Steiner Education and Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
by Bella C. Tan, 6 December 2004
The concept of intelligence being comprised of at least seven distinct “capabilities” working alone or together, became widely publicized in the work of Howard Gardner, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1983. This theory of “multiple intelligences” shattered the common standard of measuring human intelligence based on mere Intelligence Quotient or IQ which involves mainly the linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences. A more conscious acceptance of the multifaceted intelligence of the human being quickly took over.
An understanding of Steiner pedagogy, also referred to as Waldorf education, its suggested curriculum and teaching methods, leads one to realize that its founder, Rudolf Steiner, was indeed aware, even prior to the early 1900’s, of what Gardner has just recently written about. Practical application of this knowledge can be easily surmised from (a) Steiner’s view of the nature of the human being where thinking, feeling and willing as soul capacities, must all be addressed and harmonized in education; (b) the different and encompassing subjects geared to the education of the hands (like handwork, carpentry, sculpture, gardening, etc), the heart ( as in the case of the various arts and music), and the head (mathematics/algebra, sciences, literature, history, etc), and (c) the diverse methods of learning used, such as, games/play, experiments and direct experience, lots of movement, recitation, singing, playing of musical instruments, drawing, painting, and others – performed both individually and in groups.
A further insight is that for every stage of development a growing child is in, more focus is given to certain capabilities: emphasis on the will development which involves, bodily-kinesthetic and spatial intelligences during early childhood (birth to 7 years); the feeling life related to the musical-rhythmical-artistic in the middle childhood (7-14 years); and thinking which is mostly linked with the linguistic-logical-mathematical in puberty and early adulthood (14-21 years).
All seven intelligences are addressed using the appropriate educational content and teaching method corresponding to the level of the child’s developing consciousness. For instance, for linguistic capability, very simple rhymes, verses, nature stories and fairytales spoken while accompanied by suitable gestures, are used in the kindergarten. More complex literary works and recitation of lines for Shakespeare’s dramas and plays actually staged by the students, are done in the middle and upper school. Sorting out toys and putting them in separate baskets while in kindergarten, serve as a basis for mathematics in the grade school. Allowing the children freedom of movement, as in climbing, running, skipping, jumping in the early years, throwing a beanbag while reciting the multiplication tables, eurythmy, gymnastics, knitting, woodwork, sculpting beeswax and clay/terracotta, and projective geometry are all related to one’s bodily-kinesthetic as well as spatial intelligence. Regular singing from early childhood up to high school and learning how to play various musical instruments like the recorder, violin, cello, the Philippine gongs or “kulintang” are not only meant for the musical intelligence, but also deal with interpersonal relations as experienced in being part of the school choir and orchestra.
Steiner education has the task of preparing the child for life. In this connection, guides to answer basic life questions pertaining to one’s identity, one’s relationship with other human beings, and the meaning of one’s life or existence are essential. History which covers man’s different approaches to life and the different religions of various civilizations, as well as biographies of significant historical characters, provide various perspectives in viewing one’s self (intrapersonal intelligence) and dealing with fellow human beings (interpersonal intelligence).
Rudolf Steiner went even a lot further on dealing with the nature and full development of the human being in connection with his work on the twelve senses. The twelve senses are related to one’s inner and outer life (intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences). The four lower senses of touch, life, own movement and balance, which are initially geared to oneself during the beginning of life, metamorphose into the four higher senses of hearing, speech/word, thought and “I” of the others. The middle senses of smell, taste, sight and warmth deal with both one’s personal preferences in relation to what is out there.
The idea that every individual is stronger in some intelligences than in others, and that one learns faster and more completely if the more developed intelligences are utilized, is concretely applied in Steiner schools by using all possible imaginative, creative ways of teaching which involve the whole being of the child. For example, in learning a specific letter of the alphabet, storytelling, singing, moving the letter in space using the hand, arm, leg, feet and the whole body, pictorially deriving the letter from one’s own drawing of images of nature, and repeatedly reciting words that begin with that letter, are some of the activities done.
Results of modern educational researches, like the importance of EQ or emotional quotient alongside IQ for success, and Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, support the success and continuing growth of the Steiner education movement world-wide. The art of Steiner Education is distinct from, and likewise shares certain positive aspects with other scientific approaches to education today.