[English] Fwd: Multiple intelligences - any evidence ???

Mon Jan 14 12:16:04 EST 2008

Hi everyone

Interesting questions/thoughts Kevork. 

I also watched Brain Power program and was intrigued by the info regarding IQ testing and the MI info as above.

One of the things that I see as a positive about MI is that it's easy to tune kids in to it and therefore to give them motivation to extend specific areas. It can give kids confidence to tackle problem solving and can then be useful in broadening learning. I don't see it as a fad - rather as a tool to use to empower learning.

I thought the most interesting thing comment about the IQ testing at 11/79 was that apparently those with higher IQ scores at 11 were all still alive and doing well. As my 22 year old daughter said, "perhaps if you had a low score you ended up working in a coal mine which would have shortened your life expectancy whether you had a good body/brain or not!" 

It probably just shows that a lot of this information brings up more questions than answers and it's easy to make generalisations that rattle people and that all academics need to push their barrow to stay in paid work.

re the talent vs intelligence rewards in society. mmm - I guess my initial thought would be that the mega dollars paid to sports professionals leans toward rewarding talent rather than intelligence but how is it possible to compare this with anything? 

Do we train or educate? Hopefully both in an ideal world. We all need to continually upgrade (train) our skill set for a variety of tasks but we also need to be continuallly educated so that we have the sorts of broadened perspectives that maintain a balanced and reasonable society in which to live. Both training & education are involved in all aspects of how I want my own kids to be in the world - peaceful, ethical, curious, generous, kind, loving, knowledgeable etc. I know that when I get started with my y10 english class I am planning to include many things that would be regarded as training and many things that would be regarded as educating. 

Enjoy the next couple of weeks of R & R.

cya

Jeananne

________________________________

From: english-bounces at edulists.com.au on behalf of stephen at melbpc.org.au
Sent: Sun 1/13/2008 11:48 PM
To: GIFTED at DISCUSSIONS.EQ.EDU.AU
Cc: english at edulists.com.au; oz-teachers at rite.ed.qut.edu.au
Subject: [English] Fwd: Multiple intelligences - any evidence ???

> From: Amanda Raaen <araae1 at eq.edu.au>
> Date: Wednesday, December 26, 2007 2:35 pm
> Subject: [GIFTED] list review
> To: GIFTED at DISCUSSIONS.eq.edu.au
>
> As list owner, I have been contacted regards this list
> - EQ review each list every three months to determine
> which lists need are being used / need to close ..

Thanks, Amanda .. as a former member of the Queensland
Psychology Board, and a current member of the Victorian
Institute of Teaching, one hopes this list will flourish
and grow. Maybe a volunteer Moderator posting appropriate
items from time to time, and welcoming first-time posters?
I'm sure 1-2 amongst us may like to volunteer for the role.

Whatever, my old friend and practising colleague, Kevork,
(IT Manager Forest Hill College) asks a very good question
which I have been wondering about also ... thoughts on this?

> Subject: Multiple intelligences - any evidence ???
> Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2008 22:33:49 +1100
> From: Kevork Krozian <kevork at edulists.com.au>

Hi Folks,

  Nothing like stirring the pot to start a good chin wag.

Just finished watching "Brain Power" or similarly titled documentary on
SBS ( Sunday 8:30 pm 13/1/08 ) where several very successful people
(fighter pilot, quantum physicist, artist, chess grandmaster, music child
prodigy etc ) were tested for intelligence.

 One comment caught my attention from an expert : --
" There is little evidence to support the theory of multiple intelligences
(1) linguistic intelligence; (2) musical intelligence; (3) logical
mathematical intelligence; (4) spatial intelligence; (5) bodily-
kinesthetic intelligence; (6) interpersonal intelligence; and (7) intra-
personal intelligence)  as proposed by Howard Gardner --  after which I
did a quick search on the subject.

I discovered the following link as the first hit basically supporting this
position of lack of evidence of multiple intelligences which leads me to
ask if we are just tinkering with a fad.

http://nswagtc.org.au/info/articles/McGuinessMultIntellig.html

Questions:

1.What do people think about the lack of evidence for multiple
intelligences ?

2. The same site claims talent is rewarded much more highly than
intelligence. Wow !!  Should we be focussing more on devloping talent in
that case instead of intelligence if we are there to assist our students
with maximising their rewards in society ??

3.Do we believe intelligence can indeed be improved which would mean with
enough practice you can eventually qualify for Mensa ?? An exaggeration
simply made to highlight a point. 

4. Does learning a set of skills or to apply it to a new situation promote
increasing intelligence ? Are students being "trained" as per VET type
subjects, or are they there to "learn" a body of knowledge/set of skills ?
What exactly is learning in that case ?

5. Does the ability to apply knowledge to a new situation mean you are
more intelligent than someone who is not able to do so ?

6. Does successful learning and if that is tied to increasing one's
intelligence become redefined as society changes and new learning tools
are introduced ? If so, why are intelligence tests unchanged over the last
100 years ?

One other conclusion from the documentary was that people who were given
the intelligence test at age 11 and again at age 79 tended to do better on
the whole at age 79 than at 11. What does that mean ?  Why does your
intelligence necessarily increase with age ?

Another was a brain scan of the highest IQ score holder amongst the group
tested in the documentary. This fellow had an IQ of 162 which I think was
1 in a million yet he had a smaller brain. This was described as an
efficient sports car vs a larger sedan - less bulk needed due to higher
quality engine.

 Lots of issues here, but would be interested in people's perspective on
the subject(s).

Best Wishes

Kevork Krozian
Edulists Creator and Administrator
www.edulists.com.au
kevork at edulists.com.au
--

Cheers, people
Stephen Loosley
Victoria, Australia
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