Applying MI to Education

Summary of a Presentation at the IVU World Vegetarian Congress,

July 27-August 2, 2008, Dresden, Germany

by

George Jacobs

Vegetarian Society (Singapore)

www.vegetarian-society.org

Applying MI to Education

Gardner and other advocates of the use of MI in education believe that most education, especially after preschool and early primary school, relies too much on just two of the eight intelligences: Verbal/Linguistic and Logical/Mathematical. As a result, many students do not succeed in education, and even successful students fail to utilise much of their potential. These MI advocates call for an expansion of the way that most teaching is done. This call is expressed in the following song, sung to the tune of the, sadly, animal unfriendly nursery rhyme, Three Blind Mice (http://www.kididdles.com/lyrics/t010.html)

In-telli-gence, In-telli-gence.

There are many kinds. There are many kinds.

Most education only taps some.

If we tap ‘em all, education’s more fun.

In-telli-gence, In-telli-gence

Note: ‘tap ‘em all’ means ‘use all the intelligences’.

This song was created using an MI technique called Music as Content Carrier. The steps in the technique are:

1. People brainstorm ideas about the content they are discussing/learning
2. They choose a popular tune, either an oldie or a current hit
3. They fit the content to the tune and perform the song for others.

Examples of the Eight Intelligences in Education to Support Vegetarianism

What follows are examples of how the eight intelligences thus far identified by Gardner could be mobilised by vegetarian organisations.

1. Verbal/Linguistic

1. Train members in how to be good speakers
2.  Have lots to read on our websites
3. Set up a group to write letters to newspapers, blogs, etc.

2. Logical/Mathematical Intelligence

1. Put information in crossword puzzle form
2. Consider hypothetical questions, for example, “If test tube meat becomes reality, how would that affect the veg movement?”
3. Analyse causes and results; include stats
4. Use calculations, for example, how many lives does the average vegetarian in a particular country save every month?

3. Interpersonal Intelligence

1. Use pair and group activities in our educational efforts
2. Promote friendly interaction among activists
3. Highlight the beneficial ways that our fellow animals interact with others of the same and different species

4. Intrapersonal Intelligence

1. Ask people about their own ideas, experiences, future plans
2. Stop talking and allow time for audience to connect ideas in a talk to their own lives
3. Give people choice in how to participate in veg activities
4. Link veg to realising our potential as humans

5. Naturalist Intelligence

1. Help people learn more about the incredible intelligences of our fellow animals, as well as their different      emotions and personalities 
2. Include nature activities, such as hikes, among meetup events: http://vegetarian.meetup.com/
3. Raise awareness of all the senses we use when we prepare and enjoy vegetarian food

6. Musical/Rhythmic Intelligence

1. Popularise songs with pro-veg lyrics and veg musicians
2. Play background music at talks/events
3. Use ‘Music as Content Carrier’ (explained above)

7. Visual/Spatial Intelligence

1. Use lots of charts, graphics, photos
2. Embed videos in PowerPoint presentations
3. Encourage people to send in their pro-vegetarian artwork and display it on our website

8. Bodily/Kinaesthetic

1. Ask people to move around during talks; include yoga, stretching
2. Highlight how being vegetarian aids athletic performance
3. Ask people to do role plays, for example, a conversation between a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian

Conclusion

In conclusion, Multiple Intelligences theory provides a tool that vegetarian activists can use to remind ourselves of the wide variety of ways to educate the public about the pressing need for we humans to change our eating habits. By varying the ways in which we reach out to the public, we increase the chances that more people will be attend to our messages and that more of those people will understand and try to change their diet for the better. Fortunately, vegetarian organisations already use many of the ideas from MI in our education work. Let’s hope that we can learn from each other, so as to more effectively reach people regardless of their MI profile.