Project Spectrum Part V Multiple Intelligences(The Arc Of Learning)

The introduction of Project Spectrum marked a new approach to assessment. Researchers in cognitive and neural sciences provided fresh support for a diverse perspective on cognition. They proposed that the mind is divided into distinct realms of functioning (Gardner, 1993). Gardner defined intelligence as the ability to solve problems and create products that are valued in various cultural settings. According to his theory on multiple intelligences, he suggested that all normal individuals are capable of at least seven "relatively autonomous forms of intellectual accomplishment," each based on a biological potential. He also stated that individuals exhibit a mix of several intelligences. He emphasized that after early infancy, intelligences become embedded in symbol systems such as spoken language and picturing systems.

These systems are notational, such as maps and musical or mathematical notation, as well as fields of knowledge like journalism and mechanical engineering. Gardner pointed out that education represents the cultivation of intelligences over time in culturally fashioned systems. These intelligences are considered biopsychological constructs as they constitute cognitive resources that allow an individual to forge a meaningful connection to a content area. Once the intelligences have been identified, there is a need to assess them. This is the main focus of Project Spectrum. It is "an innovative attempt to measure the profile of intelligences and working styles of young children." The project, a long-term collaborative research effort by several researchers at Harvard Project Zero and David Feldman at Tufts University, focuses on preschool children and aims to detect early individual differences reliably. The project also addresses the predictive value of early identification.

The information gathered from this project can benefit both parents and teachers by providing insights into a child's cognitive competencies, especially during a time when the young child's brain is especially malleable, and schools are likely to be more flexible in their curricula. Initially, the Spectrum Project sought the early indicators of the seven intelligences, but it became apparent that many more competencies warranted examination. Gardner and his colleagues delved into production and perception in music, invented and descriptive narrative in language, and expressive and athletic movement in the bodily-kinesthetic domain.

They also used the notion of adult end states to focus on skills and abilities relevant to achieving significant and rewarding adult roles in society. Instead of concentrating solely on school-related skills, they examined competencies that utilize scientific inventiveness and the child's ability to tell a story or describe an experience.

Arts Propel /Multiple Intelligences Part IV (The Arc of Learning)

     Howard Gardner introduces Arts PROPEL which can be considered a disciplined inquiry in high school. Arts PROPEL is an approach to curriculum and assessment in the arts principally on the high school level. In working on the research of Arts PROPEL, the path- breaking methods of investigation devised by Jean Piaget in 1970 were used. By studying Piaget, three principle lines of investigation evolved. A cross-sectional experimental study of specific capacities such as: style sensitivity or metaphoric competence was done to determine the "natural" developmental trajectory of these important skills. Secondly, Gardner and his colleagues carried out naturalistic longitudinal studies of the development in early childhood of various kinds of symbol-using capacities. Thirdly, in a scientifically related body of work, Gardner and his colleagues "investigated the breakdown under conditions of brain damage of the very symbolic skills whose oncogenesis had been probing." These are the findings from this study that was conducted during the 1970's. The researchers found that in most areas of development, children improve with age.  Young children have a high level of competence in the artistic spheres whereas there is a possible decline during the middle years. Preschool children acquire a tremendous amount of knowledge about competence in the arts (Gardner, 1993). Children's drawings show that there is "self-generated learning and development".  In nearly every area, an individual's perceptual or comprehension capacities develop well in advance of productive capacities. "This finding underscores the importance of giving young children ample opportunity to learn by performing, making, or 'doing'. According to classical development theory, children's competence in one cognitive sphere should predict the child's level of competence in other spheres. Gardner and his colleagues found that it was normal for a child to be strong in one or two areas while at the same time being average or below average in their attainment in other areas. The belief has been that the brain was "equipotential". This means that each area of the brain would be capable of subserving the range of human capacities. Neuropsychological research doubts this finding that specific areas of the cortex have particular cognitive foci. After early childhood, there is little "plasticity" in the representation of cognitive capacities in the nervous system (Gardner, 1993). Project Zero has established that artistic development is complex and multivocal, and that generalizations are hard to come by and they often fall by the way. Gardner (1993) states that in his own work the various insights from Project Zero came together in his "theory of multiple intelligences". Gardner goes on to say that according to his analysis, he believes that there is not a separate artistic intelligence. He adds that each of these forms of intelligence can be directed toward artistic ends. "The symbols entailed in that form of knowledge may, but need not, be marshaled in an aesthetic fashion" (Gardner, 1993).

Project Zero Multiple Intelligences Part III (The Arc of Learning)

Research

Project Zero was founded in 1967. It explored topics in education. Some of the topics explored in relation to Project Zero were deep thinking, creativity, ethics, and intelligence.

     Project Zero was founded in 1967 at the Harvard Graduate School of Education by the philosopher Nelson Goodman. What Goodman did was challenge those who thought the linguistic and logical symbol systems had priority over the expressive and communicative systems. Goodman formulated a taxonomy of the major symbol systems that are utilized by human beings (Gardner,1993). Goodman discusses symbols that are of importance to the arts. The symbols are musical, poetic, gestural, and visual graphic. He also discusses the modes of symbolization such as representation, expression, metaphor, and multiple meanings. Many became interested in Goodman's work, his point of view, and his "theory of symbols" which was adopted as a cognitive point of view.

     In the 1970's, Howard Gardner and David Perkins became the leaders in the Project Zero effort. The project became fully devoted to psychological issues. Perkins was responsible for directing a "Cognitive Skills Group" where the primary interest was in the perceptual and cognitive capacities of adults, whereas Gardner directed a "Developmental Group", where the focus was on the development of symbol-using skills in normal and gifted children. More than half the studies in which Gardner and Perkins were involved in entail "more-or-less direct efforts to apply analyses and insights to programs in schools, ranging from preschool to the college level. Project Zero has involved over a hundred researchers. Contributions to this project range from the fields of the humanities to the fields of the social sciences. The works of Garner and his colleagues have been reviewed collectively.