Thanks Janet, I oftened wondered if children showed their propensity to a certain intelligence at a very young age, or does it manifest itself after experimentation and experience and an "unrushed introduction" to which you allude.

After reading the article and then watching the video, two things really stand out in my mind, which never have before when studying Multiple Intelligences. (Maybe due to getting old...:) The first is the idea of self-assessment and why it is not used more often. I admittingly did not use it all that much in the past few years, but when I did, the students loved it and were really very critical of their own work, probably more so than I would have been. The few that did not take the grading seriously or had a different take on how their "project" rated, would only become more accurate and critical with more assessments that they conduct themselves.

The other piece that really stood out to me is when he mentioned the old saying "mile wide, inch deep" (not sure I quoted him correctly, but you get the idea), in reference to education. We continue to push more and more into a day that becomes shorter and shorter and yet expect the students to take it all in. What is even more insane is that they are expected to turn on their "math brain" for the forty minute math class, then turn it off only to turn on their "Shakespeare brain" for the next forty minutes. At the end of an eight or nine period day, they are supposed to go home and remember each and every one of those sessions well enough to complete homework. The only plus side is that they can forget it once the test is over! How does this make any sense? How much of your math, or science, or social studies classes do you remember from school? Not to say that there is not some benefit from the exposure, but are we preparing students to enter the world we live in today? Compared to life twenty years ago, or more, most people HAVE to go to college to get a job and then they HAVE to stay in that one profession in order to retire with enough to support them in the bank. Some time ago, you were still expected to know about farming, hunting, business, and then whatever it was that you were personally persuing. This may be a huge exaggeration, but students now are not living and learning the same way that we did, so education has to change in order to meet their changing needs.

It has always seemed to me that in so many ways education just kind of skims the surface of such a wide variety of subjects. I really appreciated the comment in the video that in a subject such as science, high school students should really be focused on the scientific process, not the subjects. By doing that they are truly developing their critical thinking skills, so that they can really learn chemistry, physics, etc. later on. The development of critical thinking skills is so much more important than the subject. When I began this journey from journalism to teaching a very wise teacher (Linda) said to me, "In middle school you teach the student, in high school you teach the subject." I have always kept that in mind as I try to help my students open their minds to learning.

I will be asking my new students about their different intelligences as a class, and use the quiz. Formulating lessons that works for each type of learner is something that I, as a new teacher, always try to keep in mind. What I have seen is that when the student is allowed to choose the type of work they want to do on a portion of a project, I see their enthusiasm increase and the quality of their work is wonderful -- obviously because they are being encouraged to use their specific passions and interests as tools in learn the learning process.

Thank you for remembering that adage!

I think that not rushing 3 and 4 year olds through a curriculum is definitely a luxury, but should be considered a necessity. We need to somehow incorporate this luxury of time and choice for our older students. As Heidi pointed out, we are pushing our students all day to jump from their "math brain" to their "creative writing brain." Wouldn't it be so nice if we could let them stay in "housekeeping" all week if that was what they wanted. Studies show that school days with shorter periods and more subjects are not better for learning, but still so many schools are set up that way. However, the eighty minute block scheduling that some schools have switched to poses problems also. These long periods seem to really hurt the non-linguistic intelligence learners. The bodily-kinesthic learners really struggle to have to be in one classroom for such a long period of time, because unless their teacher is planning lessons that incorporate all of the intelligences, chances are they are spending a lot of time sitting at their desks.

I like that adage of Linda's. Good point about block scheduling Sarah. Eighty minutes can be a long time for many of the students if it is mostly lecture format. In nursery school we try to remember that it is the process not the product. They remember the process. I definitely see children exhibiting tendencies toward certain intelligences. On this level we respect this but at the same time work on developing other areas of their brain. For instance, verbal communication. We will choose thek chold with the speech challenges to the the lead (Peddler) in "Caps For Sale". A child who has difficulty listening in a large group will sit on a teacher's lap and later will be read to in a smaller group or will play a "listening game" in order to develop this skill. Our best communicators may not be our best artists and they will receive more encouragement with their art. I think what I am saying is that even though children learn or approach the world through particular intelligences, they can also develop in other areas as well.

Edited by author 04-22-2006 12:14 AM
being an elementary school art teacher has it's advantages. one of the luxuries of my job is the exploratory process of the subject area which encourages a student to explore a concept or medium discovering its potential or meaning in relationship to their own ideas. there are no testing pressures and learning is a process of playing and discovery. this is a concept Gardiner discusses in one of the taped sessions on the glef site, which optimizes student learning.

elementary school children are ready to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty when they come to art class! if only we could foster that enthusiasm and love of learning throughout their school careers. i think that feeling is what kids remember about school years later. certainly they are not thinking back fondly to some standardized test or lecture they sat through.

You mention that you have an advantage being an art teacher. I think I have that same advantage being a kindergarten teacher. I still have large blocks of uninterrupted time during the day that I can structure as I want - I can do a lot of different activities or something that involves a longer chunk of time. I can also integrate a lot of the learning. Also, kindergarten kids are so enthusiastic about learning and any new experience (and repeated experience). Everything can be exciting.
Recently we were working on making number sentences for numbers 1-10, using red and white sided beans. I gave them three beans in a cup, which they proceeded to dump out over and over, first counting the red ones, then adding the white ones, and seeing what the red and white equaled all together. We did it over and over, and discovered when we wrote them on the chart that there were only 4 different number sentences for the number 3. Then we did it for the number 1 and discovered there were only 2 different number sentences. When I gave them 2 beans, one little boy said "I know! There's going to be 3 number sentences!" It was so cool that he was able to figure this out for himself, and it has energized the whole class to be excited about what else they might discover. They would dump and count beans forever now. I just had to sit back and give them the time to discover.

