Title: Howard Gardner Biography and Theories
Headings: Howard Gardner Biography and Theories
Howard Gardner Biography and Theories
Brief Biography of Howard Gardner
Career and Theories
Howard Gardener's Awards
Selected Publications
Multiple Intelligences vs. Learning Styles
A Word From Verywell

Content: "My mind was really opened when I went to Harvard College and had the opportunity to study under individuals—such as psychoanalyst Erik Erikson, sociologist David Riesman, and cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner—who were creating knowledge about human beings. That helped set me on the course of investigating human nature, particularly how human beings think," he later explained. 4 ﻿
Career and Theories
After spending time working with two very different groups, normal and gifted children, and brain-damaged adults, Gardner began developing a theory designed to synthesize his research and observations. In 1983, he published Frames of Mind which outlined his theory of multiple intelligences. According to this theory, people have many different ways of learning. Unlike traditional theories of intelligence that focus on one single general intelligence, Gardner believed that people instead have multiple different ways of thinking and learning. 5 ﻿
He has since identified and described eight different kinds of intelligence: Interpersonal intelligence
Intrapersonal intelligence
Kinesthetic intelligence
Linguistic-verbal intelligence
Mathematical intelligence
Musical intelligence
Naturalistic intelligence
Visual-spatial intelligence
He has also proposed the possible addition of a ninth type which he refers to as "existential intelligence." 6 ﻿
Gardner's theory has perhaps had the greatest impact within the field of education, where it has received considerable attention and use. His conceptualization of intelligence as more than a single, solitary quality has opened the doors for further research and different ways of thinking about human intelligence.