Summer, 2018
Hello ~Welcome to the Summer MIDAS Newsletter
I hope this finds you doing well as 2018 rolls into summer. There is much to report: MIDAS is evolving & users around the world are doing good work; MI turns 35 years old; brain research continues to illuminate.
MI@35
I was privileged to present at the recent ASCD conference in Boston with three of my personal heroes: Howard Gardner, Thomas Armstrong, and Tom Hoerr. About 130 people attended our session titled, Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom After 35 Years. Read more on Dr. Gardner’s website: http://multipleintelligencesoasis.org/mi-after-35-years/
Armstrong, Hoerr, Shearer, Gardner – March 24, ASCD in Boston, MA
JieQi Chen and Mindy Kornhaber were supposed to also present but were unable to make it. However, we’ll issue a set of “white papers” on the impact, status, and future for MI theory in the near future. I’ll post a notice on my website when these are available.
Where is MI after 35 years?
Tom Hoerr writes in his MI Newsletter from ASCD . . . “This enthusiasm about MI – both from the four of us who presented at ASCD as well as the 130+ in the audience – was evident. This causes one to wonder, “What happened to MI? and “Why aren’t there more MI schools?” (I used to hear that a lot when I led New City School.) Branton Shearer offers a very good explanation of this in the following article!” See link above. Thomas R. Hoerr, PhD, thomasrhoerr.com
MIST Project: MI-Scientific Theory and Teaching – Good news!
My research since Jan. 2015 has focused on the neuroscientific underpinnings for each of the eight multiple intelligences and their educational applications. Six phases of research have been completed and now my attention is turning to the “So what?” question – So what does this mean for teachers and schools? A third area is a preliminary alignment among the various MIDAS scales and matched neural regions. Much additional research is needed to determine if MIDAS might be able to serve as a neural screening instrument.
Along these lines, MIDAS is being included in a study of the neural basis for Working Memory at the Attention and Perception and Neuroimaging Lab at Boston University, director David C. Somers.
IMBES–International Mind, Brain and Education Society conference,
Sept. 27 – 29 in Los Angeles.
I look forward to again attending this stimulating gathering to share ideas on how neuroscience can contribute to teaching. I’ve submitted a proposal for a symposium including myself, Howard Gardner and noted neuroscientist Aaron Barbey www.decisionneurosciencelab.org
MIDAS Researchers around the World
More than 10 new research projects initiated in 2017: MIDAS Researchers List
Including; Sumayya Khan, New Delhi, India; Nuris Finkenthal, Tucson, AZ; Zachary Perkins, Redding, CA; Agus Kumiawan, Indonesia; Aysha Mohd, New Delhi, India; Fernando Hernandez Camacho, Estado Tabasco, Pais, Mexico; Shamsa Kanwal, Iran
Netherlands
The MIDAS Team in the Netherlands has been working hard on various MI and MIDAS projects. The Dutch language MIDAS system is working well. Many thanks to Haiko Jessurun!
aMI – Assn for Multiple Intelligences spearheaded by Helga Hohn and Frits Schoeren is sponsoring high quality workshops, trainings, and presentations. They held an exciting day long workshop on Nov. 25, ’17 where I presented a summary of my neuro-investigations. An attentive and thoughtful audience! See a description of the day by Carolien de Monchy. Read about it here > aMI News Update
BCO – BCO continues to provide MIDAS to elementary schools it works with.
Celebrate 2.0 – The second day celebrating creative learning will take place Oct. 10, 2018. Monika de Waal and Monique van Vliet are the engines behind this inspiring day of learning and fun! I will again provide a key note to kick off the activities. I highly recommend it if you’re anywhere in the neighborhood.
Mantra Consulting– Helga Hohn continues to use MIDAS for coaching and consulting with clients. She is organizing the development of an enhanced MIDAS Profile.
Good news from India!
Jitendra Sandu of TAAS sent me a copy of his article that was recently published in Silicon India STARTUPCITY.COM, 4-19-18- Match Prospective Hire DNA to Company DNA. Read FindYourFit – article
IF Consulting and Career Institute of Puerto Rico
I send my condolences and best wishes for a speedy recovery to all my MI and MIDAS friends in Puerto Rico. I know it has been a very difficult recovery after the strikes of two hurricanes. God speed!
