Introduction
Howard Gardner (b. 1943) is the Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He co-directs Harvard’s Project Zero, which promotes creativity and problem solving in the classroom (note Dewey’s influence). Perhaps his most famous idea is the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, first proposed in Frames of Mind (1983), and subsequently revised and expanded in a number of publications. Gardner discusses the idea of intelligence as defined by Alfred Binet’s I.Q. test. Binet’s test is predicated on the idea that intelligence is quantifiable and measurable. Gardner disputes this notion and counter proposes that intelligence is not a single entity, but there are a number of forms of intelligence, many that cannot be measured using Binet’s I.Q. test. Gardner’s ideas about multiple intelligences have been adopted by many educators but continue to receive a very skeptical reception by many psychologists. We will first look at Gardner’s theory and then examine one of his critics, analyzing their arguments, use of sources, and rhetoric.
Links to Readings and Video
Text:
Howard Gardner. Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons (2006) (Chapter 1, pp. 3-24). The text can be found in the library as an Ebsco Ebook:
Ferguson, C. J. (2009). Not every child is secretly a genius. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 55 Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/214638602?accountid=8068
