NATURALISTIC INTELLIGENCE

WHAT IS NATURALISTIC INTELLIGENCE?

According to Gardner, naturalistic intelligence is the ability to identify, classify and manipulate elements of the environment, objects, animals, or plants.

This particular intelligence involves how sensitive an individual is to nature and the world. People who excel in this intelligence typically are interested in growing plants, taking care of animals, or studying animals or plants. Zookeepers, biologists, gardeners, and veterinarians are among those that Gardner sees as having high naturalist intelligence.

Gardner says that all people are born with one or more “intelligence,” such as logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, and even musical intelligence. The best way to test, and develop, this intelligence is by practicing skills in these areas, says Gardner, and not through paper-and-pencil/online tests.

     

 The Characteristics of Naturalist Intelligence:

Great interest in learning about nature. Dramatic enthusiasm when in contact with nature. Powers of observation in nature, Awareness of changes in weather, Very interested in planting or gardening.

Importance Of Naturalistic Intelligence:

The aim of developing naturalistic intelligence is for kids to make caring for nature part of their lives, as opposed to just studying it. The idea behind this subject is for young people to develop a firm ecological mindset and use it to overcome today’s environmental challenges with a proactive attitude and a strong commitment. That is what makes it so important to spark an interest in caring for and protecting the environment while children are still at school. In a future life, they will be conscious about their environment and will try to live with nature.

This intelligence refers to a person’s natural interest in the environment. These people enjoy being in nature and want to protect it from pollution. Students with strong naturalistic intelligence easily recognize and categorize plants, animals, and rocks, etc.

 Here Are Some Methods To Enhancing a Student’s Naturalist Intelligence:

Students with naturalist intelligence are interested in conservation and recycling, enjoy gardening, like animals, like to be outside, are interested in the weather, and feel a connection to the earth. As a teacher, you can enhance and strengthen your students’ naturalist intelligence by having them:

 Attending class outside. Especially science class. Do not use textbooks to teach chapters. Instead of the textbook let the children observe nature.  The teacher should have a lesson plan and must manage all activities.

• Keep a nature journal to record changes or discoveries in nature

• Illustrate discoveries in nature, beautiful sceneries of animals and plants kingdom. Let them go through it. It will make it interesting to know more regarding natural phenomena.

• Read books and articles about nature and the environment.

• An educational study tour will be very effective because the learning happens collaboratively and their mind will be free from tension.

• Write articles about nature (poems, short stories, news articles)

• Giving lessons on weather and nature

• Performing skits about nature and cycles

• Conduct research on local foliage

• Arrange an exhibition regarding natural phenomena.

• Generally, children are interested in knowing about animals and birds. Give them more opportunities.

• Encourage gardening and farming in school and at home.

• Encourage collecting, sorting such as seeds according to their size, shape, and color, flowers according to their size, fragrance, not fragrance, long last, short life, and so on. teacher a decide activities according to their syllabus.

• Experiments are very important. Different kinds of experiments allow them to strengthen their decision-making power, observation power, compare and can create their concrete knowledge.

• Sorting and classifying natural objects, such as leaves, soil, and rocks

• Researching animal habitats

• Observing natural surroundings

• Organizing or participating in park/playground clean-ups, recycling drives, and beautification project

• Observation using the senses

  Watch animal behavior (squirrels or birds in the schoolyard?)using a microscope,

• telescope, binoculars, or handless discerning changes outdoors over the course of the school year (weekly walkabouts are wonderful for these students)

• keeping an eye on nests or den watching the weather (to learn weather forecasting)noticing ecological principles in action (for example, the decomposition of plant or animal material over time)

• Then recording observations and makes notes

  • keeping a Nature Journal

  • imitating a biologist or ecologist doing field studies

  • listing data about characteristics (size, color, form, function, habitat, etc.)

  • keeping data in a log, blog, diary, or library.

  • drawing, sketching, photographing, videotaping natural phenomena

  • modeling, measuring, or drawing to scale plants, animals, or outdoor settings.           

•     Classifying and Categorizing

• collecting (literally or ticking off on a list) and identifying plants, leaves, fruits, birds, feathers, nests, footprints, and so on.

• pointing out similarities and differences

  grouping, ranking, separating, adding up natural objects according to observed characteristics

  identifying sounds in the natural world (for example, birds sound, animals sounds, and other creatures sounds)

• Care for a pet

• Care for a plant

•  Start a recycling plan

•  Take a nature hike or walk

•  Startup an aquarium

•  Startup a terrarium

•  Let them watch a video regarding nature. e.g. The Blue Planet

•  Visit the zoo

•  Visit a large Aquarium

•  Go whale watching

•  Purchase nature tools (binoculars, telescope, microscope)

•  Watch the daily newspaper for articles on natural phenomena

• Read about naturalist inventions, e.g. cloning

•  Write an essay on your opinion of the use of animals in Experiments to develop medicine

•  Go hiking in the mountains

•  Visit the desert

• • Read animal stories

• Take nature-related subjects such as Biology, Botany, Zoology, or Ecology class in higher studies.

• Compare the development of plants, animals within the evolution of A species or the history of an ecosystem.

• Examine how the geographical features of North and South.

• Visit forest and observe big and small plants, and make notes about each plants characteristic

• Make a list of group-living animals, and collect maximum details including its pictures. It will be very interesting to students.

• working and learning with the natural world. One simple way to encourage Naturalistic Intelligence is to take students outside to explore their school community.

• Allow them to make a plan of action, design a project based on certain criteria, and then implement it. You can invite resource persons to support you.

• A primary teacher’s responsibility is to make sure that all children participate, their experience, success, and learning. We must (teachers) consider Naturalistic Intelligence when planning and organizing lessons. It is an essential thing.

Before concluding this topic I would like to add the characteristics of Naturalists:

They have keen sensory skills, sight, sound, smell,  taste, and touch.

Their sensory skills will be very powerful to notice and categorize things from the natural world. They can easily notice patterns from their surroundings- likes, differences, similarities, etc.

Vasantha. K P