~ The MI News ~
Summer 1999 Edition
(Volume 1, Number 6) |
Publisher Branton Shearer | Editor
Cliff Morris |
Table
of contents
1 Welcome message by Clifford Morris
2 Creating caring communities
of successful learners by Branton Shearer
3 Multiple intelligences and
private music education by David McLeod
4 Teaching music in the
ensemble rehearsal through multiple intelligences by William Bauer
5 For your minds only by
Clifford Morris
1. Welcome message by Clifford Morris
Welcome to the June 1999 (Volume 1, Number 6) edition of the
MI-News. This newsletter is provided free of charge by Multiple Intelligences (MI) Research and Consulting.
Our goal is to provide useful information to all those interested in Howard
Gardner's MI Theory and to explore its application via discussion, contact and
sharing.
One brief comment about that word 'sharing.' As
mentioned in the inaugural (January 1999) issue, such mutual MI correspondence
and communication is vital. Often many of us (including myself) take and
take and seldom give back. There are many MI users throughout the
world. We have only heard from a few of you. Please send us e-mails
outlining some of the SUPER things that you are currently doing with Dr. Howard
Gardner's MI model. And as suggested by Christopher Cryan in the final
section to this issue, we also welcome and appreciate constructive criticism on
Gardner's MI model.
The Parenting Corner by Debra West Jones
Parents, to better understand how to approach and nurture
your child's visual-spatial intelligence, click here
Bi-Monthly Issues: Effective immediately, the MI-News will be published
every other month, instead of every month. Therefore, there will be NO July
1999 issue. The next issue (vol.1, no. 7) is scheduled to arrive in your email
box in mid August, 1999. We look forward to your continued support.
Possible THEME issues of MI-News: In exchange for receiving
the MI-News, please take a few minutes during these summer months to consider
sending us contributions. If you have been researching MI or using it and
have information to share, please contact us. We would enjoy receiving
submissions for subsequent publications. In particular, we would
appreciate receiving SPECIAL contributions outlining an MI learning activity
that focuses in on LEARNING DISABILITIES (LD), GIFTED or GIFTED/LD programs.
2. Creating caring communities of successful learners by Branton
Shearer
I have been wondering ever since the Littleton tragedy how
to help schools understand the ways MI theory and The MIDAS can be used to
create caring communities of successful learners. How can we recognize,
support and challenge all students to appreciate their individual strengths and
become valued and contributing members of the learning community?
Over the years, I have been inspired by many sensitive and
dynamic teachers who have put The MIDAS Profile to use to achieve these goals
with both elementary and secondary students. But I know that it's not
easy. It's not easy to turn the ladder of I.Q. assumptions on its side so
that marginalized skills (i.e., those not on the academic proficiency tests)
are recognized for their intellectual potential. How do we get beyond the
over-simplifications of the "dumb jock" and "the
brain"? How will we get beyond the mental compartmentalization that
values good readers above creative visual artists, homebuilders, peacemakers
and singers? I'm not talking about mindless "feel good"
idealism but the realistic appreciation that we all have our strengths that are
of potential value when they are actively challenged and channeled towards
achievement.
Teachers have told me that when students are guided in
sharing their MIDAS profiles with their peers, classroom dynamics change and
their is greater respect among students. When a teacher treats each
student's strengths with respect by referring to them as an
"intelligence", then all the students' ears perk up. When
Johnny, who is the lousy speller, can be counted on for his mechanical ability
to complete the group's science project, then what will happen to his status among
peers?
I wonder when will our high schools evolve beyond
"tracking" where there are first class citizens (college prep) and
second class citizens (vocational) and the invisible class (general studies)
and the untouchables (special education, non-conformists, others??). I'm
sure that there are students in the second class Early Childhood program who
would make better child psychologists than the College Prep student with high
SAT scores. I know of Auto Mechanics students who would fail Calculus but
whiz through hands-on creative problem solving tasks.
I wonder what would happen if so much of a teacher's school
day did not involve negative thinking: fixing problems, filling up empty minds,
correcting errors, counting mistakes, marking tests, criticizing work, figuring
grades, etc.? Can the MI perspective help teachers to focus on
strengths and direct them in a positive way to enhance achievement and social
acceptance?
I wonder how the MI-inspired project based curriculum can
help to include the academically weak student in the classroom and school
community in a worthwhile way? Can self assessment and alternative
grading strategies serve to uphold high standards while providing positive
guides to greater success in the long term? Can we develop rigorous MI
systems for describing school effectiveness beyond the industrial model of
state mandated paper and pencil tests?