Southern Adventist University
Special thanks to Dr. Jim Wampler, Director of Career Services, for including me in his Brain Awareness Week. He provides inspirational guidance to all of his students to maximize brain development. I enjoyed giving a key note and presenting to two classes on the MIST Project.
Update on the MIDAS Process –
A recent project to update the MIDAS 3-page Profile has reminded me that MIDAS is not a TEST. In common parlance anything with questions is called a “test” even the Glamour Magazine-type “how strong is your relationship” throw-a-ways are called tests. This is a misuse of the term. In education and psychology test results have significant consequences and we need to be careful how they are used. Test results (scores) are assumed to represent objective reality. If you answer incorrectly to most of the questions on a reading comprehension test, it is reasonable to believe that there is a problem with your reading skills. Because the MIDAS is a self-report questionnaire, the scores represent how the respondent reports him/herself. The objective reality of those scores need to be carefully reviewed before accepting them as “truth”. This is why every profile is accompanied by a Brief Interpretative Packet, so the respondent can conduct his/her own reflections and critical review before accepting that scores as fact.
The MIDAS process also makes it a point to de-emphasize the importance of the scores and places more value on the qualitative information. This is why scale scores are not presented until page 3. Pages 1 and 2 are used to construct a Brief Learning Summary without any scores. Numbers can be misleading and distract from understanding the meaning of the profile. I urge everyone using MIDAS to keep this in mind!
Casey Career Consultancy: Exploring Careers with Jenny
Joe Casey in Ireland provides a case from his work guiding young people into career paths aligned with their MI strengths. Read about Jenny https://www.miresearch.org/category/midas-implementation/
For the future . . . MIDAS developments!
I look forward to introducing a new extended MIDAS-PRO Leadership Profile in the near future detail and guidance to develop one’s leadership abilities.
Lastly… I recently recounted the number of MIDAS Profiles sold between 2007 – 2015 and the total surprised me – over 750,000! The largest number of profiles are from Taiwan – my thanks to Wu-tien Wu and Eric Lin at Psychological Publishing Company for their commitment and efforts. I look forward to their recent foray to mainland China.
Cheers!
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Hello ~ Welcome to the 2017 Winter MIDAS Newsletter
MIST Project: MI as a Scientific Theory- Good news!
My research since Jan. 2015 has focused on the neuroscientific underpinnings for each of the eight multiple intelligences and their educational applications. The good news is that four phases of research have been completed. The Phase 1 report will be published in the journal Trends in Neuroscience and Education. Phase 2 results will be presented at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society conference in March. A summary of the whole program will be presented to the Chinese American Educational Research and Development Assn. at AERA in April. Thanks to Yi-Lung Kuo for the invitation. A Phase 1 summary is posted on Howard Gardner’s website: http://multipleintelligencesoasis.org/the-neuroscience-of-intelligences/
Next steps will focus on drawing educational implications from these data and testing them against existing educational practices that have been inspired by MI theory. My thanks to collaborator and co-author Jessica Karanian! Without her massive efforts and expertise this work would not be impossible. She’s the BEST.
MIDAS Researchers around the World
Eight new research projects have been initiated in 2016: https://www.miresearch.org/midas/research/world-wide-midas-researchers/
– Raissa White: USA -Sharon Ruiz: USA -Gerhard Griesel: S. Africa -Cassandre Davis:
– Ann Marie Gallo:US -Diana Marin: Romania -Mina Jabbari: France – Sumayya Khan: India
Netherlands
The MIDAS Team in the Netherlands has been working hard on various MI and MIDAS projects. A new Dutch language MIDAS.OMS system with new and improved profile have been developed by Haiko Jessurun and Frits Schoeren. Helga Hohn has spearheaded development of MIDAS Certification guidelines. Talks are underway now for the creation of an Assn. for MI (AMI) and organizing a conference in 2018 to commemorate MI@35. My thanks to Stephanie Colenberg for all her help and the AMI Facebook page!
