Sportsometry® is an instructional program based on the idea that athletics can improve a student’s ability to understand certain math concepts. For example, regardless of whether students learn to throw a bounce pass at the age of four or fourteen, they are certainly not contemplating the connection between the 45° angle of the ball and their teammate, even if their minds are —they just want to get the ball to their teammate and into the basket!
Professor Howard Gardner refers to Sportsometry® in his speech at the 2007 World Conference on Science and Technology Education, as well as his book entitled Multiple Intelligences New Horizons.
Gardner reviews the principal ideas in the theory of multiple intelligences, the major changes that have occurred over the past 25 years, and his expectations about future research and applications. Gardner states,
“My guess is that the best educational interventions will continue to come from ingenious educators, using simple materials and their wits… Educator Annick Winokur has coined the term Sportsometry, to describe how she teaches mathematical and spatial reasoning through studying the bounces of a basketball.”
Gardner is the Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education. To read an excerpt from the book, click here.
“Can studying the laws of physics help you be a better basketball player? It might help you find the best angle for your jump shot. U.S. Naval Academy professor John Fontanella, author of The Physics of Basketball, offers his insights.”
Copyright © 2007 National Public Radio