MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES IN PRACTICE: HARMONIZING TEACHING MATERIALS AND STUDENTS’ INDIVIDUAL POTENTIALS

Authors

  • Prof. Jelisaveta Å afranj The University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 6, 21000 Novi Sad

Keywords:

MI theory, English for engineering students, teaching materials, teaching strategies

Abstract

The paper deals with multiple intelligences in adjusting teaching materials and students’ individual potentials. The research study was designed as a quantitative study which involved applying descriptive methodology to both a sample of 100 students of engineering management and their coursebook. The intelligence profile of the coursebook, Market Leader (Intermediate) was determined by the Checklist of Activities for Each Intelligence (Safranj & Zivlak, 2018), which is categorized into seven modalities of intelligences. Then, the Multiple Intelligence Test (Chislett & Chapman, 2006) based on Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences (MI) model was used to identify students’ intelligence profiles. The results of the study revealed a ratio between the students and coursebook’s MI profiles. Since the coursebook, as one of the main components of English foreign language curriculum, should meet the specific needs of learners in a given situation, the results obtained may help in the future design or adaptation of materials to better cater to students’ multiple intelligences and improve the learning and teaching processes. According to the students’ intelligence profiles, certain teaching activities and strategies could be applied to ensure that the balance of intelligences in students’ language learning activities closely reflects their learning preferences and teaching materials become more accessible.

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Published

2018-11-05