Hello,



A good place to start for implementing MI theory in a private or public foreign language program is taking a professional development course in MI from the MI institute or Harvard Graduate School. Then take an IDLTM from Cambridge - there's one in Barcelona every year.  Once you have a good grasp of the theory, then you are in a better position to implement MI-infused language classes.  After that, you should visit a MI school, like New City in St. Louis to get an idea of the best practices and atmosphere of an MI-infused school. 



Beyond all of the above, there are a couple of good books I can recommend:



"Becoming a MI School" by Tom Hoerr



"Multiple Intelligences in the Elementary Classroom" by Susan Baum, Julie Viens, and Barbara Slatin



and "Multiple Intelligences in the EFL Classroom" by Herbert Puchta and Mario Rinvolucri  (please use caution with this book, the exercises can be a waste if not used in conjuction with MI best practices)





If you're serious about this, you can skip much of the above by getting in touch with me either by email or through my website, as low-cost business consulting with private language schools in Europe is my specialty.  I will be in Cambridge and Oxford at the end of the month if you'd like to arrange a meeting.  



Josh Lange

Dresden, Germany 



http://mitraining.schools.officelive.com

Hi,



Have you tried using MI to enhance French-learning?

A colleague of mine in Poland is asking that same question, except with children whose mother-tongue is Polish.  I'll see if she can join us here and give us some insights!



From a broader point of you, and it's likely you've thought about it  in this way, MI has been used in second language learning to expand the entry points through which students learn the language - sometimes as simply as learning the "jargon" of a student interest, for example focusing on learning about music by studying music in French, french music. 



I believe MI also helps us think about using language authentically and meaningfully when we are teaching it. Also, thinking about how the different intelligences come into play in communication (not just 'talking') in the real world -- intra and interpersonal, even logical math... This helps teachers come up with ways of student experiencing of language in their learning settings, that emphasizes the use of their strong intelligences important to making meaningful language.  For example, all students, but with an eye toward students who are strong interpersonally, would participate in activities to learn French that emphasize interpersonal intelligence; similarly with bodily kinesthetic.  



I'll stop there and look forward to your thoughts and additions to this discussion.



Best, Julie

Hi, Roxana,



As a matter of fact, I co-led a 5 year study called 'Adult Multiple Intelligences" Project.  My colleague Silja Kallenbach and I worked with several teachers and their students in adult education: basic education, GED/h.s. diploma, and English as a Second Language contexts.  There were some resources that resulted, including the AMI Sourcebook, published by Teachers College Press. 



We found that it was sometimes a hard sell, this MI business, partly because being in the adult education system, they felt things were getting 'dumbed down' for them.  This in part was due to some too literal translations of the use of MI with younger students -the playdoh and such.  We found incredible power in using MI as a self-reflection tool for these adults to identify their strengths, and possible entry points to their preparing for the equivalency test or getting their adult h.s. diploma, or learning English.  Our ESL teachers primarily jazzed up their efforts by thinking 'outside the box' in coming up with curriculum and activities for their English learners.



Once they recognized what this 'different way of doing things' was all about, they became its biggest boosters.  Many of these folks said, " I wished they were using this when I was in school" and "How can I use this to help my kids with school".    



Cheers, Julie

Is there anyone from your specialists able to answer the questions above please?

Thank you.

Roxana

I want to share a classroom project that emerged from the interest of three and four year olds.  In classrooms equipped with blocks, children spontaneously create ramps, or inclined planes.  In Pre-K 202, teachers spent an entire school year supporting children’s interests in ramp investigations; nurturing their logical-mathematical and spatial intelligences.  The story you will hear took place in my classroom at Ivy Academy in 2006-07.







When children are allowed long blocks of time and the freedom to choose what they want to do, the relationship between play and scientific investigations becomes obvious.  One day, in late fall, I noticed children sending small cars down a ramp they had constructed in the Block Center.  Sometimes they would just let the cars go, and sometimes they would give them a push.  They discovered that the cars would travel farther off the ramp if they gave them a push.  That weekend, I went shopping and bought some marbles.  I put them in a small basket in the Block Center.  I knew children had discovered the marbles when I heard squeals of joy and saw marbles rolling every which way across the classroom floor.  I approached this busy group of inventers and told them that I though they had a great idea – building a ramp for marbles.  But, I told them, we can’t have marbles rolling all over the classroom.  I invited them to sit down and think together about how they might contain them.  I learned so much about each child as I listened to them express their ideas.  I watched as they listened to each other.  I was in awe as I heard each one of them make suggestions and take suggestions from the others. 



The question on the table was not what to build – they would build “sides and a fence” – but rather what materials to use.  One thought she could make a fence out of recycled materials from the Art and Construction Center.  Another thought they could use our large cardboard blocks.  Eventually, they settled on the wooden blocks.  Finally, they got busy building sides to “bank” the marbles, and a fence to contain them.  Once built, it was time to test their idea for containment.  They were now experimenting with cause and effect.



