A survey on how the previous classroom activities of med students catered for different multiple intelligences +

Abstract

One hallmark of effective teaching is for teachers to identify the potential of their learners and nurture them to the fullest so as to make them all round citizens able to fit effectively in a competitive society. One scholar who has contributed immensely to this issue is Howard Gardner in his theory of Multiple Intelligence (MI). This study sought to find out how the previous classroom practice of the research participants catered for all the eight intelligences as identified by Gardner. The research used descriptive research design specifically the questionnaire based survey. Research participants were 24 masters of Education students in an international university in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The study’s results revealed that the practice of these participants did not cater for all intelligences in their classes. The contributory factors for this included: lack of adequate knowledge on the multiple intelligence theory, large classes, examination-oriented teaching and lack of adequate resources. The study recommends that the teacher education institutions should continuously review their curriculum to capture the ever expanding knowledge in education. The governments should employ more teachers to reduce congestion in classes and more learning facilities should be provided by school managers.