LogicalMathematical
Intelligence
Howard Gardner’s Multiple
Intelligence Theory
Howard Gardner’s Definition:
• People with highly
developed
logical/mathematical
intelligences (math
smart) understand the
underlying principles
of some kind of a
causal system, the
way a scientist or a
logician does; or can
manipulate numbers,
quantities, and
operations, the way a
mathematician does.
CHARACTERISTICS
• Ability to recognize
significant problems
and then solve them
• Powerful reasoning
ability
• Ability to explore,
conjecture, and
reason logically
• Ability to solve nonroutine problems
• Ability to
communicate about
and through
mathematics
Characteristics, continued
• Likes abstract
thinking
• Likes being precise
• Enjoys counting
• Likes being
organized
• Uses logical
structure
• Enjoys computers
• Enjoys
experimenting in
logical way
• Prefers orderly
note-taking
Key Mathematical Concepts
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Problem solving
Communication
Reasoning
Connections
Estimation
Number sense and
numeration
Whole number operations
Whole number
computation
Geometry and spatial
sense
Measurement
Statistics and probability
Fractions and decimals
Patterns and relationships
Principles of logical mathematical intelligence
• Mathematics involves confrontation with the
physical world.
• An autonomous approach to mathematics is
crucial in the early childhood years
• Logics and mathematics are developmental.
• Opportunities for mathematical development
occur daily.
CONFRONTATION
• “For it is in
confronting objects,
in ordering and
reordering them, and
in assessing their
quantity, that the
young child gains his
or her initial and
most fundamental
knowledge about the
logical-mathematical
realm.” --Gardner
AUTONOMY
• An early childhood
environment must
promote autonomy.
Constance Kamii said
that children are quite
capable of inventing
their own algorithms to
solve a problem. It is
impossible to teach
concepts of number.
These concepts must
be self-discovered.
DEVELOPMENTAL
• Logic and
mathematics
develop in stages
and the stages offer
a framework for
providing
appropriate
materials,
experiences, and
expectations of
young children.
OPPORTUNITY
• Math is
everywhere—
create,
recognize,
utilize, identify,
symbolize,
manipulate,
interact,
pretend, play,
discover, . . .
CAREERS in MATH
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Scientist
Mathematician
Engineer
Biologist
Geneticist
Paleontologist
Pharmacist
Doctor
Emergency Medical
Professional
• Computer Programmer
• Software Engineer
• Inventor
More CAREERS
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Physicist
Astronomer
Researcher
Architect
Statistician
Accountant
Detective
Lawyer
Economist
Interesting quote . . . hmmmm
• “If you ask mathematicians what they do, you
always get the same answer. They think. They
think about difficult and unusual problems. They
do not think about ordinary problems: they just
write down the answers.” --Egrafov, M.
Nikolai Copernicus, 1473--1543
Albert Einstein, 1879--1955
Sir Isaac Newton, 1642-1727
David Trayer, 1932--
Stephen Hawking, 1942--
Carl Sagan, 1934--1996
Euclid of Alexandra, 325 BC—265 BC
Archimedes of Syracuse,
287 BC—212 BC
Pythagoras of Samos, 569 BC—475 BC
Johannes Kepler, 1571--1630
Galileo Galilei, 1564--1642
Rene Descartes; Pierre de Fermat
Blaise Pascal; Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz
Pierre Simon Laplace; Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss
Georg Friedrich Bernhard Reimann; Georg Cantor
Leonhard Euler; Joseph-Louis Legrange