~ The MI News ~

~ The MI News ~

Summer 2001 Edition (Volume 3, Number 2) |

Publisher Branton Shearer | Editor Cliff Morris |

Table of Contents

1. For Your Intelligences Only
2. Using The MIDAS for KIDS in Egypt
3. Dissertation Citations and Abstracts Research Database
4. Forthcoming MI Institute Conference
5. More Multiple Intelligences Links

1. For Your Intelligences Only

If you are a first-time visitor, welcome to our quarterly publication. Here are a few comments that may interest you. The MI-News is provided free by Dr. Charles Branton Shearer's Multiple Intelligences (MI) Research and Consulting. The main objective in publishing this newsletter is to provide you with theoretical and practical information about Howard Gardner's MI model and how this model of the human mind is currently being implemented throughout the world. We, your MI-News Team, attempt to explore MI applications via discussion, contact and sharing. If you have an interesting idea, tried-and-tested lesson plan, or practical MI suggestion, please e-mail me with your comments. If we feel that your information is applicable to our readership, it will be considered for publication in the Fall (September 15) 2001 issue, that is, Volume 3, Number 3.

2. Using The MIDAS for KIDS in Turkey

Recently, I received an informative letter from a MIDAS for KIDS "My Young Child" user in Ankara, Turkey. He commented on involving parents of children aged 4-6 years who answered the MIDAS for KIDS Questionnaire. At the outset of the administration of the questionnaire, a problem incurred involving the Linguistic section as, in Turkey, students only begin to learn how to read and write when they are seven years of age. As the students had yet to attain that age, they were considered "illiterate." Thus, statements related to the writing skills of that section often responded with the “I don't know” option. Because of this, the Linguistic Intelligent section of the scale was scored lower than the user's observation results.

As well, classroom teachers of these students answered the MIDAS for KIDS questionnaire. Both of the scales, that is, the teacher and parent results were then analyzed. Teacher observations of student behaviors were also analyzed and filed. Finally, the intelligence profiles of the students were determined. The parents were then informed about their child's strength and weaknesses in a particular intelligent. Then, they helped their children to improve in the deemed weaker intelligences. A similar remedial procedure was implemented at school.

In Ankara, there is no other school which considers the MI approach to learning. Thus, MI theory is not well known and understood. This MIDAS for KIDS program thus assisted the teachers in determining the intelligence profiles of their students Moreover, each MIDAS for KIDS Profile helped their parents to understand their children better. Now, parents observed and evaluated their children in a different point of view. The most important of all of this was that the parents were now able to accept their children for what they were. In other words, the parents accepted the fact that there was no single intelligence which was more important than the other seven. They realized that each intelligence had important rolls in life. As well, the students became better respected by their parents and teachers. Hopefully, this realization would play an important role in their self-respect.

3. Dissertation Citations and Abstracts Research Database

Some time ago, during my doctoral thesis studies, I began gathering up a series of dissertation citations and abstracts associated with the Multiple Intelligences of Howard Gardner. Not only were all of them an interesting read but they inspired me to continue the collection. Now, seven years later, I have been able to insert many of them into a research database for other interested MI researchers. I feel that this database will assist those who continue to research this most interesting concept of the human mind. As is the case with the development of any new product, I am sure that you will have questions about searching the database et al. While the data base internet page will have user instructions, please feel free to email me at cmorris@igs.net, with your suggestions for improvements. To go to the database, click here.

4. Forthcoming MI Institute Conference

As the editor of the MI-News, I continue to receive e-mails about interesting MI activities. Recently, I received such an email, updating me about a forthcoming MI Institute (MII) conference. The conference is to be held on Thursday and Friday, April 25th and 26th, 2001 at Dr. Thomas Hoerr's New City School, 5209 Waterman Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63108-1155. Their phone and fax numbers are 314 361 6411 and 314 361 1499, respectively. If you seek a meaningful way to upgrade your own learning, perhaps now is the time to pencil in those two ((2001-2001) Professional Development (PD) days. For more information on what seems will be an excellent MI workshop, feel free to contact Mr. Hoerr by e-mailing him at trhoerr@newcityschool.org The URL for his internet web site is www.newcityschool.org.

