Chennai, May. 28: Success and growth are popular themes these days. However, it is a reality that many organisations slip and decline, and at times fail to survive. Unless, of course, they did an about turn to return to the black. Sunil Kumar Maheshwari studies six cases of corporate renewal in 'Turnaround Excellence'

[Source: Hindu Times]
9:43:21 AM    

Sending American-style education to China could stunt the dragon[base ']s rise.

Peter Wood writes in the American Conservative about the rise and rise of China in the 21st Century and the impact on the Unioted States.

Wood says:

Our master plan for dumbing-down Chinese education, however, is not just about atmospherics or theatrics. Let[base ']s not forget: this is American educationism. And that means theory. Hulbert eventually gets to this: [base "]If there is an American figure to whom Chinese proponents of more active, multidimensional, student-centered learning have listened especially attentively over the past half-decade, it is Howard Gardner of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.[per thou]

Wood is the newly appointed Executive Director of the National Association of Scholars and is critical of Prof. Gardner's theories.

The full article can be found by following the title link.
3:23:37 PM    

Teenage scholar mentors underprivileged kids, leads ethical inquiries, studies world affairs.
2:59:48 PM    

Kurt Fischer of Harvard University is working to improve education through applying knowledge gained through biology.

Kurt Fischer and his colleagues looked at the revolution in brain scanning, genetics, and other biological technologies and decided that most teachers and students weren[base ']t getting much benefit from them.

Brain scans are now available to watch what[base ']s going on when someone is learning [~] or not learning. Finding genes that are involved in leaning disabilities is a hot area. Why, they asked, aren[base ']t the powers of such technologies helping teachers in classrooms?

"There[base ']s a long history of biology being excluded from education," says Fischer, Charles Warland Bigelow Professor of Education and Human Development. "Not in the teaching sense, but in understanding learning. We are not taking full advantage of how information from neuroscience and genetics can be used to motivate kids to learn, and how to deal with learning problems such as dyslexia and attention deficits."

At first, the idea didn[base ']t go over too well at Harvard. Other faculty members feared that biology could be used to unfairly classify children and to stigmatize slow learners.

Fischer and his team, including Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education Howard Gardner, put together a program that they called "Mind, Brain, and Education." But resistance was so keen, they jokingly spoke of it among themselves as "Mind [~] blank [~] and Education."

To read the whole story.. go to

Science Daily
5:11:51 PM    

Multiple Intelligences Instructional Design Framework for Virtual Classes. http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single6933 ;Two Irish-based organisations have been chosen to lead projects from a total award list of 26 projects under Minerva, the EU’s €7.5m distance education and e-learning programme. Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) will lead a project entitled ‘Multiple intelligences instructional design framework for virtual classes’. Partners in Turkey, the UK, Cyprus, France as well as Multimedia Instructional Design,...(read more) [MI&IT]
8:34:35 PM    

We live in an age of anxiety. People everywhere fear the next terrorist attack. Meanwhile, we slowly grow numb to Iraq[base ']s endless string of kidnappings and suicide bombings. Between bird flu, tsunamis, and loose nukes, our list of fears is getting longer. So, we asked 21 leading thinkers: What is one solution that would make the world a better place? Here are their answers.

[Source: Foreign policy]

Howard Gardner's response - Inequality
11:08:22 AM    

From the Financial Times [USA]

"The empires of the future will be the empires of the mind," Winston Churchill once said. Perhaps it is not surprising to see Howard Gardner quoting him approvingly. Professor Gardner holds the chair in cognition and education at the Harvard graduate school of education and has been a prominent analyst of the human mind for 20 years.

The full article here..

Financial Times
7:55:03 AM    

Thanks to Julie Atkins for pointing this out..

Professor Howard Gardner is at it again, never ceasing to create innovative approaches to traditional conceptions of thinking and learning. His groundbreaking theory of multiple intelligences spawned a re-evaluation of school curricula, highlighting the importance of including the arts and culture in mainstream learning.

Recently, at the annual conference of the National Association of Laboratory Schools (NALS), co-hosted by the Bank Street College School for Children and The School at Columbia University, Gardner[base ']s keynote included the framework for his upcoming book, Five Minds for the Future. [base "]It[base ']s in part an essay in psychology and education, but it[base ']s also a programmatic book in the sense that I think these are the five minds we need to develop in the future,[per thou] Gardner explained. The book takes into account the intellectual thirst of the individual as well as the role of a person within the framework of society and humanity. The five minds[~]disciplined, synthesizing, creating, respectful, and ethical[~]differ from multiple intelligence in working in a more synergistic fashion as opposed to separate categories of intelligences.

[Source: Educationupdate.com]
5:47:26 PM    

The American Chronicle - Human Intelligence: Going Beyond Mere IQ

The ability to excel at a variety of tasks, with a particular emphasis on academic success, is intelligence. A more detailed definition emphasizes that intelligence is the mental capacity to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas and language, and learn. In psychology, the study of intelligence is generally regarded as distinct from creativity, personality, character, or wisdom.

