The Multiple Intelligences approach is greatly efficient when used in projects that cover many different knowledge areas. This article demonstrates some positive points of that work.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
MI work by projects
The Multiple Intelligences approach has some very important points that make it the best way to produce relevant studying material, it is less stressful for the teachers and students, it is more productive and, it is a totally collaborative work. Although it demands serious thought and a very good team it is extremely worth once it provides a great amount of meaningful products.
First of all it is less stressful because it involves many people around the same objectives; the responsibilities are shared equally among teachers and students so it develops a supportive environment. Next, it is more productive because the aim is not only to fulfill academic tasks but to produce meaningful material for the entire group and, whenever it is possible, for the community. And finally it is collaborative because the development of the projects demands interaction among different abilities and specialties, so both professionals and students must be all the time touching areas they were not used to studying.
Collaborative work
Teachers must work in interdisciplinary teams to produce the first steps. The tasks should be thought to cover in one same topic varied areas of knowledge. This method of organization proposes a creative approach where teachers and students will have more flexibility to deal with any problem that may come in the way. Each teacher may be responsible either for a part of the task or a group of students depending on the project final design. What is really fundamental is that the evolution of the project must be interactive, all the teachers and students involved on it are required to be in constant contact.
A research among the students should be made to identify the intelligences and abilities available, so that the groups are organized to fit specific tasks. On the other hand students who need to develop some abilities can be placed in groups that will provide the necessary support.
The proposed topic must be explored in many different ways, so the teachers must also be creative and open in their approaches.
Cooperative work
Teachers and students should also work in a cooperative way, in which everybody has their own responsibilities and can not fail on it. That is where the intrapersonal abilities are tested, everybody must be sincere to the group whether they are going to be able to fulfill the duties or not.
At the moment of division of the responsibilities each one must volunteer or suggest for activities they are more likely to handle, but there must always be some challenge on it. Every one must be open to activities they are not so used to and pick up partners who can help with different ideas and abilities.
On the other hand if anyone chooses to do something new as a self challenge he should ask for supervision more often and if the task is too difficult that must be understood by the entire group and there must be help.
The sources
The proposed research material must be at hand and replaceable. The teachers, as the specialists, should present a wide list of researchable material and their sources. Students must also list all material they will need and where they are going to find them.
Of course, during the development of the tasks many ideas are going to be changed and new material will be needed, but the beginning of the project must be set on organized and strong basis. The viability of the task must be proved, including the time it will take to be completed from design to presentations.
During this process the material should all be kept in files so that in future works every one will be able to reach it, and the material that could not be used may be saved for future plans.
Evaluation
The work must be evaluated completely: the written material, references, esthetics, presentation, creativity and relevance.
The work must be judged with the same values by the teachers responsible for the project, other teachers from different areas of connection and by the colleagues.
The importance of this evaluation is to rescue the real intention of it, to find positive and negative points, and suggest solutions and further applications. The colleagues have to participate mentioning positive and negative points, because the evaluation is also a moment to reflect on every one’s abilities and what each one can offer for collective growth.
Students are too much worried about evaluations because they see them as moments of picking up mistakes. The same way, when they need to evaluate peers they tend to avoid pointing problems. The teachers must put this evaluation on an open discussion where every one must compromise to offer some contribution also thinking on future presentations.
The projects should not be enclosed in the school community, the further they can be published the better. This is also training on self promotion and post-graduation researches when students will be confronted with the necessity of producing significant work and promoting their ideas. A final report must be published so that the project reaches more viewers. The most feedback on the results the better, whenever a public out of the school has the opportunity to comment on the project it must be explored.
Conclusion
Working with Multiple Intelligences involves creativity, risk taking, cooperation, collaboration, curiosity, and most of all, love for knowledge. It could be said that the characteristic that can never lack is the love for knowledge, with it all the others may be added on the way and no problem is going to be really big.
The presented approach aims to overcome the partitioned way of seeing the study and prepare students for a modern stile of working independent on the career they will choose. Furthermore, it is expected from the teachers the characteristics of the most remarkable scientific groups: collaboration, interdisciplinarity and creativity.
There will be the necessity for the schools to adapt their environment and pedagogical projects, and this subject deserves some further observation.
The students’ behavior towards learning is also a topic that should be analyzed to cover all the process.
References
Curtis, David D. & Lawson, Michael J.. Exploring collaborative online Learning. In JALN Volume 5, Issue 1 - February 2001. pp. 21-34.
De Masi, Domenico. Criatividade e grupos criativos – Descoberta e invenção. Rio de Janeiro: Sextante, 2005
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