The theme for the two-day session will be collegiality, that is, learning with and from each other. During this time, there will the chance for all who attend to see an actual MI school in progress. Participants will be able to visit classrooms and chat with the school's faculty members. More to that latter point, the New City School will be in session during the morning of each day.

For your background information, the New City School program began operation during the 1988-1989 school year. The school's faculty have written two excellent books dealing with their work with MI. The books are Celebrating Multiple Intelligences: Teaching for Success and Succeeding with Multiple Intelligences: Teaching Through the Personal Intelligences. As well, Dr. Hoerr continues to serve as Facilitator of the MI Network, an organization that he founded in 1991. This Network is an informal affiliation of educators who are interested in sharing information about implementing Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences. They also produce an information MI newsletter, Intelligences Connections, three times a year.

More to that program, recently I also received a complementary copy of Franklin O. Schargel and Jay Smith's 2001 book, Strategies to help Solve Our School Dropout Program. In chapter 12, Diverse Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences, the authors i) review Howard Gardner's Theory, including a brief outline of his Eight Intelligences, ii) comment on the benefits of MI, and iii) conclude the chapter by "taking a closer look" (p. 156) at six schools and educational programs that "have incorporated the theory of multiple intelligences into their practice in a variety of settings" (p. 156). The fifth program outlined is The New City School program. Because I can not match the authors' description of a recent commentary by Dr. Hoerr, I shall close this section by quoting them directly on what he said. Schargel & Smink (2001) write,

What began with a faculty reading program, going chapter by chapter through Dr. Gardner's Frames of Mind, has become a school-wide philosophy. We find [that] MI [has become] a tool that helps us view kids through their strengths. It has been an impact on how we design our curriculum, present our instruction, assess our students, and communicate with their parents. In my mind, there is no doubt that using MI helps kids learn, increasing their motivation and giving them different pathways to acquire information and share what they have learned. And there' s no doubt that our discipline and behavior problems have diminished since using MI. We have not formally collected data on how our students performed before our use of MI and compared it with our MI approach. Thus our data are anecdotal. That said, there is no question in anyone's mind that Mi offers students (and teachers) more routes to success. ( pp. 159-160, italics in original, internet link is the editor's alone and not in original)

Reference:

Schargel, Frankilin P, & Smith Jay (2001). Strategies to Help Solve Our School Dropout Problem. Larchmont, New York: Eye on Education.

As an aside, this new book is all about lowering the student dropout rate in schools. To receive more information about this book, contact Eye On Education, 6 Depot Way West, Suite 106, Larchmont, New York, 10538. Their phone and fax numbers are: (914) 833-0551 and (914) 833-0761, respectively. The ISBN number for the book is: 1-930556-14-4 and the Library of Congress Card number is LC143.S22 2001 371.2'913'0973-dc21. Production services for this book are provided by ComManagement, 1211 Courtland Drive, Raleigh, NC 27604. The phone number for ComManagement is (919)-833-3350.

5. More Multiple Intelligences Links

To new (and former) readers of this newsletter, you will recall that recently, I have been bringing to your attention a list of interesting MI links. As this is my third year of retirement as a full-time classroom teacher, MI has now become my hobby. And, as it the case with any hobby, one continues to collect more and more items associated with the hobby. Well, I am no exception, as I continue to update my files on what I consider to be more interesting internet MI links.

Some of the sites are mine alone but many more are those of others, especially others who truly believe in the miracle of MI. I use the word miracle deliberately as many throughout the world have commented to me in their e-mails that the addition of the MI mindset to their repertoire of teaching has transformed their students from dumb and stupid students to innovative and creative learners. In my way of thinking, this is truly a miracle.

Click here to go to my list of links. If you know of additional internet web sites associated with MI, and you feel that their presence here would be of interest to others, please contact me by clicking here