~ The MI News ~
Summer 2003 Edition (Volume 5, Number 1) | Previous
Issues of MI-News
Publisher Branton Shearer | Editor
Cliff Morris |
1.
This electronic-only (spring, summer, fall, and
winter) newsletter is provided free by Branton Shearer's Multiple Intelligences
(MI) Research and Consulting. Since 1999, we have published
two version of the newsletter: this web version and a corresponding email
version. Both contain the same content. Here are five items about
the email version.
If you have interesting ideas about Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI), have a tried-and-tested MI-based lesson plan, or you have some practical MI suggestions that you feel our readers would enjoy viewing, please email me, Cliff Morris. While we foster readers to become familiar with our MI newsletter, we also bring to your attention two (2) other fine MI publications. Both are excellent newsletters and contain practical articles, meaningful programs, and innovative approaches. To read all the issues of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) MI-SIG' newsletters, click here. And to read another series of newsletters, published by the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), click here.
Table of Contents
1.
Using The
MIDAS with At-Risk High School Students by Sally Pooler
2.
Drama and
History Tap the Personal Intelligences for Teaching Math by Mark Wahl
3.
20 Years
of MI: Its Impact on Quality Education and Future Directions by Cliff Morris
4. MI Inspired Lesson Plan by Anisi Daniels Smith
5. Book Review: The
Personal Intelligences:
Promoting Social and Emotional Learning by Launa Ellison
1. Using The MIDAS
with At-Risk High School Students by Sally Pooler
Early in my teaching career, I
recognized the need to teach to the individual student rather than to the
average student within the context of the whole class. Now, as an
alternative educator, working with at risk students, this individual scrutiny
to actually encourage productive learning and achievement becomes even more
important. I stumbled onto information about the MIDAS Profile (and its
creator, Dr. Branton Shearer) which identifies degrees of multiple
intelligences (MI's) in students, on the Internet while completing a research
proposal concerned with learning styles/inventories for a graduate course at
Drake University which led to my Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership.
Our alternative school, Futures
High School, administers MIDAS to each student (grades 9-12 and 16 years
old and above) at their orientation. Results are given to facilitators,
students and parents. Individual time is spent with each student to
explain the results of the profile and how such results can help the youth with
his/her current education and planning for desired careers. The
connection of specific intelligences and assignment options at Futures is
explained to the students and their ability to either choose assignment
activities which match their predominant MI's or those which expand their
abilities in their lower and mid range MI's. They may also ask the
facilitators for adaptations which fit their MI's when there is only one
assignment option given.
For six (6) years I have been
offering assignment options to students at the alternative school so they may
show, in their own way, how well they understand the material they are expected
to study. That works out well. I find that many students prefer to
do a kinesthetic or spatial activity rather than something which is linguistic
in origin. I now receive posters, artwork, and surveys rather than
written material to cover a topic of study.
In Iowa, we have educational
excellence incentives called Phase I, II, and III which have been funded by the
state. Phase I and II deal with salary additions, whereas Phase III
projects are tied directly to increasing student achievement. This year,
our district's Phase III goals needed to be tied to student achievement but to
coordinating standards, benchmarks and assessments, that is, to begin building
a portfolio of artifacts for the new Iowa teacher evaluation process.
Thus, I chose a project which allowed me to write curriculum for a new
course. I still am including assignment options, but this time, I am
identifying which MI each option incorporates. It was an eye opening
project for me. Even though I had been using options which I considered nontraditional,
I was still using linguistic assignment alternatives. It was thought
provoking, indeed, to realize that and then try to hit each of the eight (8)
MI's equally throughout the document. I am anxious to see how the
students will perform once they start this course; moreover, I will be excited
to present this concept to the regular secondary staff.
Each day, week, or month, I see more
evidence that the MIDAS philosophy works. We have a number of students at
our alternative school who have some form of attention deficit disorder
(ADD). It is extremely difficult in these cases to keep the students
focused on their assignments. One young man kept postponing research on
his favorite artist which involved a one page-word processed document.