Nurture Craft, Singapore
The MIDAS publisher in Singapore, Henry Toi, has worked with UOB bank to offer the MI Interest Survey (MIIS) to customers. Employees will also be offered the opportunity to take the full MIDAS.
Welcome to Jamie Tan of Flying Cape as the new MIDAS.OMS webmaster! I look forward to working with her and her partner in keeping the OMS system up to date and fully functional. New developments are also in the works.
Good news from India! Rajni Jauhari reports that the faculty at her Parevartan School have won a competition for innovative schools sponsored by MicroSoft. Congratulations!
Jitendra Sandu of TalentMat continues to provide Profiles to the Ambassador School for ophaned children.
Career Institute of Puerto Rico
The MIDAS continues to inspire instructors and students alike at ICPR…
“I keep focused on the MIDAS Project because I believe in its effectiveness, which I see through the eyes of our faculty and our students. I soundly believe in the MIDAS Profile as a tool for predicting outcomes of success or failure in the careers the students choose. As instructed by our president, Dr. Olga Rivera, Ph.D. the questionnaire was administered to all ICPR personnel. All were instructed about the Multiple Intelligences as well. In this way MIDAS has expanded from faculty members and students all the way through the administrative personnel and staff; in other words across the board. Several times it has served me as a tool for selecting personnel at the Mayaguez and Hato Rey campuses. I noticed that by asking me to administer the questionnaire to the administrative employees, and letting me explain to each one of them their profile, Dr. Rivera has realized that what I’ve been talking about all along is a reality. MIDAS works!” Dr. Mayra Ruiz
RADAR Project!
Third and fourth graders from St. Patrick’s Elementary School continue to learn how to solve complex math story problems using the RADAR strategy – Read It! Activate It! Dig In! Am I Right? Rejoice! This MI inspired curriculum will soon be available on Teachers Pay Teachers.
University of Miami Medical School. The MIDAS has recently been adopted by the student success program at the
KIDS Community College
MIDAS continues to do good work at the multi-campus elementary charter school in Riverview, Florida.
MIDAS is being implemented with all teaching faculty at the Hunterdon Academy of the Arts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Plans are for students to be able to take it also. A great use for the Profile!
The Guaimbe Bureau de Cultura has been using MIDAS with school in Brazil.
The One School of The Arts based in central Florida will soon join the MIDAS family to enhance their whole-child, MI and arts-base curriculum…
For the future . . . MI@35 !
I look forward to 2018 when it will be the 35th anniversary of the publication of Howard Gardner’s landmark book, Frames of Minds, where the theory of multiple intelligences debuted. I think it is important that this occasion not be neglected and that MI be reconsidered in light of 35 years of research and practice. Do you have any ideas what we can do? I’m suggesting symposia at AERA, ASCD and by AMI in the Netherlands. I’m also looking for opportunities to share the results of my neuroscience research. It is important that this new information be made public and spark discussion.
I look forward to introducing a new extended MIDAS-PRO Leadership Profile in the near future. This provide additional detail and guidance to developing one’s leadership abilities.
Lastly… I recently tallied the number of MIDAS Profiles sold between 2007 – 2015 and the total surprised me – over half a million! My appreciation to my Taiwan publisher, Psychological Publishing Company, for selling over 400K of this total number. Korea was the second largest MIDAS provider at about 50K.
Don’t forget to visit my BLOG and leave a message! www.miresearch.org/blog/
Cheers!
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Spring, 2016
I hope this finds you doing well as the new season approaches. The MIDAS news is mostly all good. Over 60,000 profiles were sold last year worldwide with Taiwan leading at 37K. It continues to be used in many interesting ways to enhance instruction and educational planning for people of all ages– from business leaders in the Netherlands to pre-school children in Mexico. Below are spotlighted a few programs of particular interest.
MIST Project: MI as a Scientific Theory
My research since Jan. 2015 has focused on the neuroscientific underpinnings for each of the eight multiple intelligences and their educational applications. Phase One of this project has involved a meta-analytic literature review of over 300 neuroscience studies. The Phase One Report is now being written. You may request a brief Executive Summary. Phase Two will focus more intently on instruction and teaching.
