In my work at Nisbet school I was really challenged to engage the students in their science lessons (on solids, liquids and gases) by using art. Through conversation with the classroom teacher before beginning our time in the classroom we were informed that the students responded well to art activities and so we set out to incorporate art in as many activities as possible. One of the main things that we were able to integrate art into was the changing of state from liquid to solid. For this we used water based paints as well as liquid glue to open discussion about what happens when the paint/glue dries. I found through this that multiple ways of knowing went beyond Gardiners multiple intelligences to a basic fundamental way of thinking and knowing that can be ties to Vygotsky's theory of construction of knowledge. Vygotsky's theory is that "our specific mental structures and processes can be traced to our interactions with others" and that "These social interactions are more than simple influences on cognitive development - they actually create our cognitive structures and thinking processes" (Woolfolk et al, pg. 39)
In my work at Nisbet school I was really challenged to engage the students in their science lessons (on solids, liquids and gases) by using art. Through conversation with the classroom teacher before beginning our time in the classroom we were informed that the students responded well to art activities and so we set out to incorporate art in as many activities as possible. One of the main things that we were able to integrate art into was the changing of state from liquid to solid. For this we used water based paints as well as liquid glue to open discussion about what happens when the paint/glue dries. I found through this that multiple ways of knowing went beyond Gardiners multiple intelligences to a basic fundamental way of thinking and knowing that can be ties to Vygotsky's theory of construction of knowledge. Vygotsky's theory is that "our specific mental structures and processes can be traced to our interactions with others" and that "These social interactions are more than simple influences on cognitive development - they actually create our cognitive structures and thinking processes" (Woolfolk et al, pg. 39)
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