However, after doing a required Power Point presentation on the laptop computer
for Speech class, he told me how much he loved working on the presentation.
Just the fact that he was creating in a different way, with visuals rather than
word processing, was enough to make an enjoyable assignment for him.
Therefore, I suggested that he do the same thing for his art assignment.
That is, instead of handing in a word processed paper, I suggested that he do a
Power Point presentation. The young man worked much longer and more
diligently than he ever would have done with the original assignment.
I am thankful that I found the MIDAS
and that I have the opportunity to offer variety in assignments to the
students. The walls of our school are now covered with student projects
instead of word processes papers hiding in the files. All students can
learn has never been more evident.
by Sally Pooler
Coordinator / Facilitator
Futures Alternative High School
Boone Community School District
Boone, IA spooler@willinet.net
2. Drama and History Tap the Personal
Intelligences for Teaching Math by Mark Wahl
My use of the “personal” side of
math, both in the form of fantasy and historical stories for instruction goes
back to when I was working on my master’s thesis in math. It required
investigation of complex proofs in the University of Maryland library’s musty
math journals. Commonly, while picking through a baffling formula for
hours, I would gradually descend into that early sleep stage known as
hypnagogic, where strange dreamlike episodes often make people wake with a
jerk.
In my dreams, the mathematical
entities I was studying would begin to animate, Alice-in-Wonderland style,
becoming people with mathematical traits. That is, the negative numbers
became negative, the powers did “power trips,” and all were all trying to do
complex “operations” on each other. There was some kind of major episode
going on with characters trying to resolve a problematic situation. While
getting emotionally involved in this drama, I would pop awake, details rapidly
fading, but with a fleeting sense of having observed a complex “soap
opera."
Over my many years of math mentoring
students of all ages I have noticed this “opera” reappear in pieces as I search
for metaphors and connections that convey math concepts. For instance,
when teaching addition and subtraction of negative integers, especially to
pre-adolescents, I find that moods are the best metaphor. A –9 mood is
pretty grumpy while a +20 is ecstatic.
The expression –7 – (–2) describes a
person starting out with a –7 mood, receiving a compliment that removes
(subtracts) –2 (two negatives) from his mood and now he is in a –5 mood.
Later, students can use the mnemonic shortcut that two dashes together, i.e., a
–(– ) can crisscross to form a +, making the expression become –7 + 2.
Without conceptual development or the mood model, though, a student will retain
no “gut feeling” as to why the answer to –7 – (–2) must be –5.
Continuing the personal approach, I
speak of two different “lands,” Multiplication Land and Addition Land. In
multiplication land, there are factors that multiply, but there are other
things that go on there like division, powers and square roots. In
Addition Land, only addition and subtraction happen. Zero is the “nobody”
of Addition Land because it goes over to, and adds with, a number and the
number doesn’t even think anything happened. It just shrugs and walks
away unchanged. But if zero takes a vacation and goes to Multiplication
Land, look out! It feels very powerful as it annihilates anybody it comes
into contact with! On the other hand, one (1) is the
“nobody” of Multiplication Land. Yet when it goes to Addition Land, it can at
least cause numbers to gently change.
The expression “5 to the
zero power” means that there are zero factors called 5. This
happens in Multiplication Land, so the absence of any factors, when
nothing is happening, gives us the nobody of Multiplication Land, one.
When “nothing is happening” there we must signify it by 1. Most new
learners think “5 to the zero power” should yield
zero, the nobody of Addition Land, but “5 to the zero
power” has no taint of Addition Land in it. (Of course there are
mathematical arguments for why “5 to the zero power” should
be 1, but “dramatic” talk like this helps a learner to expect the correct
concept.)
A last example (among many possible)
of the use of fantasy personalities to make number concepts meaningful and
memorable is the simple teaching of addition facts. I like to speak of
ten as the “big shot” or “ruler” or “king” of our number system. Some
kids don’t believe it is the most important number in Numberland. I say,
“How do you find out who is, or has been, very important in a country?