.......In a report of a task force established by the Board of Scientific Affairs of the American Psychological Association (Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns, 1995) it was determined that there is a positive correlation between intelligence tests and school performance. A positive correlation also exists between intelligence quotient tests and the length of education. A negative correlation exists between intelligence quotient tests and juvenile crime.

However "successful school learning depends on many personal characteristics other than intelligence, such as persistence, interest in school, and willingness to study" (Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns, 1995). In other words, an individual can be intelligent and still do poorly in school if he is bored or does not apply himself. Can someone who does poorly in school or carries a low GPA still be intelligent? Absolutely! Even students with learning disabilities can be intelligent.

9:09:06 AM    

From the Manila Standard:

The April 12 agreement, which will seek to instill among school children the positive Filipino values of pagkamasinop, pagkamatipid, pag-iimpok, and pagkakaisa, will put on stream two components of the project. The first is to develop for the elementary schoolteachers teaching guides that will inform them about basic financial and economic concepts relating to savings. The second is to provide them with training on how to integrate these concepts in the curriculum of primary schoolchildren.

....... The school was founded and is operated on the Theory of Multiple Intelligences formulated by Harvard University's Howard Gardner. Speaking of his impressions of the school during his first and, as of now, his only visit to the Philippines in February 2005, Gardner, in his book, Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons, wrote: "at the M.I. International School Foundation in the Philippines, I saw impressive integration of MI ideas under a rubric of education for understanding".

8:42:50 AM    

Hip Hop and MI
9:03:58 PM    

High-Impact Leadership' Symposium to be Held on April 13

http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=1848
8:49:03 PM    

Professor Howard Gardner is at it again, never ceasing to create innovative approaches to traditional conceptions of thinking and learning. His groundbreaking theory of multiple intelligences spawned a re-evaluation of school curricula, highlighting the importance of including the arts and culture in mainstream learning.

Recently, at the annual conference of the National Association of Laboratory Schools (NALS), co-hosted by the Bank Street College School for Children and The School at Columbia University, Gardner[base ']s keynote included the framework for his upcoming book, Five Minds for the Future. [base "]It[base ']s in part an essay in psychology and education, but it[base ']s also a programmatic book in the sense that I think these are the five minds we need to develop in the future,[per thou] Gardner explained. The book takes into account the intellectual thirst of the individual as well as the role of a person within the framework of society and humanity.

[Source: Education Update.com]
8:56:06 PM    

An assignment to write rap songs on civil rights heroes has enhanced lessons for Scott Sayre's students. It's also led to a recording experience.

[Source: LA Times]
9:18:57 AM    

New Paradigm of the Learning Process in era of Globalisation

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have effectively revolutionized our society. In the era of globalisation, technology has dramatically penetrated into every area of society and, every aspect of social and cultural lives. But, teaching, and the world of education more generally have not taken the advantage of these changes. We have largely failed to capitalize on the potential of new technologies, and particularly digital technology as a learning tool

Learning is based on a strength model of student abilities, interest, and culture. Based on the work of Howard Gardner and others, schools are beginning to consider the specific strengths and interests that students bring to the learning environment, and are designing learning activities that build on student strengths rather than focusing only upon remediating weaknesses. In addition, schools increasingly recognize diversity as a resource rather than a problem in the classroom.

[ Source: Nilay Ranjan- OneWorld South Asia ]
12:14:06 PM    

KIRAN YADAV of the Financial Express of India reports:

That Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner has identified seven types of intelligences in children is not big news. What rather is, that according to researchers only three of Gardener[base ']s seven types are accounted for in a traditional IQ test. The finding, thus, not only challenges the conventional concept of intelligence, but also seeks to redefine the notion of a smart child.

The full article can be found here
4:57:30 PM    

Positive physical and mental stimulation in a child[base ']s first years lays the foundation for success in school and beyond. With three out of four American children cared for outside the home by age four, clearly the quality of those early learning experiences is critical. However, experts say the vast majority of children currently receive low-quality care in poorly designed programs with inadequately trained staff. United Way of Miami-Dade is committed to elevating the quality of early childhood education for all children, through a new, comprehensive approach to early learning.

The United Way Center for Excellence in Early Education, which officially opens on February 22, 2007 in Miami, is an innovative learning, teaching, research, and training facility all in one. Unlike any other facility in the country, the Center provides comprehensive training and information to adult-learners, including parents, educators, business leaders and researchers, as well as the best available care and education to young children ages six weeks to five years old.

United Way recruited some of the top minds in the field of early care and education to serve on the Center[base ']s national advisory board. Currently the board is comprised of 41 of the nation[base ']s top children[base ']s advocates and educators, including Marian Wright-Edelman, Children[base ']s Defense Fund; Howard Gardner, PhD, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Sharon Lyn Kagan, EdD, The Yale Child Study Center; David Lawrence Jr., The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation; and Donna Shalala, PhD, University of Miami.

http://www.unitedwaymiami.org/
8:30:04 AM