At a Circle Time later in the day, I invited the ramp builders to share their invention with the rest of their classmates. We wandered over to where it had been saved, and they talked about discovering the marbles, and marbles everywhere.  At this point, I could see that experimenting with inclined planes could be a long-term, high-interest project, as it seemed to capture the imaginations of all who were listening to the presentation.



The next step involved sitting down with the whole class.  I wanted to find out what my children knew about ramps; if anyone had ever seen them in the real world; how they thought ramps assisted human beings in accomplishing goals at work and play.  I wanted them to think of their own experiences with inclined planes (sliding down a slide or sledding down a hill), and I wanted them to think of other ramp building materials we might have in our classroom besides blocks.



Based on some of the ideas they had about building materials, I asked our resource teacher if she would be willing to work with children on this project over several days.  On the first day, they used paper towel rolls, scissors and tape to construct a pathway 120 cm. long.  Once constructed, Melanie introduced several objects of various shapes, sizes, and weights.  She led them in an inquiry-based discussion, inviting them to predict which of the objects would move most quickly down the path to the floor, and why.  They then tested their ideas, talked about what they observed, and offered explanations.



The most important component of this approach to building knowledge is embodied in the relationship between children and teachers.  By asking open-ended, inquiry-based questions, the teacher conveys that learning is not the ability to give rote answers, but a process of thinking and experimenting.  After watching children play with the paper towel pathway, a parent offered to bring in her son’s plastic Roll-A-Kit, a series of short tracks that could be connected in a variety of ways.  This commercial toy inspired children to think about ramps with curves, overlapping curves, and elevated catchments.  When Melanie decided to repeat the ramp building activity in the spring, again using paper towel rolls, tape, scissors, and only marbles this time, children were eager to incorporate some of the design aspects, such as curves, that were inherent in the Roll-A-Kit. This would lead to more experimentation and greater complexity during construction.  It is very exciting when children think to do something, and their teachers don’t know how to do it. When this happens, teachers and children become co-learners. In these situations, you can often hear children saying things like “I’ve got a good idea!” and “I know, I know!”



 



Three year old Mael told Melanie his good idea for constructing a curve.  And I have to tell you, it was brilliant.  Mael had figured out (in his mind) that “We can cut lines on both sides of a short piece of a half tube, and when we pull it in to a curve, it will have triangles spaces, and then we can cut out triangles of the same size and tape them over the spaces…” This is one of those situations where a child can think of something to do, but can’t actually do it alone.  Again, teacher and child as co-learners.  Melanie attached the curve, and the next thing that happened surprised us all.  The marbles flew off as soon as they hit the curve. They decided they needed to “bank” it (a concept they learned in their earlier explorations in the Block Center), and they needed to support the incline at the curve.  They used a chair for this, and then it was Clean Up Time. We created a barrier and a sign to protect this “work in progress” which sent a powerful message – your interests are important to us, and we take your work seriously.  



Experimenting with inclined planes gave children in Pre-K 202 an opportunity to learn skills and acquire knowledge across the learning domains. They:

• Acquired new vocabulary  - Language and Literacy


• Sharpened their cooperative learning skills – Personal/Social


• Manipulated tools – Small Motor


• Used thinking skills to investigate and experiment – Scientific Thinking

The project also triggered combinations of intelligences:

• Logical-Mathematical


• Linguistic


• Spatial


• Interpersonal

Experimenting with inclined planes convinced me of the proposition that all children are natural-born investigators.  It was very exciting watching children in Pre-k 202 construct their own knowledge base, acquire new vocabulary, and use their thinking skills to ask questions, investigate and create.

FEEL FREE TO USE THIS FORUM TO POST YOUR SUGGESTIONS OR REQUESTS FOR THE MI NETWORK!

I see a lot of emphasis on MI application at youth level. What about its application at adult level? I would like to open an ESL school based solely on MI theory. (All the ESL teachers are to be trained using this method.) However, beside teaching children, for whom the MI theory seems to be the most effective, I would like to be able to apply it effectively at adult level. Are there any studies indicating the extend to which adults accept being taught using the MI theory and, if yes, how effective is it? They will have to be convinced that they are being taught in a way that is completely different from the way they've been taught before. Is there an efficient way to convince them knowing the high degree of difficulty in changing habits especially mind and leaning habits.

Thank you.

Roxy

I'm interested in seeing how the application of MI theory can contribute to the learning of a second language (french) in primary school.

Hi Neha, By "strength" I'm assuming you are referring to class size? As classes get bigger, it does get more difficult to use MI in certain ways. In such classrooms we see more applications around approaching what you usually do differently, versus individualizing for each child. I have seen teachers identify certain children they have difficulty reaching or who have particular challenges -- and individualize for that/those kid(s).

I hope that this Network will be a repository for many terrific ideas to use MI in many different contexts, including large classrooms.

Do you have an event of some sort, or staff development, planned to address this issue of getting your colleagues into MI mode?

Julie