You look at the coins and stamps.” If you’re in Numberland, you look
carefully at the numbers. You’ll find there’s hardly a whole number that
lacks the imprint of ten. There are numbers like six-teen (meaning
six and ten) and six-ty meaning “six tens” and 6 (being
one of exactly ten one-digit numbers) and one hundred (meaning ten
tens).
Then how does 9 feel? (Almost
important.) We could describe 9 as “Hungry for 1.” So when it meets
7 it says “How would you like to hang around with a ten?” The 7 says
“Wow! Of course!” The 9 says “You only have to make one sacrifice.
You must give up one and be a 6.” The 6 says “It’s worth it!” and hands
over 1, and together they are six-teen (six and ten). The moral of this
story is that when 9 meets any number in Addition Land (even 47) it asks for
one and becomes a ten.
The use of fantasy dramatic stories
is one way to tap both the intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences
in communicating math. Another way is to build rich historical
connections to the math concepts being used or taught: “Where did the
symbol “7” come from?”, “When and where was long division a university
subject?”, “Did you know that centimeters were born in a revolution?”, “Which
country was the first to use ‘x’ to mean an unknown amount and soon after
became a world mathematical champion?”, or/and “Which country had been
the previous champion?”
Tossing in a provocative question
like any of these is a way to segue to history. This especially lights up
those math students with active interpersonal intelligence.
Remember, those strong in interpersonal intelligence are good resolvers of
personal conflicts, are magnets for friends, and are fascinated by the personal
dramas that gave rise to objects and situations around them. These same
students may, like everyone else, yawn during a world civilization class full
of abstract facts and dates, but they will eat up the fascinating personalized
historical connections that gave rise to the well known math concepts they’ve
all heard of. That gives you a chance to entertain a dual purpose as you
teach: use historical highlights to help kids appreciate math and help
kids to befriend history.
A very good example of a historical
connection is our amazing number system. It is a great vitalizer and
motivator in almost any math class. Introduce this topic dramatically,
when the board has several numbers written on it, and ask, “How many numbers
are on the board?” Suppose “2306” and “37” are the only numbers written.
Some will say “two” (Answer, “No.”), others say “six,” counting the number of digits
(“Answer, “No.”) while still others have some kind of different take on it,
like “five, because zero isn’t really a number.” (“No, again.”). They may
give up. Answer “There are NO numbers on the board!” They’ll feel
like you’re tricking them. Then write “8” and say, “Is this the number
8?” They usually say “yes.” Draw a horizontal line splitting the 8 symbol
in half and reply, “Then half of 8 is zero.” Draw a vertical line
splitting the 8 in half again and quip, “And half of eight is also 3.” By
then they’re beginning to get the idea, but add, “Then what is this?” and write
“VIII” on the board. They’ll say “eight.” Ask how VIII and 8 can both be
eight when the two look nothing alike.
By then, they’re looking for a
resolution of this confusion. It occurs when you make the distinction
between numbers and symbols for numbers, called numerals.
That is, “eight” truly exists only in our heads, not on boards; it is a concept.
We can symbolize eight in any number of ways. From there, you can go, if
you have researched it, into the invention and evolution of specific systems of
numerals. The Chinese, Babylonians, and Mayans had good written systems
(having bases 10, 60, and 20 respectively), and each is worthy of fifteen
minutes of time during enrichment intervals in your lesson plans. But
none of them hold a candle to our current system which has a unique feature
that it not only records numerals beautifully but allows calculation
with the symbols as well.
This system arrived relatively late
on our Eurocentric scene, having stabilized in Europe in the 1600s, replacing
Roman numerals. It’s likely that the Italian-Spaniard Christopher
Columbus had heard of it but was probably not personally using its symbols yet,
though it was being used in southern Spain. But where did this system
come from? Students have many wild guesses. I quip, “No, Bill Gates
didn’t invent them!” In fact, they weren’t invented in the U.S. or
Europe. Europeans were still computing their totals with the abacus and
with rocks in trays, recording these with Roman numerals, when our current
elegant number system was being used for centuries in other parts of the
world. The wealthy, intellectually and artistically advanced city whose
inhabitants skillfully used these numbers in the fourteenth century, way before
the Europeans, was the same city that is now capital of an impoverished
international outcast country ruled by a tyrant. That country is Iraq
and the city is Baghdad. It was the hub of the giant Moslem Empire that
reached from India across northern Africa to southern Spain (whose west became
a home to Christopher Columbus).
