EXTRAORDINARY MINDS

1. Portraits of 4 Exceptional Individuals and an Examination of our own Extraordinariness by Howard Gardner EXTRAORDINARY MINDS Forum members: Ellen Ellwanger, Lauralee Holsing, Anna Melendez, Laura Kotalik, Barbara Wellenstein, Teresa Kragel, Michelle Henrich

2. Four Forms of Extraordinariness • Master—Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart • Maker—Sigmund Freud • Introspector—Virginia Wolff • Influencer—Mahatma Gandhi

3. Anachronistic View-Not a “Single Entity” • Psychologically-There are differing intellectual faculties which are independent of each other • Biologically-Impossible to separate out genetics from environment • Anthropologically-Cultures make very different assumptions about human learning and motivation

4. First, all of us possess in some form the potential to occupy each of the roles: we can all master a domain, vary that domain in a significant way, introspect about ourselves, and influence other persons (Gardner,1997). Second, the extraordinary minds that have emerged in the millennium belong to us. They are “our” minds both in the sense that they have contributed to the life of the broad human community and in the sense that they have been “made’ by the evaluations of earlier generations of their respective fields (Gardner, 1997). Examining our own Extraordinariness

5. Where do we go from here? • If we all have different minds, then it is simply inappropriate to teach us all as if our minds were simple variations along a solitary bell curve.” [Gardner,1997] • Therefore, as teachers, we need to teach to our students’ strengths, incorporating joy in learning and life-long problem solving skills. • We want our students to be well-rounded individuals. • What are some ways we can do that?

6. Logical-Mathematical IntelligenceMath Smart Characteristics Easily finds number patterns Likes rational explanations Follows an order when problem solving Enjoy working with numbers Likes to explain problems People Like: Albert Einstein, John Dewey, Susanne Langer

7. Math Smart Activities Visual/Spatial Hands-on Algebra Graphs/diagrams Interpersonal Work Group Peer Teaching Body/Kinesthetic Hands-on Algebra Making Graphs Verbal/Linguistic Work Groups Previewing & explaining Math Journals Intrapersonal Previewing lessons Musical/Rhythmic Facts songs/rap

8. Bodily/Kinesthetic - Body Smart Characteristics Dance Athletic Using tools Crafts Acting

9. Body Smart Likes to: • Move around • Touch and talk • Body language Learns best through: • Touching, moving • Processing through bodily sensations Famous people: Michael Jordan, Charlie Chaplin, Martina Navratilova

10. Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence Center Activities • Hands-on center with clay, blocks, crafts • Drama center with an area for performances or puppet theater • Tactile learning with relief maps, different textures such as sandpaper letters • Books on famous athletes, dancers and actors • Students create scavenger hunts with a specific curriculum • Twister game with spelling words taped onto color circles • Juggling center with soft objects and a “how-to” book

11. Interpersonal IntelligencePeople Smart Characteristics • The ability to discern and respond accurately to moods, temperaments, and motivations of others. • Famous examples: Ghandi, Reagan,Mother Teresa • Has friends • Talks to people • Joins groups • Learns best through sharing, comparing, relating, interviewing, and cooperating.

12. People Smart • Use of the Project Approach works well with studentswho possess people smarts. In the Project Approach, students plan, research, and develop an in-depth study of a topic of their choosing. Through this method, students access their dominant intelligence and use their own preferences in learning to constructknowledge which has personal meaning and contextual links.

13. People Smart Enhancing Activities • Use of round table group discussions of learning topics • Board games which promote cooperation • Interviewing to find out information • Student becomes an “expert” about a subject and then teaches theother students • Write a classmate’s biography • Choose an historical figure and write out a conversation they would have had with them • All activities would promote life-long skills

14. Musical IntelligenceMusic Smart Characteristics • Keeps beats • Makes up their own songs • Notices background and environmental sounds • Moves body to music when playing • Mimics beat and rhythm • Enjoys listening to music • Remembers melodies

15. Music Smart • Moods are sensitive to music • Good sense of rhythm • Retains information longer when presented through music • tends to learn information longer when presented through music • Enjoy singing as part of the classroom day

16. Musical Enhancing Center Activities • Creating repetitive books • Create songs on the computer • Name or match the song • Exploring with musical instruments • Categorize loud and soft sounds • Name or match the sound • Categorize long and short sounds

17. Intrapersonal IntelligenceSelf Smart Characteristics • Definition: The ability to form an accurate model of oneself, and to use that model to operate effectively in life. • Characteristics: wThinker w Insightfulw Inventive w Reflectivew Independent w PhilosophicalwSelf-aware w Daydreamer

18. Self Smart • Examples of some Famous Folks: w Gandhiw Mother Teresaw Martin Luther King, Jr.w Henry Fordw Winston Churchill Gardner refers to these extraordinary individuals as Influencers. He states that an Influencer possesses an Intrapersonal Intelligencewhich is demonstrated as a “shrewd sense of oneself--one’ssometimes changing goals, strengths, weaknesses, and needs.”

19. Self Smart Activities • Activities that foster Intrapersonal Intelligence: w Allow time for self-reflection w Offer instruments for self-assessment, including strengths and weaknesses w Encourage the study of oneself and one’s world w Support the use of daily journals w Allow for goal-setting, both short-term and long-term w Provide lead-ins that promote higher level thinking skills w Teach PMI method of evaluation (P=Plus, M=Minus, I=Interesting

20. Spatial IntelligencePicture Smart Characteristics Spatial IntelligencePicture Smart Characteristics Reading Imagining things Visualization Maps, charts and puzzles

21. Picture Smart Picture Smart • Enjoys: • Design, draw, build • Create, daydream • Look at pictures • Learns successfully through: • Working with colors and pictures • Envisioning • Drawing

22. Picture Smart Center Activities • Art area with paints, pencils, paper • Maps, graphs, and visual puzzles • Pictionary game • Architectural center with pencils, rulers, large paper • Create sculptures using clay • Make map of the neighborhood, school or city • Design a new playground • Art history center with books and artwork from famous artists • Build chess pieces while learning the game

23. Naturalist Intelligence Definition: an individual who demonstrates expertise in the recognition and classification of their environment. Famous people: Charles Darwin, E.O. Wilson, John James Audubon, Roger Torrey Paterson, Rachel Carson Geermat Ermi

24. Nature Smart Characteristics • Likes to categorize organisms • Distinguishes among members of a species • Recognizes existence of other species • Chart relationships among several species

25. Nature Smart Activities • Classification of plants, animals, rocks, fossils, countries, cities, presidents • Create stories using animals as the main characters • Categorize body parts of groups • Classify dance and music

26. Group Contributions Barbara Wellenstein: Gardner & Examining Extraordinariness Anna Melendez: Math-Logic Smart Lauralee Holsing: Intrapersonal-Self Smart Ellen Ellwanger: Bodily-Kinesthetic & Spatial-Picture Smart Teresa Kragel: Music Smart Michelle Henrich: Interpersonal-People Smart Laura Kotalik: Naturalistic - Nature Smart

27. References: Gardner, H., (1997). Extraordinary Minds. New York: Basic Books. Nicholson-Nelson, Kristen (1998). Developing Students’ Multiple Intelligences. Jefferson City, MO.: Scholastic Professional Books. Davis, J. (2000). Multiple Intelligences in the Early Childhood Classroom. [On-Line]. Available: http://www.galstar.com/~davii/mi.htm Wilkens, D. (1996). Multiple Intelligence Activities. Huntington Beach, CA: Teacher Created Materials.