Howard Gardner, an American psychologist and educator who has gained worldwide fame for his theory of multiple intelligences, has been named an honorary professor of the East China Normal University based in Shanghai.

Gardner, a developmental psychology professor with the Harvard Graduate School of Education, gave a speech at the university Saturday on education from the multiple intelligences perspective.

He addressed the audience on the various potential intelligences a child actually has and how an educator should help children develop to their fullest potential.

His speech received a warm welcome from more than 1,200 teachers and students, most of whom are being trained to become teachers themselves in the near future.

First set forth in 1983, Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences has been acclaimed by worldwide educators and psychologists as a "Copernican-type revolution". His theory defines intelligence as an ability to tackle problems or create products that are valued in at least one culture and challenges the traditional view of intelligence as a unitary capacity that can be adequately measured by intelligence quotient tests.

Many Chinese schools, kindergartens and other early childhood developmental service providers have employed Gardner's theory in their curriculum design in an effort to promote "holistic" education and tap the kids' all-round potentials to the maximum in the early stages of their life.
 
(Xinhua News Agency May 24, 2004)