-3 children)

MathematicsSandpaper Numerals

Number Rods

Golden beads

Table 3. Relation of Montessori Curriculum to Gardner's

Intelligences

Bodily-kinestheticSpatial

Bodily-kinestheticSpatialLogical-mathematical

Bodily-kinestheticSpatialLogical-mathematicalLinguisticInterpersonal

MusicalInterpersonal

Naturalist

Bodily-kinestheticSpatialLinguistic

Bodily-kinestheticLinguistic

Interpersonal

Bodily-kinestheticSpatialNaturalist

Bodily-kinestheticSpatialLogical-mathematical

Bodily-kinestheticSpatial

Logical-mathematical

Area/Exercise

Object handlingMental visualization

Object handlingMental visualizationRelationsClassificationSemantics

Object handlingMental visualizationRelationsSemanticsAwareness ofintentions of others

PitchAwareness of feelingsof others

RecognitionClassification

Object handlingMental visualizationPhonology

Object handlingMental visualizationPhonologySemanticsAwareness of desires& intentions of others

Object handlingMental visualizationRecognition

Object handlingMental visualizationRelations

Object handlingMental visualizationNumber relationsCalculationsClassification

Core Operations

NaturePlanting a garden

Caring for animalsin the classroom

Social StudiesLand & water forms

Puzzle maps

GymnasticsMarching

Broad Jump

ArtClay ConstructionFree Drawing

MusicSet of Bells

Singing

Intelligences

Intelligences

Bodily-kinesthetic

SpatialLogical-mathematicalNaturalist

Interpersonal

NaturalistBodily-kinestheticLinguisticSpatialNaturalist

Bodily-kinestheticLinguistic

Spatial

Bodily-kinestheticNaturalistLinguistic

Bodily-kinestheticMusical

Bodily-kinestheticLogical-mathematicalSpatial

Bodily-kinestheticSpatial

MusicalBodily-kinesthetic

Musical

Core Operations

Bodily motionsObject handlingMental visualizationsPatternsRecognitionClassificationAwareness of desires

of others

ClassificationObject handlingSemantics

Mental visualizationRecognitionClassificationObject handlingSemantics

Mental visualizationMental manipulationObject handlingClassificationSemantics

Control of movementRhythm

Control of motionsNumberMental visualization

Object handlingMental visualizationMental transformation

PitchObject handling

PitchRhythm

development, and spiritual growth. Shewrites, "Our educational aim with veryyoung children must be to aid the spontane-ous development of the mental, spiritualand physical personality" (1964, p. 230).

Gardner's focus, however, remains spe-cifically on those areas of human poten-tial he has defined as intelligences, intheir various forms and combinations.Although he has considered character.

moral, and spiritual issues in his work,they are not considered a part of MultipleIntelligence theory because they do notmeet his criterion for an intelligence.

Long before the introduction of Piaget'scognitive-developmental theory of children'sintelügence, Kohlberg's theory of moraldevelopment, and Gardner's theory of mul-tiple intelligences, Maria Montessori (1912)wrote about a method and curriculum for the

teaching and development of young chil-dren. In the description of her method andtechniques, she reveals her deep regard forall aspects of the child's development andprofound respect for the innate, unique po-tential she sees within each individual child,needing only the right environment to en-courage what is within to evolve.

Montessori realized the significance ofeach area of human potential or intelligence

42 Montessori LIFE • Winter 2003

in the experiences and materials she createdfor the children in her school. She seems tohave created her exercises to touch uponmany of the core operations of the eightintelligences described by Gardner and cre-ated multisensory experiences which acti-vate combinations of intelligences. For ex-ample, a Montessori mathematics lesson onthe geometric solids uses bodily-kinestheticintelligence in feeling the forms, visual/spa-tial in observing and internalizing images ofthe forms, logical-mathematical intelligencein establishing relations between them,naturalistic intelligence in observing andclassifying them, and linguistic in labelingthem. If the child did this activity with otherchildren, he or she could also exchangeideas about the forms and share them, thusutilizing interpersonal intelligence.

Table 3 is an analysis of Montessori'scurriculum as it relates to Gardner's eightinteUigences. A brief overview of the Mon-tessori curriculum areas indicates how eachof the materials encompasses at least oneintelligence and several core operations.For example, the Practical Life area exer-cises combine the use of Bodily-kinestheticand Spatial intelligences. The Sensorialexercises include many of the intelligences,such as Bodily-kinesthetic, Spatial, Logi-cal-mathematical, Naturalist, Linguistic,and Interpersonal, if children are workingtogether.Lí3/7 ií¿ígeexercises utilize Bodily-kinesthetic, Spatial, Linguistic, and Inter-personal intelligences, and mathematics.Nature and Social Studies engage Natural-ist, Bodily-kinesthetic, Logical-mathemati-cal. Spatial, Intetpersonal, and Linguisticintelligences. Art, Gymnastics, and Musicinvolve Bodily-kinesthetic, Logical-math-ematical, Spatial, andMusical intelligences.

Montessori addressed the personal andsocial life of the child, as well. For example,she wrote extensively about the itnportanceof self-knowledge and self-régulât i on,(Gardner's Intrapersonal intelligence). Shewrites: "We call an individual disciplinedwhen he is master of himself and can, there-fore, regulate his own conduct when it shallbe necessary to follow some title of life....Each oneof[thechildren] perfects himselfthrough his own powers, and goes forwai'dguided by that inner force which distin-guishes him as an individual" (1964, p. 86).

Many Montessori activities and exer-cises support the development of indepen-dence, decision-making, self-conü-ol, mas-tery, and discovery. She also recognizedthat children need to function in a socialworid and in community with others. Bydeveloping self-care .skills, self-control,manners, good habits, and polite conversa-tion, Montessori prepared her children to

Montessori .seenu to have created her exercisesto touch upon many ofihe core operations ofthe eight intelligences described by Gardnerand created multisensoiy experiences whichactivate combinations of intelligences.

enter into human society. But more impor-tant was that her children learned to respecteach other, help and teach one another, andshare and enjoy games, activities, and music.These practices and activities of the Montes-soti classroom encompass aspects of whatGardner calls Interpersonal intelligence.

In SummaryThis article has provided an updated

overview of Howard Gardner's Theoryof Multiple Intelligences and pointed outways in which Maria Montessori andHoward Gardner, although differing inthe focus of their work, came to verysimilar conclusions about human abili-ties and potentials. The exercises andactivities in Montessori's curriculum en-gage many of the core operations in theeight intelligences described by Gardner.

Both Maria Montessori and HowardGardner were revolutionary figures intheir fields. By challenging the statusquo, they have brought us to a greater

understanding of the potential of humanbeings through their gift of penetratingobservation and analysis of little childrenand adults with exceptionalities.

DR. PATRICIA A. VARDIN, educationalconsultant and parent educator, is asso-ciate professor and chair of the EarlyChildhood Department at Manhattan-ville College, Purchase, NY.

ReferencesGardner. H. ( 1983). Frame.s of mind: The lheor\ of

tmiliiple huelligcnce.s. New York: Basic.Gardtier. H. (1997). E.\ii-ciordinaiy minds. New York:

Basic.Gardner. H. (1999). Inlelligence refrained: Multiple

intelligences for the 2 ¡"centui-y. New York: Basic.Montessori. M. (1964). The Montessori method. New

York: Schocken.Montessori, M. (1995). The absorbent mind. New

York: Holt.

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