MIDAS Researchers around the World
Fourteen new graduate students used The MIDAS in their research starting in 2015: www.miresearch.org/midas/research/world-wide-midas-researchers/
MI International School, Quezon City, Philippines
Congratulations to the staff and teachers of this fine MI-inspired school in Quezon City in the Philippines. They are celebrating their 20th anniversary. I am also pleased to report that we are celebrating their second anniversary of their students completing the MIDAS Profile. To learn more: www.mi-childsplace.com.ph
Netherlands
In November 2015, I presented MIDAS and MI to numerous groups in the Netherlands from Delft to Einhoven. Several newly certified MIDAS Administrators have joined the fold! My thanks to the good folks who also worked hard to arrange the sessions and ensured their success. It was a fine team effort. We’ll need another mega-team effort if we are to successfully organize a conference on MI and MIDAS in the spring of 2017. That’s only 1 year from now. My thanks to Haiko Jessurun, Noud duPonti, Stephanie Colenberg, Mat Custers at BCO; and the Delft MIDAS Team – Monika de Waal, Helga Hohn and Monique van Vliet-deJager. Many good things are forthcoming!
Taiwan and China:
Thanks to the efforts of MIDAS translater Wu-tien Wu and the Psychological Publishing Co. I’ll be back in Teipei to give a keynote at a conference for special educators. We’ll then go to mainland China for a conference at Lingnan University to share MI and MIDAS applications. I look forward to my first visit to mainland China.
Back to India!
MIDAS representative in India, Rajni Jauhari is helping to coordinate my return visit to this fascinating country. Manbir Bedi, publisher of children’s newspaper Primary Plus is arranging two MIDAS workshops for school principals and business HR professionals. Jitendra Sandu of TalentMat continues to provide Profiles to the Ambassador School for ophaned children.
News from Iran …
… Read about the MIDAS validation project conducted by my colleague, Mahnaz Saeidi recently published in Journal of Applied Linguistics http://jal.iaut.ac.ir/article_519840_111918.html
News from Hong Kong
… Marymount Secondary School. This high quality high school continues to give the MIDAS to all students every year and report much appreciation for the usefulness of the profile.
Career Institute of Puerto Rico
The MIDAS continues to inspire instructors and students alike at ICPR…
“Our task was to develop the MIDAS Pilot Program and the fruits collected show us that it is a great teaching tool and most of all that it works in real life; even more so, it works at the university level in classrooms and courses. This has been an enriching experience and we’ll keep using MIDAS lessons for the rest of our lives. Thanks for letting us become part of the MIDAS world. It was a great learning adventure and experience for all of us. We thank you as a campus from the heart.” Dr. Mayra Ruiz
West Point Academy
For four year all first year cadets have completed their MIDAS as part of their Psychology of Leadership course. We are considering the development and implementation of a MIDAS-PRO enhanced leadership Profile.
RADAR Project!
Third and fourth graders from St. Patrick’s Elementary School were visited by two student pilots from Kent State University. They related how flying a plane uses many of the same skills that are embedded in the RADAR program. Many thanks to Ben Satyshur, Aviation Safety Program Manager for his thoughtful attention to the students. St. Pat’s RADAR teachers were Sue O’Connor, Elaine Goodhart, Jennifer Wohlwend and Karin Underwood.
We are now working to bring RADAR to the middle school students beginning with 5th graders.
I am happy to report that our article on RADAR was published in Today’s Catholic Teacher. http://www.catholicteacher.com/archive/articles_view.php?article_id=4990
For the future . . .
I look forward to presenting in Singapore for Henry Toi of NurtureCraft on using The MIDAS and the MI Interest Survey (MIIS) at UOB bank.
Lastly… I’d like to share with you an email recently received from Andrea Salcedo Williams regarding the use of MDIAS My Young Child in early child educator in Guadalajara, Mexico
Dear Branton: I have started using the My Young Child Profile in my school and we are very happy!! We are in the first step of our project. We have completed 23 My Young Child Profiles.
These are the steps that we follow:
- When a child enrolls into our program, the first thing we do is to give the parents the questionnaire to complete the profile. We ask them to bring it back in one week.
We have found that is very enriching when a mother and father complete the questions together, because they don’t agree in all of the answers. We also have notice that some parents don’t really know a lot of their own kids. They open their eyes when reading all of the questions. They start to pay attention to more areas in their child’s life.