Jeannine and Susan, that is so wonderful that your kids are so excited and enthusiastic. I found getting my 8th graders excited to be quite a challenging task. As Jeannine pointed out, the challenge is to keep that sense of wonder and excitement in the kids throughout their school careers. Maybe if could inspire more teachers to create lesson plans that incorporated different types of intelligences, we wouldn't lose the attention of as many kids along the way. I have to mention History Alive! again, because as a social studies teacher, it has really helped me to (as it states on the cover): "engage all learners in the diverse classroom." History Alive!'s instructional approach is grounded in Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. There must be similar resources out there for other subjects??

Edited by author 04-22-2006 05:33 PM
Wouldn't it be wonderful if every lesson was as engaging and enlightening as the bean lesson Susan mentioned? Having to teach students as they get older, definitely gets more challenging as I have taught on every level. The adage that Linda so wonderfully said back in the day, makes me think of what a middle school teacher told me the first year I was on that level. She said, "They will gain very little book knowledge in the next few years Heidi, but it is how we shape their hormones that matters." Of course it was meant to be a joke, but how right she was. They got more out of taking a walk to the water with a digital camera and socializing with their peers than they ever would have got from a lesson on proportions on the chalk board, and all the while, it kept them active and on my side.

Edited by author 04-22-2006 08:34 PM
Hi everyone,

I am with the W3 Team at Westbury HS. After reading all of your entries it has me thinking. I am a teacher in the NYC Public School System. I teach in a terrific school in Flushing, Queens, NY. I wish we were able to allow our students to explore their own intelligences. Even as early as Kindergarten they are imposed upon with so many reading and writing standards. They work to the test and are never given time to explore their own style. Neither is the teacher. Stated below, "I think that not rushing 3 and 4 year olds through a curriculum is definitely a luxury, but should be considered a necessity. We need to somehow incorporate this luxury of time and choice for our older students." I fully agree with that statement. I want to share that thought is is a great one! I am curious to hear what my colleagues have to say.

I also paln on checking out some of the links below. I am excited about the enthusiasm and positive thoughts below.

Amazing input everyone. I believe my interest in multiple intelligences was a natural outgrowth of over three decades of trying to incorporate the arts into education. When you work with students in grades 7-12 in English Language Arts, you come to realize that the "story", the language of the lesson, can be augmented and interpreted in a variety of ways. Artistic expression, for some students, is truly visual. Thus, their interests in visual arts and filmmaking are fostered. How is the "story" presented? Through set designing and building; and all those kids with hands-on appreciations are now approachable and interested. How is it interpreted musically? Through composers and musicians, and then our students who are gifted musically come to the story with their own "score" in mind. Kinesthetic learners are my dancers who create through a body language of movements which become their vocabulary. The real wonderment comes when you see students appreciating and learning from the intellectual and artistic core of others. Sometimes, they are even encouraged to participate and "jump" to another "intelligence". The result is a real community of learners realizing there are no "right and wrong" answers, just varitions on a theme.

Sorry, I am late in joining you guys. Tracey had a writing project conference in New Hampshire this weekend - we just got back - what a powerful experience to witness - educators and teachers spending a whole day sharing and learning about writing from a master teacher. After reading the article by Howard Gardner and reviewing several responces in this discussion, what I observed happening between the students (writing project teachers) and their teacher (Don Graves) at this conference was totally dynamic. Our teaching classrooms should reflect this collegual environment that is established through educators working and sharing together. We all need to be mentored by someone who stirs the passion that we have for teaching and facilitates the dialogue needed for growth and renewal. If our students also have this kind of learning environment established in the classroom it can be just as powerful and get at the need for "personalizing" for each student.

What a great point you make Tim. I wish I had had a mentor during my teaching experience. When you listen to responses from the veteran teachers, such as Linda, and see how their years of experience have helped them to develop a repertoire that enables them to personalize their teaching to the different learning styles, it makes one realize how important it is to help the less experienced teachers with this skill.

Tim the conference to which you refer is sponsored by the National Writers' Project. Two summers ago I trained with the teachers who were with Don Graves this weekend. You are so right to draw an analogy between the Gardner readings/video and the dynamics that go on in the writers'workshops. Good point!Thank you.

Wow. It is amazing to read over this conversation. As Tim mentioned, I have just spent the weekend in N.H. with a great cohort of writing teacher friends, including Meredith and Rita. Their is so much I agree with in your dialogue, and in Howards infinite wisdom over the years. I am feeling more pressured than ever by the 'mile wide inch deep' curriculum imposed on me as a fifth grade teacher, and the testing conditions we are forced to impose on our 'art' of teaching is changing the culture of my classroom no matter how hard I try to fight it. Being a responsive teacher happens less, and giving kids more experiential opportunities and project based opportunities to learn happens less, but it isn't eliminated altogether because of the ways teaching is changing. Reading and writing workshop is still the place for me where student choice and differentiated learning have the greatest impact on what kids take away from school for life. And I love the way you mentioned it Janet, keeping the work around process more than product. When we write, I might have to choose the genre or unit of study, but the kids always choose the topic. When they read-it is something on their own reading level, and something they have chosen for themselves. It makes the learning to come from reading all the more powerful.