EXTRAORDINARY MINDS

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EXTRAORDINARY MINDS
Portraits of 4 Exceptional Individuals and
an Examination of our own Extraordinariness by
Howard Gardner

• Forum members Ellen Ellwanger, Lauralee
  Holsing, Anna Melendez, Laura Kotalik, Barbara
  Wellenstein, Teresa Kragel, Michelle Henrich

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Four Forms of Extraordinariness

• MasterWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• MakerSigmund Freud
• IntrospectorVirginia Wolff
• InfluencerMahatma Gandhi

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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

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Examining our own Extraordinariness

• 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).

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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?

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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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 classmates biography
• Choose an historical figure and write out a
  conversation they would have had with them
• All activities would promote life-long skills

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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

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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

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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

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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
• w Thinker w Insightful w Inventive w
  Reflective w Independent w Philosophical w
  Self-aware w Daydreamer

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Self Smart

• Examples of some Famous Folks
• w Gandhi w Mother Teresa w Martin Luther King,
  Jr. w Henry Ford w Winston Churchill

Gardner refers to these extraordinary individuals
as Influencers. He states that an Influencer
possesses an Intrapersonal Intelligence which is
demonstrated as a shrewd sense of
oneself--onessometimes changing goals,
strengths, weaknesses, and needs.
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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 ones 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 (PPlus,
  MMinus, IInteresting

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

• Enjoys
• Design, draw, build
• Create, daydream
• Look at pictures

• Learns successfully through
• Working with colors and pictures
• Envisioning
• Drawing

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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

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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
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Nature Smart Characteristics

• Likes to categorize organisms

• Distinguishes among members of a species

• Recognizes existence of other species

• Chart relationships among several species

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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

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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
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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/davi
i/mi.htm Wilkens, D. (1996). Multiple
Intelligence Activities. Huntington Beach, CA
Teacher Created Materials.