HOWARD GARDNER: Biography, Theory of Multiple Intelligences and Books

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Intelligence is usually related to reasoning ability and academic performance, but it is not really a single concept, but there are multiple intelligences, as Howard demonstrated Gardner. Do you want to know who Howard Gardner was and what he did? Keep reading this Psychology-Online article: Howard Gardner: biography, theory of multiple intelligences and books.

Index

1. Howard Gardner Biography
2. Howard Gardner and the theory of multiple intelligences
3. The 8 multiple intelligences
4. Howard Gardner: books
5. Howard Gardner: Quotes

Howard Gardner was born in 1943. He comes from a Jewish family, a refugee from Nazi Germany. A fact that marked the biography of Howard Gardner was his interest in psychology, influenced by the thoughts of Erik Erikcson and Jerome Bruner and, thanks to this interest, he decided to train in the Harvard University in Psychology and Neuropsychology. So he is an American psychologist who contributes in education and psychology.

Other relevant facts of the biography of Howard Gardner are the works of him as professor of education and psychology at Harvard University, professor of neurology at Boston University, specifically, at the medical school and, writer of numerous books written thanks to his experience, his research and his theories.

Howard Gardner is known, above all, for his research on the mind and intelligence of the human being. In this sense, after having investigated for a long time the development of the cognitive capacity of the human being, in 1993, Gardner presented his best-known theory: The theory of multiple intelligences.

Thanks to his ideals and thoughts, Howard Gardner managed to question a large number of beliefs marked traditional traditions, such as: the belief in the existence of a single dimension of intelligence; the importance of intelligence quotient (IQ) as the most reliable tool for assessing mental ability and classifying students based on possible successes / failures of their schooling based solely on IQ; the global and unique way of acquiring knowledge and content, without taking into account how each one is, how much and how they should learn, and so on.

As we have already mentioned, the Theory of multiple intelligences Howard Gardner's is his most recognized work. With this theory, Gardner claimed show that there is no single intelligence, but there are 8 different intelligences, these being 8 intelligences present in all human beings, to a greater or lesser extent. That is, all people have all intelligences but in each person one intelligence will predominate more than another, thus creating as many intelligence profiles as there are people in the world. However, the intelligence profile of each person can be modified by genetic and / or experiential issues.

In this sense, it is understood that each person has a different set of potentialities, therefore, for students to can learn in a meaningful way, the educational challenge is governed by the fact that each of the students must be taught in a personalized adapting the teaching-learning process to your specific profile. How to work on multiple intelligence in early childhood education? In this article you will find how to work multiple intelligences in the classroom.

For this reason, a broader vision of the human mind emerged, increasingly evaluating other aspects related to cognitive functions, such as imagination, creativity, emotions, interpersonal relationships, and so on.

Next we will see what are the types of intelligence according to Howard Gardner.

With his recognized theory, Howard Gardner demonstrated that there is no single intelligence, but that there are 8 types of intelligence. We will make a brief explanation of the 8 multiple intelligences:

1. Linguistic intelligence

This type of intelligence refers to the ability of people to use and manage language (verbal and non-verbal, oral and written) in a special and creative way. This intelligence is the basis for the formation of concepts and the transmission of ideas, thoughts and / or feelings, in short, it is what allows people to be able to communicate.

2. Logical-mathematical intelligence

This intelligence refers to the ability to think rationally and logically. For this ability is often used to solve numerical problems and to think according to established logical rules. All this allows people to recognize and predict the causes of things that happen, taking into account the capacity of deduction and observation.

3. Kinetic-body intelligence (or kinesthetic)

This intelligence is linked to ability to express oneself with the body in a harmonious, fluid and malleable way through a set of coordinated movements, both general (gross motor) and manual (fine motor) movements. This intelligence is very prevalent in professional dancers, surgeons, athletes, artisans, and all those whose profession or greater skill is related to the control of the movements. In other words, this intelligence is one that allows people to be able to use their body or parts of your body to be able to develop productions and / or solve life problems everyday.

4. Visual-spatial intelligence

It is the ability to form mental images and models in a coherent way, and that are related to aspects of our environment, our usual space. The role of sight or the visual capacity of this intelligence is not decisive, although it must be taken into account that sight is a very important sense to be able to recognize the environment.

5. Musical intelligence

It is the ability to process the sounds of musical pieces, whether simple or complex, regardless of genre or style of music. This intelligence is also linked to the ability to create, produce and appreciate musical pieces, as well as the ability and / or musical sensitivity to perceive music in detail.

6. Interpersonal intelligence

Refers to the ability to Interact with other people, either to establish social or professional contact, among others. This intelligence allows people to be able to recognize and distinguish the feelings, emotions and intentions of other people.

7. Intrapersonal intelligence

It is characterized by the ability to connect with yourself and, thus, to be able to recognize the internal states of oneself (feelings, emotions ...) and to create a realistic own image. In this sense, it could be considered that this is the most intimate and private intelligence compared to the others.

8. Naturalistic intelligence

It is the ability to manage the natural environment. It allows people to be able to classify different elements of the natural environment and, live and coexist in harmony with nature and with the elements that make it up.

Multiple intelligences test

If you want to know what types of intelligences predominate in you, you can do this multiple intelligences test.

If you are interested in learning more about the theories and research of the author of the famous theory of multiple intelligences, here we mention some of the most outstanding books by Howard Gardner:

• Art, Mind and Brain (1982)
• Structures of the mind: theory of multiple intelligences (1983)
• The New Science of Mind (1985)
• The unschooled mind (1991)
• Multiple Intelligences (1993)
• Creative minds (1995)
• Leading Minds (1998)
• Intelligence reformulated (1999)
• The education of the mind and the knowledge of the disciplines (1999)
• The Five Minds of the Future (2005)
• The APP Generation (2014)

Some of the best known phrases of Howard Gardner are the following:

• Today no one can learn everything.
• It is very important to evaluate intelligence, but standardized tests are not the most appropriate solution.
• We can ignore differences and assume that all minds are the same, or we can take advantage of these differences.
• You learn the best you can when you have something that matters to you and that you like to be involved in.
• Not everyone has the same kinds of interests and abilities, nor does everyone learn in the same way.
• I reject the notion that human beings have only one intelligence, which can be used for the full range of problem solving.
• All human beings have all intelligences. But we differ, for genetic and experiential reasons, in our intelligence profile at any time.
• Each person has a unique combination of intelligence. Stimulate each student in a personalized way the fundamental educational challenge.
• The biggest mistake of past centuries in teaching has been treating all students as if they were variants of the same individual and thus feel justified in teaching them the same subjects of the same way.
• The goal of education is to help people better use their minds.
• If he thinks education is expensive, try estimating the cost of ignorance.
• Intelligence, or what we consider to be intelligent actions, has been modified throughout history. Intelligence is not a substance in the head like oil in an oil tank, but rather a collection of potentialities that are completed.
• The emergence of new technologies forces us to educate children in a different way.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Howard Gardner: biography, theory of multiple intelligences and books, we recommend that you enter our category of Biographies.

• Brites de Vila, G., and Almoño de Jenichen, L. (2008). Multiple intelligences: games and dynamics to multiply the ways of learning using the capacities of the mind to the maximum. Buenos Aires: Editorial Bonum.
• Carrillo, M.E., and López, A. (2014). The theory of multiple intelligences in language teaching. Educational Contexts, 17, 79-89.