Ch 2 - MI and Personal Development

Abstract:
A vital part of understanding and using the MI theory in your classroom is to understand how the intelligences affect you both as a person and as an educator, and to seek ways to develop them to our true potential. There are several types of resources open to educators from drawing on colleagues’ expertise to using available technology. By drawing on the resources available, educators can make the most improvement and understanding of the MI Theory. Gardner states that “most people can develop all their intelligences to a relatively competent level of mastery”. There are three main factors that can either help or hinder the development of intelligence:
1. Biological Endowment or injuries to the brain either before or during birth, or during life.
2. Personal Life History or friends and family that either helps or hinders the development
of strengths.
3. Cultural and Historical Background or the time and place where you are born and grow up
can have an impact on acceptance of strengths.
For example, Mozart was able to greatly develop his skill at composing due to a natural predisposition (1), born to musical parents (2), and born at a time in Europe when the arts were flourishing (3). Had some of these factors been different, Mozart may have never developed his genius.
These can also be situational in the form of activators and deactivators of intelligences. Crystallizing experiences or encouraging experiences can aid the development of various intelligences, whereas paralyzing experiences are very discouraging to the positive development of intelligence. The following is the breakdown of crystallizing and paralyzing experiences, which have either positive or negative outcomes:
1. Access to Resources or Mentors
2. Historical-Cultural Factors
3. Geographic Factors
4. Familial Factors
5. Situational Factors
The MI theory offers educators a way to critique how their own intelligences affects their skill as educators.

How did I connect with the reading, reflection on my thoughts on the chapter?
This was a fairly short chapter compared to some of the previous reading this semester. Although it was short work in length, there was a great deal of information presented that may have been difficult to understand were it not for the excellent analogies provided by the author. The various references to Mozart as well as other savants/prodigies has made the differentiation in the influences to the development of intelligences much easier to understand. I look forward to learning more about the depth of these intelligences and how I can positively influence those I work with.