An MI Science Lesson to Emulate

In December 2017, Dr. Gardner received an email from Greek educator, George Flouris, which included a paper Flouris recently published with his colleagues in the International Journal of Education and Culture, Volume V. Below, Dr. Gardner comments on the paper and its implications for MI education.


Notes by Howard Gardner

To my surprise, as well as the surprise of its critics, multiple intelligences (MI) theory continues to occupy a significant place—particularly so in pre-university education—in many parts of the world.  Yet, while MI is definitely a long-lasting meme,  I  am always on the lookout for examples of educational interventions which seem significant and helpful.

I was very pleased to read “Personalizing a Science Unit in the Greek Curriculum for Optimal “Quality” Instruction and Learning through the Use of Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences" by George Flouris, Avraam Mavropoulos, and John Spiridakis. The authors describe an intervention designed for a science class for ninth graders. The lesson–focused on acid rain—is well conceived; the objectives are clear; the desirable ‘performances of understanding’ are sensible and appropriate. With respect to the specific curricular objectives, the students are offered a variety of ‘entry points’ and they have the opportunity to indicate which requests and options make the most sense to them. Finally, the lesson features several complementary evaluations—by self, peer, and teacher.

The specimen lesson is valuable. Not only can it be used by educators who are attempting to teach students about the significance of acid rain; the lesson itself  constitutes in effect a rubric that can be applied to many topics across several disciplines.

To read the full article, click here: IJEC Vol 5 Issues 3-4_Article 1 (1) (1)

To view the full journal, click here: http://www.untestedideas.net/journal_article.php?jid=ije201612&vol=5&issue=4