But the Moslems didn’t invent these
numbers either; they just used them very well and improved them as they
spread them from country to country. The inventors were the Hindu priests
of India in the first through seventh centuries. The Moslems conquered
part of India in the seventh century (the Moslems and Hindus still struggle
over temple sites in India today because of this) and, appreciating the
fantastic beauty of this system, the Moslems “stole” it and proceeded to use it
in trade and commerce. Because Europe spent many decades conducting
crusades against the Moslem “infidels,” they missed out on their number
system. With peace developing in the 1100s, there arose the gradual
importation (requiring over two centuries) of this valuable tool into
England, France and Italy. One “importer” was the brilliant Leonardo
Fibonacci of Pisa (after whom the ubiquitous Fibonacci Numbers are
named). He helped Italy become such an important player in the new system
of “ciphers” that only Italian universities were advanced enough to offer
courses on long division in the 1500s (while other universities felt
only competent to teach multiplication).
We have come to know that numeral
system, our inherited system, as the Hindu-Arabic number system.
Here’s a research topic: when did this system reach the young America, where
early colonies were coexistent with the system’s spread in Europe? But
what’s the fuss about these lowly numbers? They’re just squiggles on paper –
big deal! It was a very big deal in the history of thought to be
able to write 111 and mean over a hundred instead of just three. It was a
further breakthrough to write 101 and mean over a hundred even though only two
1s were written and one of the digits means “nothing.” Each 1 in 111
means a different thing because of its place in the number and in 101 a
place is held by a 0, meaning no 10’s are present. This is the miracle of
place value that the brilliant Egyptians and Greeks completely
overlooked in their number systems. These simple concepts are so
obvious they took centuries to invent! This system was so good that no
culture has been able to substantially improve on it in two millennia and today
it is virtually a world language.
Each 1 in 11,111 means something ten
times less than the 1 just left of it. It wasn’t until the 1500s
that a Dutch quartermaster named Stevens (and a few others) said, “Why stop
this downward progression at the end ones unit? Put a dot/marker then
continue with another 1 that means something ten times smaller than one,
i.e., 1/10. And so on to 1/100, etc. writing 11111.111. Thus, the
decimal system came into existence after Christopher Columbus sailed to
the New World.
This is an expanded example of how
historical data can be made friendly, relevant, interesting, and motivating to
math learning. There are equally engaging stories of how France’s Vieté
originated algebra and became “world math champion country” in the 1600s,
and how, just before 1800, centimeters were born during the French Revolution
(“when rich people were beheaded”). My book A Mathematical Mystery
Tour has several historical and cross cultural (as well as scientific and
artistic) connections for those interpersonally intelligent kids of
yours, and my other book Math for Humans: Teaching Math Through 8
Intelligences gives many suggestions for relating math to the personal
intelligences, in fact to all the intelligences.
To read more about Mark Wahl’s
publications and information, go to MarkWahl.com.
3. 20 Years of MI:
Its Impact on Quality Education and Future Directions by Cliff Morris
For five (5) days (April 21-25,
2003), two downtown Chicago hotels, The Sheraton
Chicago and The Hyatt Regency Chicago, will act as co-headquarters
for the 2003 annual American Educational Research Association
(AERA) meeting. This year's meeting will comprise more than 1,300 sessions, with 3,000 presentations
on a broad spectrum of topics. The organizers plan to provide a forum for
formally screened reports and presentations, as well as for informal
communication to over 13,500 registrants. In addition, a series of
intensive 1/2- to 3-day research training sessions will allow participants to
update their specific research skills and competencies.
