Rahpooye Honar/Performing Arts

Rahpooye Honar/Performing Arts

The Role of Creative Play in Identifying and Nurturing Superior Intelligence in Children; Based on Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 MA in Dramatic Literature, Department of Theater, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Art, Islamic Azad University،Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran.
2 Associate Professor, Department of Theater, Faculty of Cinema and Theater, Iran University of Art, Tehran, Iran .
Abstract
Probably, identifying and developing children’s talent can show brighter futures. According to Howard Gardner’s theory, one of the eight intelligences is usually dominant in each person, which is considered his talent. Children who have enough knowledge of their natural talents and abilities can be on a better path in life. Therefore, recognizing talents is considered an important step in educating the next generation. However, due to social issues affecting children, such as fear, shyness, lack of self-confidence, etc., some children are unwilling to take talent assessment tests, which can lead to inaccurate results in talent identification. Creative play can be used as a safe platform and tool for identifying superior intelligence in children. To explore this topic and with the aim of finding methods for identifying and nurturing superior intelligence, a number of children aged 4 to 7 participated in creative drama classes and responded to talent assessment tests in the form of performance sketches. As a result, it was found that children respond to talent tests without fear and anxiety when they engage in role-playing in a dramatic game. This article seeks to explore a play-based approach beyond the sometimes-non-specialized methods used for talent assessment. Thus, this research serves as an introduction for future studies, broader experiments, or the exploration of other methods. Based on the findings of the current study, after the completion of ten training sessions, the eight intelligences of the participating children in the creative drama class had developed compared to the beginning of the course, and the participants showed better reactions to auditory, movement, visual, logical, and other exercises.
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  • Receive Date 21 November 2024
  • Revise Date 16 March 2025
  • Accept Date 17 March 2025