Many teachers utilize multiple intelligences in their teaching philosophies and work to integrate Gardner’s theory into the classroom. Gardner’s theory also suffers from a lack of supporting empirical research.ĭespite this, the theory of multiple intelligences enjoys considerable popularity with educators.
These critics argue that Gardner’s definition of intelligence is too broad and that his eight different 'intelligences' simply represent talents, personality traits, and abilities. Gardner’s theory has come under criticism from both psychologists and educators. For example, an individual might be strong in verbal, musical, and naturalistic intelligence. While a person might be particularly strong in a specific area, such as musical intelligence, he or she most likely possesses a range of abilities. In order to capture the full range of abilities and talents that people possess, Gardner theorizes that people do not have just an intellectual capacity, but have many kinds of intelligence, including musical, interpersonal, spatial-visual, and linguistic intelligences.