In addition to the above sessions,
AERA will also host some 137 Special Interest Groups (SIG), one being Multiple
Intelligences: Theory and Practice. The purpose of the
MI-SIG is to provide a forum for discussing and disseminating research
regarding the educational, counseling and scientific implications of Howard
Gardner's multiple intelligences (MI) theory. Throughout, there will be
sessions commemorating the 20th anniversary of the (1983) publication of Howard
Gardner's Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.
First, here is an thumbnail sketch
of the types of MI sessions.
·
Poster
fair
·
AERA
Presidential Invited Address by Howard Gardner
·
Panel
discussions
·
Symposiums
·
Paper
discussions
·
MI-SIG
business meeting and reception
And second, here is a more-detailed
agenda of the nine (9) MI-related sessions
17.096
Monday, April 21
Co-sponsored by International Relations Committee & MI-SIG -- #17
|
Time: Location: Title: |
12:00
PM -- 1:30 PM |
|
Abstract: |
This
poster session will enable researchers to share the results of their multiple
intelligences related research with the audience. A diverse array of
topics are investigated relating to MI assessment and school reform. |
|
Chairperson: |
Jackie
Chen, Erikson Institute |
|
Sponsors: |
MI-SIG
#17 |
|
Participants |
1.
The
Development of an MI Assessment for Young Children in Taiwan by WenChuan
Hsueh, Hsinchu Teachers College, Taiwan vhsueh@mail.nhctc.edu.tw 2.
A
Multi-Cultural Comparison of the Factor Structure of the MIDAS for Adults /
College Students by James Jones, Ball State University, U.S. jjones@bsu.edu 3.
Gardner’s
Theory Applied to a Model Self-Rated Intelligence Profile by Petri
Nokelainen, University of Tampere, Finland hopeno@uta.fi
4.
Integrating
the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy with Multiple Intelligences: A Planning Tool for
Curriculum Differentiation by Toni Noble, Australian Catholic University t.noble@mary.acu.edu.au 5.
Validation
of MIDAS, a Multiple Intelligences Measurement Instrument in the Malaysia
Setting by Suan Yoong, Universiti Sains Malaysia cygnet@tm.net.my 6.
Psychometric
Analyses of the Multiple Intelligences Developmental Assessment Scales in
Chile by Raul Pizarro, Universidad de Chile rauljepizarrosanchez@yahoo.es
7.
Breaking
the Cycle of Defeat: Using the Theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) to
Support Teachers and Students in Nine Taiwan Schools by Ji-Mei Chang, Chuing
Chou & Shaulin Shann jmchang@email.sjsu.edu
|
20.10
Monday, April 21
Keynote AERA Presidential Invited Address -- Presentation #48
|
Time: |
2:15
PM -- 3:45 PM |
|
Keynote Address: Presenter: |
20 years
of Multiple Intelligences: Reflections and a Blueprint for the Future |
|
Chairperson: |
Branton
Shearer |
|
Discussant: |
Larry
Cuban, Stanford University Cuban@stanford.edu |
22.65
Monday, April 21
Sponsored by MI-SIG & Brain/Neuroscience and Education SIG -- #10
|
Time: |
4:05
PM -- 6:05 PM |
|
Title: |
Does
Evidence from the Neurosciences Support the Theory of Multiple Intelligences? |
|
Chairperson: |
Read
Diket, William Carey College |
|
Abstract: |
MI
theory, first described in 1983 by Howard Gardner, is based, in part, on the
best neuroscience evidence available at that time. This session will provide
a group of neuroscientists with the opportunity to discuss, from their
various perspectives, the implications of recent neuroscience research
regarding the validity of MI theory. |
|
Panel |
2.
Michael
Posner, Cornell University mip2003@mail.med.cornell.edu
mposner@oregon.uoregon.edu 3.
Patricia
Carpenter, Carnegie Mellow University carpent+@andrew.cmu.edu 4.
Antonio
Damasio, University of Iowa antonio-damasio@uiowa.edu 5.
