The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.
Howard Gardner, truly a pioneer in educational development research, has questioned the idea that intelligence is a single quality and that it can be measured simply via IQ tests. Mr. Gardner views intelligence as "the capacity to solve problems or to fashion products that are valued in one or more cultural setting." His belief is that people think, learn, and work in several different ways, as explained in his Frames Of Mind: The Theory Of Multiple Intelligence: "In the heyday of the psychometric and behaviorist eras, it was generally believed that intelligence was a single entity that was inherited; and that human beings - initially a blank slate - could be trained to learn anything, provided that it was presented in an appropriate way. Nowadays an increasing number of researchers believe precisely the opposite; that there exists a multitude of intelligences, quite independent of each other; that each intelligence has its own strengths and constraints; that the mind is far from unencumbered at birth; and that it is unexpectedly difficult to teach things that go against early 'naive' theories of that challenge the natural lines of force within an intelligence and its matching domains." His theory has laid the framework for an entirely new method of teaching; one specifically designed to stimulate each individual student's type of intelligence.
Howard Gardner initially formulated a list of seven intelligences. The first two are ones that have been typically valued in schools; the next three are usually associated with the arts; and the final two are what Howard Gardner called personal intelligences. The criteria required to be considered an intelligence are: .
1. A set of skills that enables a person to resolve genuine problems encountered in life.
2. The ability to create an effective product or offer a service that is valued in a culture.
