Face to face with DR HOWARD GARDNER

Dr. Howard Gardner , the father of the famed theory of ‘Multiple Intelligences’ addressed a gathering where people from diverse walks of life were present, on 3 february at the ISB , Hyderabad.

He spoke about ‘Education in an era of Globalization’ . He highlighted four mega trends which will influence the education in the future. The four mega trends he spoke about were : Globalization, Biological revolution, Digital revolution and Lifelong Learning.

He gave a lot of insight about the ‘Five kinds of Minds’ and nurturing the five minds keeping the four mega trends for the future. The five minds that the education needs to focus for the future are :

Disciplined Mind, Synthesizing mind, Creative Mind, Respectful mind and Ethical mind

The first three coming under the realm of cognitive mind , while the last two were related with the human sphere. He spoke about the relevance of cultivating this mind and its connection with the future. Each of these had reflections at the end, to be made in the context of one’s school, society and country.

After a short tea break the session was resumed for an interview with Mr. Gardner. Mr. Anustup Nayak interviewed him posing very interesting questions which also included few questions from the audience too. Some of the questioned posed were -

· How does one differentiate between mind and intelligence?

· How to prepare a child for 5 kinds of mind, what specific thing would you do if you are a parent of a 10 year old?

· How can a school following 5 minds look different from other schools ?

· What would by your advice to the choice of content in the syllabus?

· How can educators be successful with this kind of learning where the focus is entirely based on immediate results ?

Mr. Gardner expressed his view on each of these questions emphasizing on ‘ Good work’.

It was a truly a great opportunity to hear Mr. Gardner and be a part of this seminar. His immense experience and knowledge impacted one and all present there and gave everyone much food for thought for putting into practice some of the tenets of Prof. Gardner.