Project Zero (PZ) Harvard’s pioneering research that broke with decades of psychological tradition, challenged the popular view that intelligence is fixed, general, and can be measured by standardized linguistic and logical tests.   Led by Howard Gardner and David Perkins, PZ put forward to the field of educational psychology a radical view that intelligence is a learned ability to find/solve problems and create products of value in a culture.   

PZ PERSPECTIVES

• Human intelligence, rather than innate and unitary, is a learned ability to find/solve problems and create products of value in a culture. 
• There are several distinct intelligences that operate in problem solving and finding, and product creation (e.g. verbal, logical/mathematical, bodily-kinaesthetic, etc.). These intelligences are not mutually exclusive, and every human has a unique profile of them.
• Intelligences are not fixed at birth; they are the result of a constant interaction of biological and environmental factors.
• Intelligence is expressed in our performances, products, and ideas, not through a test score. How the intelligences are expressed is culturally defined. 
• Dispositions play a critical role in human problem finding and solving; the attitudes learners exhibit when performing – whether they are open or closed minded, adventurous or narrow in their thinking, careful or careless – strongly predict the extent to which they engage in and develop intelligent behaviours.  
• Intelligence represents potential that will or will not be brought to bear, depending on the values, available opportunities, and personal decisions made by individuals of a particular culture.   

Elizabeth Armenio’s Year 6 class have commenced the academic year exploring the ideas of Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. Through the PZ Harvard ‘Chalk Talk’ thinking routine, students were asked to reflect on their knowledge and understanding of what makes a person intelligent. The students were then given the opportunity to explore and identify their own strengths and weaknesses in the areas of SMARTS / INTELLIGENCES. Students examined and communicated ways that they could use this information to help strengthen their SMARTS, and skills to assist others with their learning. 

As Howard stated as a result of his research ‘It is of the utmost importance that we recognize and nurture all of the varied human intelligence's, and all of the combinations of intelligence's. We are all so different largely because we all have different combinations of intelligence's. If we recognize this, I think we will have at least a better chance of dealing appropriately with the many problems that we face in the world’.