- When we have the answers back, we schedule an appointment to give the parents the profile in person. We have been working on an interpretative package for the My Young Child Profile, using the Handbook Common Miracles in Your School, and the adult interpretative package. We have created an introduction letter in one page to explain what the profile is and why it is important. Then we have describe each scale and sub-scale, and also we are working in an explanation of how children learn using each intelligence. We also put in the interpretative package the handout for parent from the Handbook.
- The third step is to have the interview with the parent to give them the profile with the interpretative package and to explain and answer all of their questions. It is a great start to get to know the parent better.
Comments
Some parents are interested in taking the profile themselves, after they completed their child’s profile. And we realize it is a very great idea we didn’t think in the beginning. It is very important as a parent to know your own strengths and weaknesses when you are educating your child.
Andrea Salcedo Williams
Clever Kids
Guadalajara, Mexico
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Don’t forget to visit my BLOG and leave a message! www.miresearch.org/blog/
Cheers! Branton
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Welcome to the winter 2014 – ’15 MIDAS News
As 2014 turns from autumn orange into drab winter it is a fine time to reflect on all that has bloomed in this MIDAS garden. There are many good projects to report about. Too many! The MIDAS train keeps chugging up and down the hills. Many of the projects reported in January continue to gather steam. Overall, it has been a remarkable year as MI has proven its worth in a wide variety of environments. Eight new graduate students are doing MIDAS research: www.miresearch.org/midas/research/world-wide-midas-researchers/
Several educational projects are especially encouraging because of the dynamic people who are leading the way forward implementing the MIDAS to help people of all ages. Welcome to the MI International School of Quezon City, Philippines as a new MIDAS user. www.mi-childsplace.com.ph This is a world-class school admired by Howard Gardner. Don’t forget to visit my blog at https://www.miresearch.org/blog/ . I’m working hard to make it timely and of interest!
MIDAS Project Updates . . .
Career Institute of Puerto Rico
At the direction of the school’s president, Olga Rivera, a team of dedicated instructors at the Career Institute of Puerto Rico are spearheading the effort to spread MI and MIDAS to all of its campuses. A pilot project conducted at the Mayaguez campus found that as a result of instructors using MI-inspired projects and the MIDAS profile, students were more satisfied with their classes and there was a reduction in the student dropout rate. This effort lead by Mayra Ruiz, Ph.D. is now focusing on the Arecibo campus where it is being warmly received by the instructors. The eventual goal is to spread the program to all students in its five campus network in Mayaguez, Arecibo, Manati, Hato Rey, and Bayamon. I am inspired by their creative, dedicated, and well-thought out plans. Their work supports instructors and students alike as these young adult learners strive to carve out a personally rewarding career path.
“Our task was to develop the MIDAS Pilot Program and the fruits collected show us that it is a great teaching tool and most of all that it works in real life; even more so, it works at the university level in classrooms and courses. This has been an enriching experience and we’ll keep using MIDAS lessons for the rest of our lives. Thanks for letting us become part of the MIDAS world. It was a great learning adventure and experience for all of us. We thank you as a campus from the heart.” Dr. Mayra Ruiz
Clemson University, MCE Pilot Project
Three nurse educators were recently trained to use the MIDAS Clinical Education program to personalize healthcare instruction for clients in the Wise Woman program. This is a six month program where each woman’s health status is assessed; a healthcare plan is devised, and then monitored over the course of six months. The focus is on diabetes and healthy heart care. This effort will contribute to the testing and building of the MI-inspired instructional strategies of the MCE project. Currently, MCE is a paper-based system that is envisioned to be converted into software that will bring the power of eLearning to the daunting task of patient education. My thanks to Drs. Roxanne Amerson and Nancy Peifer-Neil for leading this project through the Clemson University IRB system! We hope to impact the health and self-care of participants in a significant and sustainable manner.
Netherlands – Delft MIDAS Team and BCO
I returned to the Netherlands in November to conduct Advanced and Certification workshops and participate in MIDAS Networking grand event! I look forward to expanding the reach of MIDAS with the guidance of my new MIDAS NL Director, Sue Susnik. My thanks to Haiko Jessurun, Mat Custers at BCO; and the Delft MIDAS Team – Monika de Waal, Helga Hohn and Monique van Vliet-deJager. Many good things are forthcoming!
