A Review of Semantic Application of MI Theory and Effects for Teacher Training

Abstract

The notion of “multiple intelligences” (MI) was established by Howard Gardner, a psychologist from the United States, during the latter part of the 1970s and the early part of the 1980s. Gardner introduced the concept of MI in his 1983 publication titled Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, positing that individuals possess unique cognitive abilities across eight discrete domains. As per the theory, there exist nine discrete categories of intelligence, such as logical-mathematical, visual-spatial, musical-rhythmic, verbal-linguistic, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal, existential, and naturalistic. Individuals construct their distinct cognitive frameworks by engaging in activities that are highly valued within their respective cultural contexts. The present article furnishes a comprehensive outline of the rationales and plausible scenarios for deliberating MI theory with pre-service educators during their teacher training. This study examines the significance of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and comparable models in the context of teacher training, taking into account the distinctions between the semantic theoretical foundations of intelligence in Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory and learning styles theory.