Title: Howard Gardner's 9 Types of Intelligence
Headings: Howard Gardner’s 9 Types of Intelligence
Howard Gardner’s 9 Types of Intelligence
The Nine Types of Intelligence
1. Naturalist Intelligence (“Nature Smart”)
2. Musical Intelligence (“Musical Smart”)
3. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence (Number/Reasoning Smart)
4. Existential Intelligence (Spirit Smart)
5. Interpersonal Intelligence (People Smart”)
6. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (“Body Smart”)
7. Linguistic Intelligence (Word Smart)
8. Intra-personal Intelligence (Self Smart”)
9. Spatial Intelligence (“Picture Smart”)

Content: Among them is the theory of multiple intelligences, developed by Howard Gardner, Ph.D., Professor of Education at Harvard University. Gardner’s early work in psychology and later in human cognition and human potential led to the development of the initial six intelligences. Today there are nine intelligences and the possibility of others may eventually expand the list. These intelligences (or competencies) relate to a person’s unique aptitude set of capabilities and ways they might prefer to demonstrate intellectual abilities. People have different strengths and intelligences. For example, students who are “interviewed” as a means to gain access to a course may be mislabeled as being less than desirable because of inappropriate assessment (poorly written interview questions, bias toward a perceived “perfect student,” and other narrow criteria). “In life, we need people who collectively are good at different things. A well-balanced world, and well-balanced organizations and teams, are necessarily comprised of people who possess different mixtures of intelligences. This gives that group a fuller collective capacity than a group of identical able specialists”
Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory can be used for curriculum development, planning instruction, selection of course activities, and related assessment strategies. Instruction which is designed to help students develop their strengths can also trigger their confidence to develop areas in which they are not as strong.