Howard Gardner

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Template:Short description Template:Infobox scientist Howard Earl Gardner (born July 11, 1943) is an American developmental psychologist and the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Research Professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard University. He was a founding member of Harvard Project Zero in 1967 and held leadership roles at that research center from 1972 to 2023. Since 1995, he has been the co-director of The Good Project.<ref name="Gordon, Lynn Melby 2006">Gordon, Lynn Melby. "Gardner, Howard (1943–)." Encyclopedia of Human Development. Ed. Neil J. Salkind. Vol. 2. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference, 2006. 552-553. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. October 27, 2014.</ref>

Gardner has written hundreds of research articles<ref name="go.galegroup.com" /> and over thirty books that have been translated into over thirty languages. He is best known for his theory of multiple intelligences,<ref name=":0" /> as outlined in his 1983 book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.<ref name="Gordon, Lynn Melby 2006"/>

Gardner retired from teaching in 2019.<ref name="gse.harvard.edu">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2020, he published his intellectual memoir A Synthesizing Mind.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He continues his research and writing, including several blogs.

Early life and education

Howard Earl Gardner was born July 11, 1943, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Ralph Gardner and Hilde (née Weilheimer) Gardner, German-Jewish immigrants who fled Germany in 1938 just prior to World War II.<ref name="CRLearnEnc">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6">Template:Citation</ref>

Gardner described himself as "a studious child who gained much pleasure from playing the piano".<ref name=ZeroBio /> Although Gardner never became a professional pianist, he taught piano intermittently from 1958 to 1969.<ref name="go.galegroup.com">Template:Cite encyclopedia a part of the Gale Virtual Reference Library.</ref>

Howard Gardner had a brother named Eric who died at age seven in a sledding accident just before Howard's birth.<ref name=":6" /> Gardner often reflects on his childhood, his overall Jewish values and the tragic loss of his brother, whom he never got the opportunity to meet. As a young child Gardner enjoyed reading and playing the piano.<ref name=":0" />

Education was of the utmost importance in the Gardner home. While his parents had hoped that he would attend Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, Gardner opted to attend a school closer to his hometown in Pennsylvania, Wyoming Seminary. Gardner had a desire to learn and greatly excelled in school.<ref>Webber, Jacob. "Gardner, Howard." Encyclopedia of the History of Psychological Theories. Ed. Robert W. Rieber. Vol. 1. New York: Springer, 2012. 464-465. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. December 10, 2014.</ref>

Gardner graduated from Harvard College with highest honors in 1965 with a B.A. in Social Relations, and studied under the renowned Erik Erikson.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> After spending one year at the London School of Economics, where he studied Philosophy and Sociology, he went on to obtain his Ph.D. in developmental psychology at Harvard while working with psychologists Roger Brown and Jerome Bruner, and philosopher Nelson Goodman.<ref name="CRLearnEnc" />

Gardner also attended the Boston University Aphasia Research Center, where he completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship from 1971-1972.<ref name=":7">Template:Cite web</ref> Gardner continued to be high achiever throughout his academic life.<ref name=":0" />

Career

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Gardner in his earlier years

For his postdoctoral fellowship, Gardner worked alongside neurologist Norman Geschwind and continued his work there for another 20 years.<ref name="go.galegroup.com"/> In 1986, Gardner became a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.<ref name=":7" /> He has been the Chair of the Project Zero Steering Committee since 1995, and was the Co- Director for Project Zero from 1972- 2000.<ref name=":7" /> Gardner has also been Senior Director of the Project Zero Committee since 2000.<ref name=":7" /> Gardner is also a part time lecturer at Harvard University in the field of Psychology.<ref name=":7" /> Gardner is the John H. and the Elizabeth A. Hobbs Tutor at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (Arizona State University, 2022).

Since 1995, much of the focus of his work has been on The GoodWork Project, now part of a larger initiative known as The Good Project that encourages excellence, ethics, and engagement in work, digital life, and civic society.

In 2000, Gardner, Kurt Fischer, and their colleagues at the Harvard Graduate School of Education established the master's degree program in Mind, Brain, and Education. This program was thought to be the first of its kind around the world. Many universities in both the United States and abroad have since developed similar programs. Since then, Gardner has published books on a number of topics including Changing Minds: The Art and Science of Changing Our Own and Other People's Minds, Five Minds for the Future, Truth, Beauty and Goodness Reframed, and The App Generation (written with Katie Davis).<ref name="CRLearnEnc"/>

Since 2012, Gardner has been co-directing a major study of higher education in the United States with Wendy Fischman and several other colleagues.<ref name="howardgardner.com">Template:Cite web</ref> Information about the study, including several dozen blogs, is available on Gardner's website.<ref name="howardgardner.com"/> In March 2022, MIT Press published Wendy Fischman and Howard Gardner's book The Real World of College: What Higher Education Is and What It Can Be.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

At the start of 2024, Gardner was the most cited Educational Scholar in the United States, according to the Edu-Scholar Public Influence Ratings.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2024, Teachers College Press published two collections of Gardner’s papers: The Essential Howard Gardner on Education and The Essential Howard Gardner on Mind.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Theory and criticism

