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Clever ways to be smart
Intelligence is not fixed but is something we can develop. All of us can be smarter in the eight different types of intelligence, says Dr Spencer Kagan, an internationally acclaimed researcher, trainer and author. "The more we use any intelligence, the stronger it gets. There's something called brain plasticity; the more we use our brain, the more we develop it," says Dr Kagan, 60. In a recent interview with StarTwo in Singapore, Dr Kagan says that around the world, programmes are springing up to develop students' intelligence by exercising the brain, based on the Theory of Multiple Intelligence (MI) which was developed by psychologist Dr Howard Gardner of Harvard University. In his book Frames of Mind published in 1983, Dr Gardner introduced his revolutionary approach to looking at what it means to be intelligent. Traditionally, we think of smartness in terms of IQ scores. But Dr Gardner sees intelligence as not one thing but many things; there are many ways to be smart. "The impact of this has been phenomenal because suddenly nobody is above anybody or below anybody. Everybody has a unique and different pattern of intelligence," says Dr Kagan. Dr Kagan is director of Kagan Publishing and Professional Development which runs cooperative learning and multiple intelligence workshops, training institutes, and publishes books and teaching resources on the subject. He is also author of numerous books such as Multiple Intelligences, Cooperative Learning and Silly Sports and Goofy Games. His forthcoming book Win-Win Discipline – tentatively out in August or September – is a revolutionary approach to classroom discipline. Dr Kagan's Multiple Intelligences serves as a vital resource and guide book for teachers to use the Theory of Multiple Intelligence to stretch the intelligence of children. "We have made it easy for the teachers. We give them step-by-step strategies to engage each of the types of intelligence. The book is distributed worldwide through our webpage (www.KaganOnline.com),” says Dr Kagan. Ways to be smart The role of parents as educators is to develop all the ways to be smart in children. "We can begin to develop ways to be smart in children even before birth. There is evidence now that children develop verbally when they are read to before they are born. They begin to hear the sounds and patterns of words," says Dr Kagan. As soon as a child is born, he suggests that parents can begin reading to them, playing with them and developing their interpersonal skills. Dr Kagan cites a classic experiment done with animals in "enriched" and "impoverished" environments. The animals in enriched environments had lots of toys and animals to play with. When researchers looked at their brains afterwards, they found that the neurons had branched out more and had more interconnections. When they weighed the brains of these animals, they were heavier. Whether it is exposing animals or children to all kinds of stimuli, Dr Kagan believes "we're literally growing brains. We're literally making their brains more differentiated and healthier." "Parents should allow each child to blossom in his own way. The best way to know the pattern of intelligence of your child is by providing a rich array of activities and allowing the child to express himself," explains Dr Kagan. If we want children to be nature smart, Dr Kagan suggests that we take them to the zoo, the botanical gardens or just let them enjoy the sky at night. "If we want them to be stronger in verbal-linguistic intelligence, read and talk to them, and let them hear poems and speeches. "If parents want their child to be smarter in visual-spatial intelligence, then provide them with crayons, paints and building blocks so that they can build things and get a grasp of visual-spatial concepts." Cravings of the brain The brain craves stimulation in all areas of intelligence. The more we provide the stimuli, the more likely a child is going to have a fully developed brain and be a more developed child. "By providing a wide range of MI activities, we get to know the students; we get to see their pattern and get to celebrate their strengths. That's a much better way than trying to assess the students by any kind of tests," says Dr Kagan. One cannot tell how musically talented a student is from a written test. Allow the student to sing, play with instruments or listen to music and show you what he has got from the music. "For educators, the best way to know your students and allow them to know themselves is to open up as many ways for them to interact with a whole range of stimuli.” What about slow learners? Can the MI theory be applied to them as well? "When we begin to teach students in the way they are smart in, they surprise us. Somebody who looks like a slow learner can be an exceptional student," says Dr Kagan. He cites the story of Paula who risked being a school failure as she was falling further and further behind in her studies. She even attended special education courses and once attempted suicide out of frustration. When she was placed under a teacher who specialises in MI, Paula made so much progress that she was placed back in regular class and performed above average. Putting pressure is not the way to bring up smarter children. "It will backfire and the child will resent it," Dr Kagan emphasises. "Work with the child from where the child is. Go with rather than against the child. Our job is not to push the child but to allow the child to blossom," he says. What about praise and reward? "All of us appreciate praise and appreciation," Dr Kagan reckons. "However, the best kind of praise is not 'Good job' but telling the child, 'I really enjoy how you are doing this.' The child needs to know that he is not working for the praise but is being appreciated for his self-expression." Schools, Dr Kagan says, typically try to assess students' learning using the same approach. "We have students write about things, work on numbers, and to some extent we might have them express themselves visually-spatially. But we haven't opened the door for students who are talented in the other types of intelligence," says Dr Kagan. "Some of these students can express themselves by drawing, acting, through music; yet others can express themselves in their relations with others. The MI theory challenges us to open up ways we teach students and also allow them to show us what they know. For example, we allow the student to build the model of something rather than to write about it. Some of the students whom we thought did not know their work turned out to have a profound understanding of it. They just needed another language or way to express what they know. "The MI theory is catching on because it is a theory that works, a theory that gives hope," adds Dr Kagan.
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