Title: Child Development Theories: Howard Gardner
Headings: Child Development Theories: Howard Gardner
Child Development
Child Development Theories: Howard Gardner
Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligence Theory

Content: Email me more like this…
Dr. Howard Gardner is an American developmental psychologist who first outlined his theory of multiple intelligences in his book ‘Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences’ published in 1983. Gardner believed human intelligence was not just one general ability but a suite of eight different abilities which occur in children and adults. These abilities are: Linguistic-Verbal intelligence (good with words and language)
Logical-Mathematical intelligence (good with numbers and reasoning)
Visual-Spatial intelligence (good at visualising things)
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence (good at body actions and physical control)
Musical-Rhythmic intelligence (good musical skills)
Interpersonal intelligence (good at understanding and relating to people)
Intrapersonal intelligence (aware of personal emotions, feelings and motivation)
Naturalistic intelligence (well in tune with nature and the natural environment)
Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligence Theory
Gardner believed his multiple intelligence theory is a more accurate way of describing ability than narrow IQ theories which suggested intelligence is: relatively fixed, easily tested and limited to areas such as verbal and reasoning skills. For Gardner, humans don’t have just one intellectual capacity but a range of talents and abilities such as interpersonal, musical, spatial-visual, and linguistic intelligences. A person might have a dominant intelligence – such as musical intelligence – but was also likely to have a blend of additional abilities too. For teachers, one strong implication of Gardner’s theory is that children are likely to have different preferred ways of learning. For example, whilst one child may prefer a verbal explanation, another may prefer ‘hands-on’ (kinesthetic) learning, while yet another may prefer to follow pictures or diagrams.