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 | I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's the famous "I.Q." (I.Q. = "Intelligence Quotient"), a test score which claims to indicate how smart we are. How I wish we'd had a multiple intelligence test! At the time I was in school, it was the practice in the United States to then to track or stream children according to the numbers from these intelligence or ability tests. |
When the numbers were high we said, "Oh, these children are probably going to college!" How do we know? "Well, the numbers tell us. The numbers indicate that these children have the intellectual capability to handle what's involved in a college course of study."
Therefore they were put into "college prep" classes. They were often assigned to so-called "gifted" programs.
Now if the numbers were a little bit smaller we said something like, "Oh, these kids can't handle what's involved in a college prep classes so let's put them into 'vocational tech' classes so they can learn what they need to become productive members of the labor force."
If the numbers were even lower we assumed they would not be able to handle either of the previously mentioned scenarios, so they were put into "special education".
Now I know this is a bit of a caricature, but unfortunately not nearly as much as I wish it was.
So why am I mentioning this?
All current so-called "intelligence tests" or "ability tests" by design are flawed. They measure a very small range of our human intellectual capacities, namely our logical thinking abilities (per Western definitions of logic), various linguistic and math skills (which can be demonstrated in a paper and pencil manner), and fairly elementary spatial abilities such as choosing similar objects or shapes from a range of options. Why have we chosen to define this narrow range of capabilities as “intelligence” but not our ability to express deep thoughts, emotions, and ideas through music, dance, art, drama, and interpersonal relationships? Why do we not call one’s inner knowledge about the self or the natural world around us intelligence? |
The "Multiple Intelligence Test and Profile Indicator" which I have created presents a very different view of our intelligence. It calls into question the basic assumptions about our intelligence represented by the “IQ paradigm.”
The multiple intelligence test assumes that human intelligence is a biological, neurological, psychological, sensory, and cognitive reality.
Our intelligence is much more than what goes on between our ears! It occurs throughout our entire brain, mind, body system and even beyond ourselves in our socio-cultural environment as well.
You’re Smarter Than You Think You Are!
(AND than you've been told you are!)
| In 1985 the Harvard psychologist and educator, Dr. Howard Gardner, proposed the theory of multiple intelligences. He raised several questions which he focused on in his research:
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How do we come to know what we know about our world?The findings of Gardner's research have literally shaken the foundations of almost everything we used to think about human intelligence.
| Most of us grew up believing that intelligence is fixed and static at birth. We believe were born with a certain amount of intelligence and are stuck with it. We must learn to compensate for what we got or didn't get from nature. |
 | The good news is that Gardner (along with many others!) discovered and documented that our intelligence is not fixed and static at birth. |
| In fact our intelligence is a growing, changing, dynamic reality that continues to expand throughout our lives! |
| We used to think that could more or less "pigeon-hole" a person's intellectual abilities through a variety of testing mechanisms. Once identified, we thought we knew what a person's potentials in their life were. |
| Thanks to Howard Gardner's research, we now know that intelligence can be taught; it can be enhanced; it can be developed. |
| At almost any age and any ability level we can learn to be more intelligent, on more levels of our being than we ever thought possible before! |
| We used to think that one's intelligence was defined by one's skill in "readin', and writin' and 'rithmetic" as the song goes. These were also the main (and most valued) subject taught in our formal education. |
| The heart of Gardner's research was the result of the discovery that intelligence is a multi-dimensional reality. There a many ways we are smart, not just one! |
| There are many ways we go about such things a learning, understanding, processing information, and knowing what we know in our lives. |
Howard Gardner coined the phrase "multiple intelligences" to describe the findings of his research that we are smart in many ways. I call it The 8 Kinds of Smart.
Some people also talk about different business personality types. This is another layer of understanding we need to help us better serve and related to others.
However, regardless of one's personality type, they still have multiple intelligences; namely, they have different ways they learn and process information.
A Multiple Intelligence Test and Profile Indicator
The Multiple Intelligence Test and Profile Indicator asks us to look at ourself and other people in a very different way, not asking “How smart am I? ” OR “How smart are they?” (other people). The Multiple Intelligence test leads us to ask “HOW am I smart?” OR “HOW are they smart?” – a very different question indeed!
Fill out the form below to gain access to your Multiple Intelligence Test and Profile Indicator on line for FREE. Go ahead and give it a try!
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