Too often, teachers tell me that our children are smarter
than ever (rising I.Q. test scores agree) but they are emotionally alienated
and deficient in self management skills. We know that the diagnosis of
attention deficit disorders is rampant. Must we only respond with the band-aid
of medication while ignoring the deeper bleeding?
I wonder if we create a coherent curriculum across the
disciplines for the development of Intrapersonal effectiveness what will we
loose? Will test scores go down if we teach not to the test but to the
strengths of each student, so that self directed learning skills are developed
(e.g., planning, self monitoring, self assessment and goal setting)? What
might be gained if we teach MI study strategies and guide students in their
skillful use to enhance memorization and understanding?
I wonder if we teach each student the fundamentals of
compassionate leadership and responsible teamwork directly in the classroom,
might we be able to reverse the mean spirited tide of cynicism, divisiveness,
self-centeredness and fear?
I wonder how all teachers can learn to use MI to instill in
students hope for their future, a deep sense of self acceptance, creative
problem solving and to pave the way for positive social integration based upon
real contributions? I wonder how the recent outbreak of school tragedies
has impacted your thinking about the usefulness of MI in the classroom?
3. Multiple intelligences and private music education by David McLeod
I am a private music educator (PME) teaching in Queensland
Australia. Currently, I am a post-graduate student training as a school
teacher, and I encountered Multiple Intelligence theory for an Arts Issue
assignment (actually a Master's subject) earlier this year. The theory
struck a strong responsive chord with me. I have long felt that private
music education offers great opportunities for students' personal development
across different facets of their personality, but few PME's acknowledge this.
MI theory gave me the structure I was intuitively looking for and it will be
part of my Master's thesis next year dealing with the need for PME's to educate
music students on a holistic basis.
Oddleifson ('What do want our schools to do' in Phi Beta
Kappan 1994 75(6)) suggests school education needs to integrate "head,
heart and hands, providing multiple forms of learning. I believe PME's
need to do the same. The emphases will vary - PME's will emphasize more
the musical and motor skills side of a student's personality - but as Howard
Gardner points out to us, a student has at least six other forms of
intelligence operating in their personality. In the past, students were
accepted solely on the basis of perceived "musical ability" - i.e.,
could they be taught to play an instrument?
I am currently teaching a boy whose fine motor skills were
initially appalling (kinesthetic intelligence). His fingers stuck out at
all angles and he had difficulty shaping a basic five finger pattern.
Using traditional criteria, he would have been refused. But I
noticed he had a keen intuitive mind (logical-mathematical intelligence) and
enjoyed music (musical intelligence), so I accepted him. I gave his
logical-mathematical intelligence plenty of challenges, discovering and
ordering musical concepts. I played CD's and stimulated discussion to
develop his musical intelligence. I provided plenty of exercises to
develop the kinesthetic and didn't fret when development moved slowly. In
fact, I was so busy musically developing other areas of his personality that I
largely forgot his motor skills (apart from regularly encouraging good hand
shape, etc.) until recently, when I suddenly realized his hand shape had improved
beyond belief and he was coping with much more difficult fingerings. All
of this I had started intuitively before I had encountered the formal concept
of MI.
Looking back, I can think of many of my students who have
benefited from my intuitive ideas, which I realize now are based on MI theory -
one gifted lad was a social terror in a brass ensemble group, but I persevered
and majored on coaching social skills for both him and the group (interpersonal
intelligence). He is now playing in a major Queensland Youth Wind
Symphony. Other kids had poor self-esteem and self-image, but through the
medium of their music performance I was able to show them they had much to be
confident about (intrapersonal intelligence). Private music education desperately
needs PME's who will educate the whole person. MI theory provides the
ideal tool for that.
I would greatly appreciate any discussion on this topic.
David McLeod
BA (UNE) AMusA
Email: museduca@satcom.net.au
Website: http://www.satcom.net.au/museduca
4. Teaching music in the ensemble rehearsal through multiple
intelligences by William Bauer
Editorial Overview
Our second guest author this month is William Bauer. Ph.D.,
an assistant professor of music education in the School of Music at Ball State
University. He comments that, for music educators, perhaps the most
exciting among Howard Gardner's intelligences is the musical/rhythmic
intelligence. Bower believes that an understanding of all the
intelligences, along with an awareness that each student differs in his/her
intelligence strengths, could enhance the music teaching/learning
process. As new findings occur, it is Bauer's opinion that music educators
should continue seeking ways to fully utilize students' intelligences in order
to assist them in discovering ways in which music can be a lifelong, meaningful
part of their lives.
