Multiple Intelligences and mathematics education
Background Intelligence has been the factor on which the human race takes the highest pride and feels that it has Intelligence of the highest level. It is so because only human beings have all the five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch fully developed. Moreover, only human being have the unique ability to express ideas, feelings in their own written or spoken words.
In the beginning of the 20th century a lot of research was done on human intelligence. Their types, levels, measurements, enhancement. In the early 1980s, Dr. Howard Gardener gave his theory of multiple Intelligences.
Quoting successful cases of great musicians, players, business tycoons, religious leaders who never went school, he proposed that just relying on academic Intelligence is not the way to define Intelligence and gave eight traits of distinctly different types of intelligences. They are
Linguistic Intelligence - what we measure in formal education. The ability to speak, read, write effectively.
Mathematical - the ability to calculate. These both Intelligences were the sole criteria to tell who was more Intelligent than the other.
Kinesthetic - the Intelligence corresponding with being good at games and sports
Visual - the ability to imagine, create, design, schema, conceptualise etc. Entire field of artistic creativity is full of such people.
Interpersonal - the ability to manage people. Be part of a team, lead a team, organise people, businesses
Interapersonal - the ability to see within. Go for dhyaan, vipashna and other higher spiritual experiences. Like the Buddha.
Musical - have a great flair for singing, playing instrument, organising musical concerts, write great lyrics, compose tunes.
Naturalistic - caring for the environment, climate change, global warming, organic manure, green energy
Applying multiple Intelligences in mathematics education
If the teacher uses the concepts of constructivism, individual differences and multiple Intelligences carefully and repeatedly, she make the mathematics teaching - learning process very effective.
Here is an example of how a resourceful teacher uses her knowledge, and using simple, day to day things makes the students internalize new concepts. Shruti Goel runs a YouTube channel Learning Notebook.
Some sports teachers may organise the PT Ground drill in different formations. Like 31 students may be asked to form a circle with one student at the centre. They may be arranged in different rows and columns of 30, one being the leader of the drill. Like 5 x 6, 10 x 3 etc.
Organising birthday party, short trips, business game can help develop multiple Intelligences while learning core mathematical skills as well.
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Very true... Sir😊👍👍
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, but cannot see your name. Feel free to connect 8085906062
DeleteI think so this theory is known as multiple intelligence theory. We can see many examples of it in people around us.
ReplyDeleteYes, good observations
DeleteOn a lighter note, organizing home, kitchen and maintenance of ration and it's estimates is also a good example of mathematics intelligence
ReplyDeleteYes Snehal, that is the maths in life and needs to be taught
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