AMITC 2013 - International workshop on Applications of Multiple Intelligences theory in classrooms

This presentation will demonstrate how Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory may be used in classrooms. The presenter has spent twenty years working with MI in the following ways:
research which drew on MI as a means of identifying the abilities of children whose minority status mitigates against their being identified as gifted when conventional IQ tests are used;
teaching undergraduate trainee teachers about the theory as part of their understanding of the nature of intelligence;
working with schools and teachers to implement MI in a range of settings from early childhood through to adults;
researching how MI “works” in school contexts; and, most recently,
researching the development of spiritual/existential understanding in children.
The presentation will focus particularly on the primary school classroom where MI theory has been widely accepted and implemented in primary schools in Australia. While secondary teachers and executive staff are receptive to the ideas of MI, the structures of these schools and the demands placed upon them mitigate against any radical changes in the ways that programs are designed. Nevertheless, some secondary examples will also be discussed. The presentation will demonstrate how MI is an effective tool in the ongoing professional development of teachers because it provides a coherent, easily-understood and appealing framework and has helped teachers make the transition from a teacher-centered classroom to a student-centered classroom. Further, MI has assisted teachers to broaden their assessment strategies and to allow students choice in the ways that they demonstrate their understanding.
The presentation will also examine Special Education settings and teachers. There are two broad ways in which MI theory can inform and improve practices in Special Education. The first involves a more comprehensive approach to assessment than traditional measurements of intelligence (IQ tests); the second involves helping children by seeking, and building on, their relative strengths as possible alternative pathways to learning. The presenter’s research has demonstrated that MI is an effective framework for identifying giftedness in students from disadvantaged groups as well as encouraging teachers to observe their students more closely. Examples of particular classroom practices will be provided.