Paula
Tallal, Rutgers University TALLAL@AXON.RUTGERS.EDU |
34.69
Tuesday, April 22
Sponsored by MI-SIG & Second Language Research (SLR) SIG #1
|
Time: |
2:15
PM -- 3:45 PM |
|
Title: |
Shared
Responsibility: Second Language Learners and the Theory of MI |
|
Chairpersons: |
Marjorie
Haley mhaley@infi.net |
|
Abstract: |
This symposium
will provide researchers / practitioners the opportunity to discuss how
MI is being implemented in second language classrooms to enhance student
achievement. |
|
Participants: |
1.
Chairperson:
Theresa Austin, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 2.
MI
and Portfolios: A Window into the Learner's Mind by Evangeline Stefanakis,
Harvard University 3.
MI
and Emergent Literacy with Second Language Learners by Sue Teele, University
of California, Riverside and by Alev Yemenici, Middle East Technical
University 4.
Learner-Centered
Instruction and the Theory of MI with Second Language Learners by Marjorie
Haley, George Mason University |
36.56
Tuesday, April 22
Sponsored by MI-SIG -- #14
|
Time: Location: |
4:05
PM -- 6:05 PM |
|
Title: |
From
the Ivory Tower to the Dusty Classroom: 20 Years of MI in Promoting Quality
Education |
|
Type: |
Symposium |
|
Abstract: |
This
panel of experienced and distinguished educators will describe how the theory
of MI has contributed to the design of schools and instructional practices
that promote quality education for all students. The presenters will discuss
the challenges and benefits of MI implementation at all grades levels from
elementary to post-secondary |
|
Participants: |
|
44.18
Wednesday, April 23
Sponsored by MI-SIG -- #18
|
Time: |
11:25
AM -- 12:55 PM |
|
Title: |
Investigations
into the Efficacy of MI Instruction and Teaching |
|
Type: |
Paper
Discussions |
|
Abstract: |
These
five (5) paper discussions will allow audience members to hear the results of
studies that have examined the efficacy of MI theory to enhance instruction,
differential instruction, and student achievement. |
|
Participants: |
1.
Incorporating
MI Theory into Teacher Preparation Courses for Teachers of CLD Students by
Jane Shore, George Washington University jshore@ncbe.gwu.edu 2.
Can
I Pick More than One Project?: Case Studies of 5 Teacher Who Used MI-Based
Instructional Planning by M. Hickey hickey@ipfw.edu 3.
MI,
Educational Reform, and Successful Career by Wu-Tien Wu, Taiwan Normal
University t14004@cc.ntnu.edu.tw 4.
The
Effects of Implementation of the MI Theory on Grade 7 Students by Osman Kaya,
Gazi University, Turkey onafiz@gazi.edu.tr 5.
MI
and Learning Styles: Oppositional or Complementary? by Stephan Denig, Niagara
University sdenig@niagara.edu |
52.022
Wednesday, April 23
Sponsored by MI-SIG -- #15
|
Time: Location: |
6:15
PM -- 7:45 PM |
|
Business
Meeting: |
Multiple
Intelligences and School Reform: Aspirations and Dilemmas |
|
Chairperson: |
JiQie
Chen, Erikson Institute jchen@erikson.edu |
|
Abstract: |
Elliot
Eisner, Stanford University eisner@leland.stanford.edu
will present his views on the role of the theory of MI in promoting school
reform since its introduction in 1983. This address will be a follow-up
to his 1994 article in the Teacher’s College Record special MI issue. |
53.10
Wednesday, April 23
Sponsored by MI-SIG -- #16
|
Time: Location: |
7:45
PM -- 9:15 PM |
|
Reception: |
Meet
the Multiple Intelligences Researchers |
|
Chairperson: |
JiQie
Chen, Erikson Institute jchen@erikson.edu |
|
Abstract: |
Light
refreshments will be available during this Meet the MI Researchers
social hour. You will have the opportunity to meet and discuss issues,
concerns and problems associated with conducting MI research. Bring your own
business card and abstract and build your MI network |
56.011
Thursday, April 24
Sponsored by AERA -- 47 -- AERA New Millennium Paper Discussion Session II
|
Time: |
8:15
PM -- 8:55 AM |
|
Paper |
Psychometric
Analyses of the Multiple Intelligences Developmental Assessment Scales
(MIDAS-Teens) |
|
Authors: |
Raul Pizarro, Julio
Castillo, and Maria Saavedra, Universidad de Chile |
|
Abstract: |
This
paper comments on a recent (2001) research investigation completed within
three (3) types of Santiago, Chile, high schools (public, subsidized, and
