Howard Gardner was recently interviewed by Kate Parker of Tes Magazine (formerly known as the Times Education Supplement), link here. In answer to a broad range of questions, Gardner addressed criticisms of the theory of multiple intelligences, the implications of the theory for education, and offered practical advice for teachers and parents. He also discussed the importance of learning how to synthesize, arguably one of the most critical skills to have for the future. In the extract below, Gardner explains why.
Teachers should increasingly focus on nurturing a synthesising mind in their students.
Good educators need to give less attention to memorising things like times tables and spelling, and devote more attention to helping students become synthesisers.
Societies that value synthesising will be ahead of the game. There is so much that artificial intelligence can do quicker and better; synthesising may be the last thing the human mind can still do better than a machine.
And even if we have machines that synthesise deftly, they may not synthesise with our purposes or goal or values in mind.
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