Jackson Public Schools, NJ – SPED
My thanks to Dr. Robert Cerco of Jackson Public Schools for organizing a two-day workshop for Special Education teachers. Their positive response to the beneficial use of MI and the MIDAS in their care for and instruction of students with special needs was very gratifying. I look forward to hearing more about their efforts to bring the power of MI to their students.
West Point Academy
Over 550 first year cadets have completed their MIDAS for the second year. They are reviewing their MI strengths and limitations as part of the Leadership course required of all “plebs” (first year students).
National Dropout Prevention Network conference presentation
I was pleased to be invited to present on MI and MIDAS at the annual conference of the National Dropout Prevention Network to be held in Louisville, KY. This presentation is entitled, Changing the Conversation: How to Leverage Students’ Strengths to Maximize Engagement and Achievement. It will emphasize the use of the Profile to focus attention and efforts on each student’s MI strengths as an antidote to the usual flood of negativity experienced by students, parents, and school personnel. I look forward to a stimulating discussion with colleagues from around the US. Many thanks to KSU professor and friend Patrick O’Connor for encouraging me to get involved with this worthy organization.
RADAR @ St. Patrick’s School
Third and fourth graders visited the Kent State University airport on September 26th where they were instructed on flight procedures and the use of checklists. This field trip connected their RADAR (math problem-solving) process with what real pilots do to be successful. Many thanks to Maureen McFarland, Program Director, Aeronautics, for making the field trip possible. And thanks to Ben Satyshur, Aviation Safety Program Manager for his thoughtful attention to the students. St. Pat’s RADAR teachers were Sue O’Connor, Elaine Goodhart, Jennifer Wohlwend and Karin Underwood.
For the future . . .
I look forward to presenting in Singapore in January for Henry Toi of NurturCraft on using The MIDAS in the Global EduHub network of preschools also located in China & Australia. I will also pass through Hong Kong on the way home to investigate possible funding for a long term investigation of the scientific bases of MI theory.
Possible projects and travels for 2015 . . . .
–Nanjing, China – enrichment program for children
-India- MIDAS in the Ambassador High School
–Ireland- MIDAS at Waterford Institute of Technology for training nurses.
–Salt Lake City, Utah- Keynote and workshop at Learning DevCamp for elearning
–Netherlands- planning for MIDAS World Conference in 2016
–Neuroscience/MI-How to move MI from a powerful educational framework to an accepted scientific theory?
Lastly…
I’d like to share with you a quote from counselor Chantal Woltring from my recent visit to Fenix Talent in the Netherlands which provides education and counseling for gifted students. Her deep understanding of how The MIDAS process works is inspirational to me and I hope for you as well.
The MIDAS has proven to be such a powerful tool in getting to know our adolescents. From the very first use 3 years ago its value was immediately clear to me: I can truly get to know a student within 1.5 hours; at a depth and instant level of trust I would otherwise have needed half a year of weekly sessions for. This is quite remarkable, since our adolescents generally are very distrustful of any adult due to their past traumatizing experiences in schools and with unsuited health care due to misdiagnoses.
The crucial element in its effective use is that the MIDAS explicitly allows and wants me to have the adolescents assess the validity of the results themselves. Because of that, it stimulates me to be curious about what drives my student, about his thoughts, perceptions, experiences and drive, in a non-judgmental way. It provides the insight for me, but most important it provides insight for my students themselves, and it provides a ‘playground` in a stimulating and lighthearted fashion, taking away the `threatening gloom´ so often associated with counselling and/or therapy sessions for those new to it or not.
I can wholeheartedly recommend the MIDAS usage in any school, for teachers, social workers, counselors, and therapists.
Ms. Chantal Woltring MSc, Author of the handbook at Feniks Talent (Sterksel, The Netherlands)
Don’t forget to visit my BLOG and leave a message! www.miresearch.org/blog/
Cheers!
