Howard Gardner is the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor in Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
His research in developmental and neuropsychology began in the early 70s, and led to the theory of multiple intelligences (MI).
MI basically posits that there are 7 solid (as of today) intelligences that we have, and that as individuals we tend to have stronger access to one intelligence over the others. Some of us are very musical, or bodily-kinesthetic… WE DANCE! While others are logical-mathematical… we’re good with numbers. And still others of us, are spatial learners—we communicate well with objects, shapes, and graphs.
The Original Set of Intelligences
Musical Intelligence
Bodily-Kinisthetic Intelligence
Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
Linguistic Intelligence
Spatial Intelligence
Interpersonal Intelligence
Intrapersonal Intelligence
Gardner’s research produces the materials which will help us to understand the how and why to put out-dated modes of education to rest.
Private schools have sprung up over the last two decades that are informed by MI theory. Even China has integrated MI as practice. We can certainly learn from the successes, and not so successes of China’s laser beamed style of educating a family’s “allotted” one child.