In his article, Bauer explores some of the ways in which
Gardner's original seven intelligences might be used in an ensemble
rehearsal. He comments that many of today's schools are primarily
oriented towards the linguistic/verbal and logical/mathematical
intelligences. To provide students with a well rounded education that
will enable them to function in the many different roles they may encounter in
life, they need opportunities for learning in all of the intelligences.
While being the first to admit that his list of techniques are not exhaustive,
Bauer hopes that his suggestions will stimulate thinking about ways in which
educators can teach in a way that appeals to all of their students'
intelligences.
To sum, Bauer feels that if one of the basic ways of
thinking, learning and knowing about the world is through the use of a musical
intelligence, students must be provided the opportunity to develop this
intelligence to their fullest capability.
Music Teaching and Multiple Intelligences
With the publication of his milestone work Frames of
Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Harvard psychologist Howard
Gardner (1983) challenged the traditional view of intelligence as a single
number which could be derived from a paper-and-pencil test. Gardner
proposed a theory of multiple intelligences (MI) which he identified through
psychological and psychometric documentation, examining brain physiology, and
by confirming the existence of a symbol system for each intelligence. For
music educators, perhaps the most exciting among these intelligences is the
musical/rhythmic intelligence. However an understanding of all the
intelligences, along with an awareness that each student differs in his/her
intelligence strengths, could enhance the music teaching/learning
process. The following is a brief exploration of some ways in which Gardner's
MI theory might be utilized in an ensemble rehearsal. While the techniques
listed are by no means exhaustive, it is hoped that the suggestions provided
will stimulate thinking about ways in which we can teach to all of our
students' intelligences.
Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence
Verbal/linguistic intelligence pertains to one's abilities
with written and spoken language. While verbal/linguistic types of
instruction are often useful and efficient ways to teach, the key for music
educators is to avoid over reliance on verbal/linguistic techniques, while also
seeking creative ways of activating this intelligence during music
learning. Ensemble teachers/conductors might provide short biographical
sketches of composers, or summaries of musical eras and styles of compositions
being studied, for students to read. Using solfege and rhythm syllables
during rehearsals can provide a verbal/linguistic link to musical sounds.
The teacher/conductor could engage students in conversation about different aspects
of the music being practiced and the rehearsal process itself.
Questioning techniques can be an especially effective conversational
procedure. Consistent use of proper musical vocabulary when referring to
aspects of a composition and/or performance issues, and expecting students to
do the same, will help to develop students' musical vocabularies.
Logical/Mathematical Intelligence
When people exhibit a high degree of logical/mathematical
intelligence, they can recognize abstract patterns; are good at inductive,
deductive, and scientific reasoning; are able to see relationships between
things; and can execute difficult calculations. Teachers could activate
this intelligence in students by providing information on the theoretical
elements (time signatures, intervals, chord/scale construction, the rules of
harmony, etc.) of music being worked on. Having students critique and
analyze performances of themselves and others requires logical thinking skills.
Ensemble directors who tape record rehearsals and play them back for their
students to critique are developing this intelligence. Working with
students to enable them to recognize stylistic elements and provide a musical
interpretation of a composition that is stylistically appropriate is another
process requiring the use of logical/mathematical intelligence.
Visual/Spatial Intelligence
Strong visual/spatial intelligence is often characterized by
the ability to mentally picture a concept, idea, or object; being able to read
and construct graphic models; and a good sense of direction. To use the
visual/spatial intelligence in the ensemble rehearsal the teacher/conductor
could make use of similes and metaphors to assist students in visualizing the
performance and interpretation of a composition. Providing students with
charts and diagrams of the form and structure of music being worked on could
help develop an understanding of a composition's individual parts and how they
combine to function as a whole. A time-line across the front of the
classroom where the compositions, composers, and dates of works performed
throughout the year are placed could provide a visual aid to the flow of music
history. Allowing students to sit in different areas of the band, choir,
or orchestra other than their normal seats might provide an understanding of
the acoustical reasons why instruments and voices are traditionally placed in a
certain location in an ensemble's set-up.