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MIDAS Newsletter Winter, 2013 – ’14
As 2013 fades and 2014 dawns I’d like to share a number of good news items regarding developments in multiple-intelligences-in-action and The MIDAS assessment. I am grateful to daily hear from MI and MIDAS users from Around the World News . It is astonishing what good can come from a powerful idea when put into practice by thoughtful people. I look forward to new projects for 2014. The TalentMat project is quickly developing in many schools. Watch my kickoff presentation to Indian educations broadcast via Skype. An exciting MI celebration was also held for parents and students at Salwan Public School orchestrated by Rajni Jauhari. See World News for photos.
This is not to say that it is an easy path, however. There are no magic words or formula for high quality teaching, counseling, and parenting. This also true for the creation of the tools that people need to bring this MI idea to life in their professional and personal lives. I spent several months this past year re-engineering my 8 MIDAS-related books. Each page challenged me to rethink and re-imagine what the MIDAS Profile can bring to the hearts and the minds of its users. It was an illuminating experience.
Here is the brochure that briefly describes these books. Hard copies are available through Amazon.com or ebooks from my website.
Emerging and Exciting for 2014
– West Point military academy. MIDAS Inspired Leadership and Career Planning — I am now privileged to be working with Ltc. Matthew Clark and Ltc. William Skimmyhorn using the MIDAS to enhance leadership skills of cadets.
– MIDAS Clinical Education — Nancy Peifer-Neil and I are writing a Handbook for nurses to use MI to enhance patient education.
– RADAR: A Teacher’s Guide — I am writing this practical How To guide for teaching math story problem solving with 5 teachers at St. Patrick’s Elementary School in Kent, Ohio
– Common Core Standards and MI: Can MI help students to achieve high academic skills? Yes. see Common Core and MI_Report
– MIDAS.NL The Dutch translation of MIDAS is now being implemented in several dynamic schools in the Netherlands.
– MI and Arts Education: Three schools with an arts focus are now using MIDAS: Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts; Hunterdon Academy and Suzuki Charter School.
– www.talentmat.com Jitendra Sandu is bringing the MIDAS to thousands of students in India including the Ambassador children’s orphanage. info@talentmat.com
Several MIDAS users have shared a bit about their work for this World_News_2014. I look forward to hearing from you if you’d like to share your MI and MIDAS activities.
There were 9 new researchers using the MIDAS this year from India, Philippines, Slovenia, Turkey, and the US. Many interesting projects are underway. Read about them here.
Cheers!
Branton Shearer
sbranton@kent.edu
NEWS UPDATES
1. Websites of Note
The web is the MIDAS portal to the world. The following sites are efforts to bring a wealth of resources to people everywhere so they can receive the maximum benefit from MIDAS profiles.
- MI-Inspired Reading Comprehension
- MIDAS Profile Guide /Resources Read about Profile interpretation here.
- MI-Inspired Math Story Problems Read about RADAR program here.
- This is the new MIDAS Facebook fan page.
The use of MIDAS in schools around the US and the world continues to grow in interesting and thoughtful ways. Below are a few that I’ve spotlighted. For a more complete listing: Schools using MIDAS.
Palm Beach State College, FL and Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland. Two dynamic instructors are using MIDAS to help nursing school students. Nancy Peifer-Neil, peifern@palmbeachstate.edu and Linda Sheahan, lsheahan@wit.ie
Cretin-Derham Hall High School, St. Paul, MN, Tom Murray is coordinating the use of MIDAS with all Freshman students, tmurray@c-dh.org
Jackson High School, Jackson, NJ. Robert Cerco, Director of Educational Services, is coordinating the integration of the MIDAS into the educational programs of middle and high school students. rcerco@jacksonsd.k12.nj.us
Longcoy Elementary, Kent, Ohio: Elizabeth Shorr is implementing the Math Story Problem project with her 4th graders.
Miller South School for Visual and Performing Arts, Akron, OH. The MIDAS was completed by all 5th through 8th graders last year and 4th graders will do their profiles this year. Susan Yingling and Wendy Duke for spearheading this.
Kids Community College, Riverview FL. MIDAS continues to be an essential part of this elementary charter school curriculum. http://www.kidscc.org/
3. International Projects
MIDAS projects around the world continue to amaze me! Even after 25 years there remains a dedicated group of MI-inspired educators who put forth extra effort to maximize student success. Below is a sampling of current projects.
