Gardner, Howard
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[edit] Mini Autobiography
http://www.pz.harvard.edu/PIs/HGphoto.jpg
In his own words...
I was born in Scranton, PA in 1943, the son of refugees from Nazi Germany. I was a studious child who gained much pleasure from playing the piano; music has remained very important throughout my life. All of my post-secondary education has been at Harvard University. I was trained as a developmental psychologist and later as a neuropsychologist.
For many years, I conducted two streams of research on cognitive and symbol-using capacities–one with normal and gifted children, the second with adults who suffered from brain damage. My effort to synthesize these two lines of work led me to develop and introduce the theory of multiple intelligences in my 1983 book Frames of Mind.
Since the mid-1980s, I have been heavily involved in school reform efforts in the United States. In 1986, I began to teach at the Harvard Graduate School of Education while continuing my long-term involvement with Project Zero, a research group in human cognition that maintains a special focus on the arts.
- Source: Short Biography of Howard Gardner. Retrieved from Project Zero Web site at the Harvard Graduate School of Education: http://www.pz.harvard.edu/PIs/HG.htm
[edit] Significant Contributions
The Intelligence Problem According to Gardner
In the field of education and psychology, Howard Gardner is best known for his theories and work on Intelligence(s). Gardner considered tests or other assessments used to measure the intelligence quotient of a person to be inconclusive. He argued that the importance placed on an IQ number did not predict or reflect one's outcome in school or later success in life. In his book, Frames of Mind, Gardner states that the problem lies less in the technology of testing, but more so in the ways in which we customarily think about the intellect and in our in-grained views on intelligence. He suggests that if we could only expand and reformulate our view of what counts as human intellect, then we will be able to devise more appropriate means of assessing it and better ways of effectivley teaching it. (Gardner 1983)
Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences
Gardner's reformulated views on intelligence brought him to identify multiple ways in which people learn and demonstrate their learning. Gardner orginally formulated the following seven areas of intelligence:
- Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence: abilities to use vocabulary, do verbal analysis, understand metaphors, and comprehend and produce verbal material
- Musical Intelligence: understanding and expressing oneself through music and rhythmic movements or dance, or composing, playing, or conducting music
- Logical-Mathematical Intelligence: involves numbers and computing skills, recognizing patterns and relationships, timelines, ability to solve different kinds of problems through logic
- Visual-Spatial Intelligence: involves visual perception of the environment, ability to create and manipulate mental images, and the orientation of the body in space
- Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence: physical coordination and dexterity, using fine and gross motor skills, and expressing oneself or learning through physical activities
- Interpersonal Intelligence: understanding how to communicate with and understand other people and how to work collaboratively
- Intrapersonal Intelligence: understanding one's inner world of emotions and thoughts, and growing in the ability to control them and work with them consciously
(Gardner 1983)
Two additional intelligences have since been added.
- Naturalist intelligence: understanding the natural world of plants and animals
- Existentialist intelligence
Books Written by Gardner on the Theory of Multiple Intelligences
- Frames of Mind: The theory of multiple intelligences.
- Multiple Intelligences: The theory in practice.
- Intelligence reframed.
[edit] Signed ‿Life Experiences‿, Testimonies, and Stories
[[I remember when I first encountered Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences in my Intro to Ed. Psych. course. I was so interested that I decided to try designing a Social Studies unit that utilized each of the Intelligences. That experience showed me that it is unrealistic to try to teach each intelligence every time. However, I was left with a sense that to be an effective teacher I would need to present course material in several ways. Also, I try to give students latitude to make their own choices about how they will demonstrate their learning to me. Warner Ferratier
When I was co-teaching with another teacher in her English class, I had the opportunity to introduce her to Gardner’s theories. She was rather too focused on college bound students, but over the years she was started to understand multiple intelligences and has made changes accordingly for students whom have troubles linguistically. P Graham
I think one great benefit of the concept of Multiple Intelligences is for not only the awareness of the teacher, but for the awareness of the student as well. That is, a student should know through the intelligences ways to facilitate their learning of concepts in order to help them become lifelong learners. -Grace Vigneron]] After first being exposed to Gardner's work in the early 90's I've pondered how to best to implement instructional materials and learning environments that would allow teaching to multiple intelligences within the same content/unit/lesson. As Warner F. states above, it really is (at least currently) to teach to multiple intelligences simultaneously. One option that I've never seen fully explored is splitting up students into like "intelligences" groups. Historically we've explored all sorts of other groupings in classrooms, or splitting between classrooms based on achievement, IQ, gender, race, test scores, interests, etc. Why not try lumping together students in Gardner's categories? -J. Tubbs
[edit] References and Other Links of Interest
Gardner, Howard. (1983) Frames of Mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books. Basic Books Paperback, 1985. Tenth Anniversary Edition with new introduction, New York: Basic Books, 1993.
Gardner, Howard (1993). Multiple Intelligences: The theory in practice. New York: Basic Books.
Gardner, Howard (1999). Intelligence reframed. New York: Basic Books.
Project Zero, Harvard University (2005) http://www.pz.harvard.edu/PIs/HG.htm.
Wiked page for Multiple Intelligences: http://moodle.ed.uiuc.edu/wiked/index.php/Multiple_Intelligences
Gardner's official website: http://www.howardgardner.com/
Wikipedia Link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Gardner
