MI-News, June 1999, Volume 1, Number 6
Table of contents1 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 MorrisWelcome 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 ShearerI 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 McLeodI 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 BauerEditorial 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.
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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 onlyDo we own intelligences?
by Clifford MorrisIn 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.
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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 CryanThe 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.
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