Netherlands. Haiko Jessurun hjessurun@riaggzuid.nl Noud de Ponti nouddeponti@o2-onderwysadvies.nl
Center for Creative Living
University of Professional Teacher Education PABO
Ireland. Seven secondary schools implemented the MIDAS with high school students to help them with career planning and achieving academic success until the Great Recession when counselor services were terminated. Of particular interest is using the Profile during the Transition Year between middle and high school. (including The Abbey School, Caritas College, Salesian College, St. Dominic’s Secondary School)
Germany. Jens Hildebrand of Merzenich, Germany has translated adult and Teen MIDAS into German and will begin validation with several groups of high school students in the near future.
Marymount Secondary School, Hong Kong. This high quality high school has given MIDAS to all students for 4 years.
Guang Zhou, China and Taiwan. Projects in these three locations are being managed by the Psychological Publishing Co. (Eric Lin psychoco@ms15.hinet.net), The Art Costa Center for Thinking and Jin Yu Psychological Assessment Ltd. of Shanghai is publishing the simplified Chinese language translation.
Singapore. The Art Costa Center for Thinking is launching MIDAS efforts in Guang Zhou, China, Thailand, Vietnam and India. http://www.artcostacentre.com/
Korea. The MI Institute in Seoul distributes MIDAS-KIDS profiles and is now working on validating Teen-MIDAS Korean translation. It is exciting to learn of the enthusiasm for MI in Korea. Ji-Soo Kim- a8702@hanmail.net
India. Rajni Jauhari is the MIDAS coordinator for me in India. We have signed agreements with two educational companies in this education obsessed country: TalentMat. www.talentmat.com . Jitendra Sandu, President.
Iran. Mahhaz Saeidi coordinates research among a growing number of investigators using Farsi MIDAS.
Crandall University, Moncton NB Canada , Bryan Taylor, Bryan.Taylor@crandallu.ca MIDAS is completed by all education students.
Athens, Greece. Babis Tsatsarelis, principal at Ziridis School, reports that the MIDAS-KIDS Profile accords well with views of parents and teachers and is of benefit to students. Adult /teen MIDAS are now being validated in a collaborative effort between researchers in Cyprus. http://www.ziridis.gr/
4. What’s New?
My View: MIDAS for 3rd – 5th graders. At the urging of several teachers, I have created a version of the My Young Child questionnaire that can be completed by elementary students on themselves.
Dialogues: How MIDAS Profile can make a difference in your conversations with students.
I am currently writing scripts that demonstrate how to use the MIDAS profile to guide students with behavioral concerns.
5. MIDAS Researchers . . .
The MIDAS continues to be used by researchers around the world to investigate a wide variety of topics. Here is a comprehensive listing: Czech Republic, Qatar, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, etc.
6. Multiple Intelligences: Science News
Cross Cultural Factor Analytic Studies of a Multiple Intelligences Self-Assessment by Branton Shearer in The International Journal of Educational and Psychological Assessment, vol. 12 issue 1. https://sites.google.com/site/tijepa2012/vol-11-2/vol-12-1
An Inter-rater Reliability Study of a Self-Assessment for the Multiple Intelligences. Branton Shearer in International Journal of Psychological Studies published by Canadian Center of Science and Education. http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ijps/issue/view/598 Vol 4, No 3 (2012)
The Validity and Reliability of the Turkish Version of the Multiple Intelligences Developmental Assessment Scales
By Ayten İflazoğlu Saban, Branton Shearer, Bilge Kuşdemir Kayiran, Dilek Işik Volume: 9 Issue: 2 Year: 2012 www.insanbilimleri.com/ojs/index.php/uib/issue/view/26
Development of a scale for existential thinking. Institute of Transpersonal Psychology by Blake A. Allan, University of Florida and Branton Shearer
Differentiated reading instruction: Using the multiple intelligences and The MIDAS to enhance comprehension, enthusiasm and strategic reading approaches. by Shearer, B. & Reith, S. (2011). The Ohio School Psychologists Journal. 56 (3).