Gardner Greets Portland

On October 8, Howard Gardner, renowned education scholar and MacArthur Fellow, spoke to more than 800 educators about the future of education at Portland’s first Creating Minds Symposium, cosponsored by Lewis & Clark’s Graduate School of Education and Counseling.

Gardner is the author of Five Minds for the Future and created the widely respected theory of “multiple intelligences” (which acknowledges the variety of cognitive abilities that humans display). His presentation focused on how students’ “minds” can be developed in schools and how the digital age is changing the kinds of thinking that are necessary for the next generation.

Gardner was followed by Michael Geisen, the 2008 National Teacher of the Year, who gave a rousing presentation on serving up a “balanced diet” of creative curricula for students.

In addition to the public presentations, Gardner, graduate school dean Scott Fletcher, and other education leaders met privately with Portland city leaders to discuss the education needs facing the area in the coming decades.