Reframing the Mind Howard Gardner became a hero among educators simply by redefining talents as “ intelligences ”

What would you think if your child came home from school and reported that the language-arts lesson of the day included using twigs and leaves to spell words? The typical parent might react with curiosity tinged with suspicion: Is working with twigs and leaves supposed to help my child learn to spell? Yes, according to Thomas Armstrong, author of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, especially if your child is high in “naturalist” intelligence—one of eight distinct intelligences that Harvard University scholar Howard Gardner claims to have identified. However, if your child possesses a high degree of what Gardner terms “bodilykinesthetic” intelligence, Armstrong suggests associating movement with spelling. For example, a teacher might try to connect sitting with consonants and standing with vowels. Armstrong is far from alone in placing faith in Gardner’s theory of “multiple intelligences.”Gardner’s ideas have been a significant force in education for the past 20 years—significant enough that they bear close study. How does the scientific community regard the theory of multiple intelligences, and what impact should the theory have on education?