Different Kinds of Intelligence with Temple Grandin

Welcome to Episode 86 of the Think UDL podcast: Different Kinds of Intelligence with Temple Grandin. Temple Grandin is an author, Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, and a sought-after speaker on Autism and Neurodiversity all over the world. She has been named one of the top 10 college Professors in the country by CEO World Magazine, she is the subject of her own eponymous movie biopic in 2010, and a recognized thought leader on different kinds of intelligence. I was surprised and greatly honored when she accepted my invitation to speak with me on the Think UDL podcast.  I have known of her, listened to her speak, and read so much about her over the last 20 years, that I was very excited during this interview! When I told my friend and colleague Jill Van Horne from our university’s counseling program that I was offered an interview with Temple Grandin in 4 hours time, Jill was equally excited and so I invited Jill to join me for today’s conversation. Jill leads our really fantastic equine therapy program at Appalachian State. I asked Jill to join me because she thinks differently than I do and especially because she knows a lot more about animals than I do, and even more especially because she is also a big fan of Temple Grandin. You’ll hear Jill pop in the conversation and ask her own questions in this episode as well. In this episode, Professor Temple Grandin talks about the different ways people think, how to teach a variety of learners, what advice she gives college professors, what advice she gives college students, and why she thinks we don’t need algebra (for some things at least) among other things! Thank you for listening and a special thank you to the folks at the UDLHE Network for their financial support of the Think UDL podcast! Dr. Grandin, it is a great honor to have you on the podcast and I will start us off with the question I ask all of my guests, and that is, “What makes you a different kind of learner?”