Body/Kinesthetic Intelligence
Persons with excellent control of body movements exhibit
high body/kinesthetic intelligence. Focusing student attention on the
role of the body in performance (posture, breathing, instrument holding
position, etc.) and creating activities to explore these fundamentals is
essential for fine musical outcomes. Movement activities categorized by
Dalcroze as movements in place (clapping, swinging, turning, conducting,
bending, and swaying) could help solidify rhythmic concepts in any
ensemble. Simple pat clapping techniques are a means to assist students'
understanding of meter. Having half of an ensemble tap a subdivision on
their leg while the other half performs a tricky rhythmic passage, and then
reversing the roles, can instantly clear up precision problems. Asking
students to "sizzle" a musical passage by hissing air (articulating
on an air stream) can help alleviate articulation and style problems by
focusing students' attention on the role of breath support and the air
supply. Traditional music ensembles where the body/kinesthetic
intelligence is significantly utilized include marching bands, strolling
strings, and show choirs.
Interpersonal Intelligence
Verbal and non-verbal communication, sensitivity to other
people's moods and feelings, and the ability to work as part of a group are all
facets of interpersonal intelligence. Good ensemble skills require good
interpersonal skills. Students must constantly be aware of and sensitive
to what other ensemble members are doing to achieve uniform style; good
balance, blend and intonation; and so forth. Teachers can foster this awareness
by constantly emphasizing listening skills. Occasionally allowing
students to work on ensemble music in small groups or sections requires their
use of interpersonal communication and cooperation. Peer teaching,
allowing stronger students to work with weaker students on a musical passage or
technique, could also strengthen this intelligence. Sensitizing students
to the gestures of conducting should heighten their awareness of the non-verbal
aspects of musical communication. Being able to give and receive
constructive feedback on their own and other's performance can also build
students' interpersonal intelligence.
Intrapersonal Intelligence
A person with well developed intrapersonal intelligence is
aware of their own feelings and emotions and can fully express
themselves. Aesthetic education, which many music educators hold as a
primary philosophy and rationale for school music, is very much linked to the
intrapersonal intelligence. Teachers/conductors could have students write
a narrative, author a poem, draw, paint, design a sculpture or collage, create
a dance, or use any of their other intelligences to provide a representation of
the personal meaning, feeling, or affect of a composition. Improvisation,
a means for students to be spontaneously creative, could be included as a
frequent rehearsal activity for ensembles. Projects involving composition
are another outlet for personal expression of feeling. Another part of
intrapersonal intelligence is cognizance of personal strengths and weaknesses.
For music students, an awareness of their individual part of a composition that
need improvement, and an understanding of the way to practice in order to
achieve this improvement, would fall under this category. Maintaining a
portfolio of class work could also help students to develop an awareness of
their personal strengths, weaknesses, and progress as a musician.
Musical/Rhythmic Intelligence
Musical/rhythmic intelligence involves a sensitivity to
aural phenomena and includes the ability to recognize, create, and/or reproduce
a melody or rhythm, and being sensitive to tonal characteristics.
Hopefully, nearly everything we do in an ensemble rehearsal sensitizes and
develops this intelligence. The following activities specifically focus
on the recognition and use of tonal and rhythmic patterns, along with the
development of an individual's sensitivity to other musical elements.
Sequential instruction in tonal and rhythm patterns as advanced by Edwin
Gordon's Music Learning Theory could comprise a section of the daily
rehearsal, perhaps as part of warm-up procedures. Pointing out or
assisting students in the discovery of patterns used to create musical form can
be another way to increase their understanding of the ways sounds are combined
and manipulated by composers and arrangers. By selecting music literature
that features many different textures, styles, orchestrations, dynamics, etc.,
and then focusing students' attention/listening on these features, the
teacher/conductor provides the setting and instruction necessary to facilitate
the development of musical sensitivity. If students perform music that is
mostly tutti in its construction, or music in only a few genres or styles, they
will not be exposed to the variety of sonorities and ways of arranging and
manipulating sounds that composers use, and the students' musical/rhythmic
intelligence will not be challenged to develop.
Summary
Recently, Gardner has indicated there may be other areas
that meet his criteria as discrete intelligences (Willis, 1997). As new
findings occur, music educators should continue seeking ways to fully use
students' intelligences in order to assist them in discovering ways in which
music can be a lifelong, meaningful part of their life. Moreover, Gardner's
research supporting a musical intelligence is a powerful statement for the
inclusion of music as a part of every child's education. Many of today's
schools are primarily oriented towards the linguistic and logical-mathematical
intelligences. To provide students with a well rounded education that
will enable them to function in the many different roles they may encounter in
life, they need opportunities for learning in all of the intelligences.