According to Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, humans have several different ways of processing information, and these ways are relatively independent of one another. The theory is a critique of the standard intelligence theory, which emphasizes the correlation among abilities, as well as traditional measures like IQ tests that typically only account for linguistic, logical, and spatial abilities. Since 1999, Gardner has identified eight intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily/kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Gardner and colleagues have also considered two additional intelligences, existential and pedagogical.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Many teachers, school administrators, and special educators have been inspired by Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences.<ref>Gordon, Lynn Melby. "Gardner, Howard (1943–)." Encyclopedia of Human Development. Ed. Neil J. Salkind. Vol. 2. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference, 2006. 552-553. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. December 8, 2014.</ref>

Gardner's definition of intelligence has been met with some criticism in education circles<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as well as in the field of psychology. Perhaps the strongest and most enduring critique of his theory of multiple intelligences centers on its lack of empirical evidence, much of which points to a single construct of intelligence called "g".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Gardner has responded that his theory is based entirely on empirical evidence as opposed to experimental evidence, as he does not believe experimental evidence in itself can yield a theoretical synthesis.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences can be seen as both a departure from and a continuation of the 20th century's work on the subject of human intelligence. Other prominent psychologists whose contributions variously developed or expanded the field of study include Charles Spearman, Louis Thurstone, Edward Thorndike, and Robert Sternberg.

In 1967, Professor Nelson Goodman started an educational program called Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, which began with a focus in arts education and now spans a wide variety of educational arenas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Howard Gardner and David Perkins were founding Research Assistants and later Co-Directed Project Zero from 1972 to 2000. Project Zero's mission is to understand and enhance learning, thinking, and creativity in the arts, as well as a broad range of humanistic and scientific disciplines at the individual and institutional levels.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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Good Project founders: William Damon, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and Gardner

For over two decades, in collaboration with William Damon, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and several other colleagues, Gardner has been directing research at The Good Project on the nature of good work, good play, and good collaboration. The goal of his research is to determine what it means to achieve work that is at once excellent, engaging, and carried out in an ethical way. With colleagues Lynn Barendsen, Courtney Bither, Shelby Clark, Wendy Fischman, Carrie James, Kirsten McHugh, and Danny Mucinskas, Gardner has developed curricular toolkits on these topics for use in educational and professional circles.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Howard Earl Gardner posited the theory of multiple intelligences (MI) in 1983 at the Harvard Graduate School of Education at the University.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> Gardner's work in psychology and cognitive development led to his curiosity in exploring this prominent theory. Earlier in designing his theory, he proposed that there were seven intelligences, however since then, he has added an eighth (naturalist intelligence), and even posited two additional intelligences (existential and pedagogical). Multiple intelligences theory can be used in the classroom as one approach to designing curricula.

All human beings possess the eight posited intelligences, but they differ in the relative strength of each intelligence, and the extent to which they draw on one or more intelligences to solve problems, or to create products.

Gardner has stated, "there should be no confusion between the intelligences and learning styles as they are not the same, teachers should use numerous strategies and methods within the classroom environment, so that students can understand concepts".<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> He posited that there was not enough research to prove that when students are paired with their learning style they will learn. He opined that since persons process information differently, the intelligences can aid practitioners in preparing plans which caters to the needs of the different students in the classroom.<ref name=":2" />

Many classrooms have incorporated Gardner's theory into their curricula as evidence has shown how useful his theory is with instructional design.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref>

Achievements and awards

In 1981 Gardner was the recipient of a MacArthur Prize Fellowship. In 1990 he became the first American to receive the University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Education.<ref name=grawemeyer.org>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1985, The National Psychology Awards for Excellence in the Media, awarded Gardner The Book Award for Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1987, he received the William James Award from the American Psychological Association.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> SUNY Plattsburgh inducted Gardner selected Gardner for honoris causa membership in Omicron Delta Kappa in 1998. In 1999, Gardner received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2000 he received a fellowship from the John S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Four years later he was named an Honorary Professor at East China Normal University in Shanghai. In the years 2005 and 2008 he was selected by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines as one of the top 100 most influential public intellectuals in the world.<ref name="Fpa.es">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2011, he won the Prince of Asturias Award in Social Sciences for his development of multiple intelligences theory.<ref name="Fpa.es"/> In 2015, he received the Brock International Prize in Education.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2020, Gardner received the Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award from the American Education Research Association.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

He has received honorary degrees from 31 colleges and universities around the world, including institutions in Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, South Korea, and Spain.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He is also a member of several honorary societies: American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical Society,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> National Academy of Education, and the American Academy of Political and Social Science.

Personal life

In 1982, Howard Gardner married Ellen Winner, Professor Emerita of Psychology at Boston College. They have one child, Benjamin. Gardner has three children from an earlier marriage: Kerith (1969), Jay (1971), and Andrew (1976); and five grandchildren: Oscar (2005), Agnes (2011), Olivia (2015), Faye Marguerite (2016), and August Pierre (2019).<ref name=ZeroBio>Template:Cite web</ref>

Gardner loves to spend time with his family as well as to travel.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite web</ref>

Publications

Howard Gardner has published more than 30 books, many of which have been translated into different languages.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

References

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Bibliography

Further reading

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