Some Rockin’ Research out of Harvard on Kids in Virtual Worlds

ModSquad

Okay, so maybe he’s not everyone’s idea of a rock star. But to me, Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, is one small step away from godliness. His highly acclaimed theory of multiple intelligences (1983, 1999) shaped my educational and parental philosophies.

I am not alone in my awe of Gardner’s work. Over the past two decades, school systems nationwide and beyond reformed their curriculums and rewrote their mission statements to embrace and nurture his eight categories of intelligence (linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic) in their students.

Now, in 2009, Howard Gardner has again laid the foundation for a pedagogical shift in the way society sees children. Only this time, he and a team of Harvard researchers are probing how the use of digital technology is transforming millennial kids – particularly in the ethical realm. Known as the GoodPlay Project, Gardner’s study is being financed with a grant from the Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

The purpose of Gardner’s project is to identify and promote “good play”, defined as “online conduct that is both meaningful and engaging to the child and responsible to others in the community and society in which it is carried out”. Or, in other words, everything that we as an industry could hope to see in children’s virtual worlds!

Since academes often exist in a world all their own (as the daughter of college professors and academic researchers, I know this firsthand), and have been known to use lofty language and intimidating terminology, I’ll be devoting my next few posts to translating the essential findings of the GoodPlay project into plain, clear, virtual English.

In the meantime, here’s a video of Howard Gardner talking about his work at GoodPlay.
Howard Gardner Discussing the GoodPlay Project

– Sharon

Metaverse Mod Squad, Director of Youth Strategy