If one of the basic ways of thinking, learning, and knowing about the world is
through the use of a musical intelligence, students must be provided the
opportunity to develop this intelligence to their fullest capability.
References
Gardner, Howard. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of
multiple intelligences. New York, Basic Books.
Willis, Scott (editor). (1997). More ways to be smart. Education
Update, 39(3), 1.
--------
The above articles was
reprinted by permission of The Indiana Musicator, September 1998, Volume
54, Number 1, pp. 37-39. Please address all correspondence concerning
this article to:
William I. Bauer, Ph. D.
Assistant Professor, Music
Education
School of Music
Ball State University
Muncie, IN 47306-0410
(765) 285-5493
wbauer@bsu.edu
http://bsuvc.bsu.edu/home/wbauer/
5 For your intelligences only
Do we own intelligences?
by Clifford Morris
In the February 1999 issue of The Atlantic Monthly
(Vol. 283, No. 2, pp. 67-76), Howard Gardner analyzed the conception of
intelligence by debating this question. Who Owns Intelligence? At
the outset of this 10-page article, Gardner introduces the reader to three
unresolved questions that he feels will dominate the discussion of intelligence
well into the next century: i) whether intelligence is one unitary thing or
many broader things, ii) whether intelligence is inherited, and iii) whether
any of its elements can accurately be measured. The debate, Gardner
argues, is really over proprietary rights to a fundamental concept of our age.
The debate, according to Gardner, goes something like
this. Although intelligence has prevailed over the long run, the
psychologists' version of this psychological construct "is now facing its
biggest threat. Many scholars and observers -- and even some iconoclastic
psychologists -- feel that intelligence is too important to be left to the
psychometricians. Experts are extending the breadth of the concept,
proposing many intelligences, including emotional intelligence. They are
experimenting with new methods of ascertaining intelligence, including some
that avoid tests altogether in favor of direct measures of brain
activity. They are forcing citizens everywhere to confront the aforementioned
questions" (p.76). To read the on-line version of this article,
click here.
* * * * * * *
Along the same line of thinking and more recently, in the Letters
to the Editor section of the May 1999 issue (Volume 283, Number 5) of The
Atlantic Monthly, Gardner replied to comments made by Jeffrey Arnett and
Greg Feirman. The former revived the debate about whether Gardner's eight
cognitive modalities are actually "intelligences" or are they
"better understood as "abilities"; the latter feels that Gardner
has "misconstrue[d] the position of the supporters of the "g"
factor, or general intelligence. In response to the former, Gardner
objected "to honoring some capacities, such as skill with numbers or
words, as intelligence while demoting others, such as skill with music
or spatial information, to mere talents.
In response to Feirman's comments, amongst various other
comments, Gardner expressed his "misgiving about the statistical 'g' [in]
that it emerges when one administers a battery of short answer tests" (p.
13). He continued by stating that "perhaps a certain speed or
flexibility at responding to diverse items is being tested."
Instead, Gardner stated that he prefers "to assess individuals in
'intelligence-fair' ways -- for example, assessing interpersonal intelligence
by observing individuals as they interact in situations."
He concluded his reply to Arnett and Feirman by saying
"[w]e simply do not know whether 'g' would disappear if each intelligence
were assessed by means of an appropriate non-short-answer test" (p. 13).
MI serves as a Cop-Out
by Christopher Cryan
The liberal intention of MI theory in Cognitive Psychology
is all at once uniquely fascinating and potentially damaging. I fear that
widespread acceptance of this relatively new way of understanding intelligence
among educators may undermine their goal: to prepare our children to compete
and to realize success in the working world.
To illustrate my point, consider a child who performs poorly
in the classroom. His mathematical and reading skills fall significantly
below the average for other children within his age group. However, this
child happens to possess a "different kind of intelligence." He
is able to draw remarkably well, or throw a baseball remarkably fast.
MI theory hurts this child by postulating that his
intelligence is categorically typified, thereby eliminating any need to work on
his mathematical or reading skills. MI serves as a cop-out.
"You just don't possess this type of intelligence." This is an
extreme example and perhaps a bit oversimplified, but the concern is
valid. I would welcome any response via e-mail.