private). Some 429 10th graders from 12 high schools were administered the
MIDAS-Teens scales. Psychometric results will be outlined, including
gender differences, regression analysis, and construct validity. |
4. MI Inspired Lesson Plan by Anisi Daniels Smith
I have taken two (2) workshops with Branton Shearer. I
now feel confident that MI can be used in any part of my life. As a
pastor, I am making a total overhaul of our Sunday School curriculum. As
a mother, my children are now being taught in ways they enjoy. They
actually ask to do extra work at home! Hopefully, they will grow
to respect their own intelligences and learning styles as well as those of
other people. We had an academic camp at our church this summer, and I
taught this lesson. I am reworking it within an MI context.
Objectives: Students will
1. understand how selected organs of
the body work
2. synthesize ideas through use of
stations and cooperative group work
Setting:
I will
introduce this story: Think of your body as a business. Every part
has a job to do. But there’s a problem -- your body is being
downsized. As a board, the class will vote on who stays and who gets
kicked out of the body. Each of you will choose an organ, and convince
the class (your body) why it should stay. I will post some organs on the
board, and students will each choose one. Centers will be introduced to
give them options on research and presentation. Students will have thirty
minutes to work in the learning centers of their choice over a two-day
period. They will then practice on one another, critiquing each other’s
performances.
Four (4) Learning Centers:
1.
Art: Build a model of your organ using art
supplies, cardboard, string, etc. ((Spatial, Kinesthetic)
2.
Music: Choose some theme music from provided CDs, and
write a rap, song, or commercial jingle about your organ. You may use
props. (Kinesthetic, Musical)
3.
Science and Research
Center: Choose a VCR tape about
the body to watch. How does your organ relate to other organs? How
would the body get along without it? Ask other people what their organs
do to help you draw conclusions. Gather facts from books and magazines,
or search the Internet for information. (Logical, Interpersonal,
Naturalist, Linguistic)
4.
Drama Center: Write a short skit about what would happen if
you were suddenly fired from the body (i.e. person waiting for a bus, suddenly
loses a lung). Design a setting and scenery. About how long would
the body survive without you? (Mathematical, Interpersonal, Spatial,
Kinesthetic, Logical)
Following
all preparation, students will present their findings. They will answer
questions such as, “Why should we keep you? What do you do? Why are
you so important? Is there an artificial replacement for you that could
be cheaper? Students will vote on who stays and who goes. After all
have presented, students will be asked to write an evaluation of the
lesson. What was difficult for you? What did you enjoy the
most? Did anything make you laugh? What did you find out that you
didn’t know?
5. The Personal Intelligences: Promoting
Social and Emotional Learning by Launa Ellison
This recent (2001) book represents a novel insight into the
practical implications of Gardner's two personal intelligences and how such
social graces underpin so much of today's classroom learning. Moreover,
the book provides contemporary educators with a unique opportunity to create
optimal learning environments for all types of students. Writing as one
who has been following the writing of Gardner since 1985, I feel that this book
is also a must read for anyone seeking meaningful insight into their own personal
life. To read my revised review of this fine professional development
book, please click here.
5b. Thinking Harder not Smarter Research Study by Cliff Morris
I am currently field-testing a longitudinal pilot study on MI. To
that end, I require a considerable number of dedicated research subjects.
If you are interested, please click here for additional
information.
The next issue of the MI-News (vol. 5, no. 2 -- Summer
2003) is scheduled to this web location in mid-June.
Homepage
of Cliff Morris
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