The study investigates naturalistic intelligence among upper primary school children, emphasizing their connection with nature and awareness of biodiversity. Results indicate that while some students can identify various sounds and plants found in paddy fields, a significant portion lack awareness of these elements and their interrelationships. Recommendations include enhancing environmental education through direct experiences and technology to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of nature.

1. Dr Vijayakumari
Associate Professor
Farook Training College
Aju Rajendran
M. Ed Student
Farook Training College

2. Naturalistic intelligence or nature smart
involves how sensitive individual is towards
nature and the world around him.
People’s delinking from earth has deeply
affected Bio-diversity and Ecology.
The present study analyses the level of
Naturalistic Intelligence among Upper
primary school children.

3.  ‘Colors of Paradise’ - Majid Majidi(1999) -the
story of a blind child, Muhammed who can
 identify the message in the voice of the birds,
Locate the spot and distance, Imagine shape and
identify flowers with its touch.

4. Gardner defines …
• Natural intelligence is the ability to see the patterns in
nature and work in natural environment with live stock,
wildlife, plants etc .
• It acts as a strong tie between the nature and humanity.

5.  Naturalistic intelligence or in other terms nature smart
involves how sensitive individual is towards nature and
the world around him.
 Deals with sensing patterns and making connections to
elements in nature.
 One with Naturalistic Intelligence will be very much
interested in other species or in the environment and the
earth.

6.  Children are usually interested in stories and
programmes with animals and plants as the characters.
 Naturalistic Intelligence can be observed in children
during their early stages of life, when they express a
strong affinity to the outside world or to animals.

7.  The future citizen are the hope of tomorrow and
the Mother Earth is to be safe in their littlie
hands.
 Educational system as a whole must make them
know more of their environment.
 A skilled interaction with nature is essential for
sustainable development.

8.  The environment studies must create among children a
sense of interconnection with the nature and familiarity
in their immediate environment.
 This will help them develop the naturalistic intelligence as
coined by Gardner.

9. A nature smart will …..
 Notice patterns and things from nature easily.
 Be with keen senses and will observe and remember
things from his environment.
 Like animals and be eager to know and remember things
about them.
 Really appreciate being outside and doing things like
camping, climbing, even just like sitting quietly and
noticing the subtle differences in the world of nature.
 Make observations about natural changes,
interconnections and patterns.

11. Method
 Research design
 Survey method was used for conducting the study.
 Participants
 Population is upper primary school students from
rural schools following Kerala Syllabus. 100 seventh
standard students of Malappuram District constituted
the sample

12. Method contd…
 Instruments
‘Test on Natural Intelligence’ with three
items based on the learners experience with
nature.
- the sounds that can be perceived in a paddy field
- plants that can be seen in a paddy field and their
procedure of reproduction
- draw a figure of a ground including various
animals, birds, plants etc with suitable colors and
dialogue boxes

13.  The assumption is that all students are familiar with
paddy fields and have the experience of walking through
it.
 The test covers major aspects of naturalistic intelligence
at the basic level only.

14. The scoring was done under four dimensions:
 Number of possible sounds identified.
 Number of plants identified that are seen in paddy
fields.
 Their procedure of reproduction ( ie., whether by
seeds, stems, roots or any other)
 Picture: Color combinations, variety, accuracy
and the dialogues made

15. Results and Discussion
 Most common sound identified by students in the paddy
field is that of frog and no body achieved a zero score.
 49 students out of hundred were able to identify more
than four sounds.
 Thirteen students made only one or two responses
under this category.

16. Results….
 Students were asked to write at least five plants they see
in the paddy field.
 Only 21 students have written five or more plants
correctly.
 The common response was ‘paddy’.
 But three got zero score in this dimension. That is,
three of the hundred children can not list any one plant
correctly

17. Results….
Analysis of responses on reproduction of the plants they
listed revealed,
- only eight children responded correctly for
almost all the plants they listed.
 But 25 students was not able to respond
correctly even for one plant and hence have the
score ‘zero’.

18. Conclusion
 Picture of a meadow with possible plants, animals
and birds will help to know awareness about an
ecosystem
 The dialogue between the elements will suggest
their knowledge about the relation between
various elements of the ecosystem.
 The empathetic feeling will also be revealed
through these dialogues.

19. Conclusion…
But majority of students were not able to find the
relationship between various elements
 Not expressed any empathy towards the elements.
 Three of the students draw pictures of cricket
ground with out a blade of grass.
 The pictures drawn by 14 students revealed their
knowledge and attitude and it was satisfactory to
some extent.

20. Conclusion
.
 Forty nine percent of rural upper primary
school students are aware of various
organisms in the paddy field and the activities
going on there.
 But more than fifty percent of students are
unaware of these.

21. Conclusion….
 Students’ awareness about various plants in a
paddy field is not satisfactory. Only 21
percent recollected five and more plants in
the field.
 But the details regarding these plants are
not collected by majority of the students.
This indicates lack of scientific enquiry
among the students.

22. Conclusion….
 Only 14 percent of students are
aware of the interrelationship
between various components of
an ecosystem.
 Majority of these students do
not possess any empathetic
feeling towards the nature and its
elements.

23. Some of the responses…..

26. Implication
 If this condition continues, one cannot put hope in the
future that the environment will be protected by the
coming generation.
 The visions of RIO Earth Summits will be rewarded only if
the intelligent beings on the Earth are more naturalistic
than materialistic.

27. Some suggestions are….
 Make the class room teaching learning
process more connected with
environment.
 Give direct experience as far as possible
or make use of technology to get a virtual
experience.
 More importance should be given to the
affective part / values especially in
environmental studies.

28. Suggestions…..
• The governmental programmes like
BALA should focus on environmental
issues and the nature.
• Activities like visiting a zoo, a paddy
field, river side/beach etc., can be
given in schools with proper
reporting students on what they
experienced and promote their
imagination about various biotic
elements they observed there.