ON-LINE DISCUSSION SITE	INDIVIDUAL PAPERS
CALENDAR OF WEEKLY/DAILY ASSIGNMENTS	GROUP INVESTIGATION MODEL
WWW reference site.	EXAMPLES OF GI PAPERS
GARDNER'S MODEL	This semesters group papers: Group 1: power point slides   Group 1's text Group 2   Group 2's text Group 3 Group 4

ABSTRACT: A 3-credit hour honors seminar" is proposed for the Fall, 2001 semester. The seminar will focus on Howard Gardner's model of creativity and mind as explained in his book, Creating Minds: An Anatomy of Creativity Seen Through the Lives of FREUD, EINSTEIN, PICASSO, STRAVINSKY, ELIOT, GRAHAM, AND GANDHI, (New York: Basics Books, 1993, 464 pages). Gardner's book provides a synthesis of his ideas within the context of his "seven" intelligences model of the mind. This particular model is uniquely "interdisciplinary" in that each of the seven intelligences represent different aspects of human creativity which are also represented by Miami University's various departments, divisions and their respective majors. These seven frames of mind include and will be discussed by guest faculty members (enclosed in parentheses):

Logical-mathematical (mathematics, physics, philosophy), [EINSTEIN] (Physics)

• Visual/Spatial (painting, sculpture, architecture), [PICASSO] (Art)
• Musical (performance & composition), [STRAVINSKY] (Music)
• Verbal-Linguistic (English, poetry, creative writing), [ELIOT] (English)
• Bodily-kinesthetic (dance, physical sports), [GRAHAM] (Physical Education)
• Interpersonal (leadership, communications, acting-theater, social and educational psychology) [GANDHI] (Philosophy)
• Intra-personal [FREUD] (clinical, and educational psychology).
• In a 1999 article in Scientific American, Gardner defined two additional intelligences:
• Naturalist [CHARLES DARWIN] (Zoology/Biology)
• Existential [DALI LAMA] (Religion)

Gardner also published another book, The Disciplined Mind, in 1999 where he examined three additional examplars of genius: Charles Darwin, Wolfgang Mozart and Adolf Hitler.  In addition, as an outgrowth of four past offerings of this seminar, 1995 through 1998, two additional intelligences were developed by me and our class which include:

• Haptic, the system that deals with touch
• Gustatory/Olfactory, the system that deals with smell and taste.

• Gaining an understanding of Gardner's model and extending it;
• Seeing its application in the analysis of Gardner's seven (11) representative exemplary people;
• Applying the model to other key figures chosen by seminar participants;
• Self-examination of Gardner's model by seminar members.

1. OBJECTIVE OF THE COURSE

The primary objective of this course will be to assist students in constructing a knowledge base to understand Howard Gardner's model of creativity. Hopefully,  this will assist students in understanding the nature of creativity, how it develops in exemplary human beings within the context of a particular historical period (the "modern era"), and how this process relates to their own personal lives, as well as what the implications of this model are for how we, as both educators and students, interact and foster creativity in other individuals. The course should contribute greatly to the understanding of creativity by showing how the development of individual genius interacts with the demands of the task and the opportunities and obstacles offered by the surrounding environment.

2. DESCRIPTION OF HOW THE COURSE WILL BE STRUCTURED.

The course will be divided into three parts. The first portion would focus on readings and discussions of Gardner's book, primarily Chapter's 1+2 where the model is explicated. This theme would be re-opened later in the course when the last two summary chapters have been read. The second portion would focus on each of the seven chapters where the human exemplars (S. Freud, A. Einstein, P. Picasso, I. Stravinsky, T. S. Eliot, M. Graham and M. Gandhi; as well as Darwin, Mozart and Hitler) are presented. The third segment would focus on student contributions where they would make presentations of exemplars whom they have chosen to analyze vis-a-vis the Gardner model. Throughout the course I will also collaborate with an interdisciplinary group of Miami University faculty who will discuss the importance of the key people/theories from their own disciplines: eg., a faculty member from the Physics department will discuss Einstein. Finally, within the context of Gardner's model, each of the seminar participants will engage in a self-examination of their own "gifts/intelligences," and how they expect to develop their talents in the future.

3. TEACHING STRATEGIES.

Throughout this course several "cooperative/collaborative learning" strategies will be used including, the Group Investigation Model (Sharan, 1994), Creative Controversy (Johnson, Johnson, &;Smith, 1988), Think-Pair-Share (Lyman, 1990), Dyadic Essay Confrontations (Sherman, 1988), etc. Several graphic organizers (Bellanca, 1990) will be employed to teach thinking and autonomous knowledge construction within the context of a "cooperative classroom." I will also employ the use of networked Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) using an established ON-LINE DISCUSSION SITE where periodic written "postings" will be made which will require reactions from seminar participants to each other's postings. This element will definitely have participants "critically engaging" each other's minds. Also, this aspect of the class will be completely open and available for inspection throughout the entire class, by everyone in the class, as well as anyone able to access the WWW, including anyone in the Miami Honors program. In this sense, this seminar will be a "sun-shine" class where much of the work generated by seminar participants will be available to the entire campus. While some didactic lecturing will take place, I will intentionally try to avoid this type of instructional delivery as much as possible.

4. ESSENTIAL READINGS, TEXTS AND COURSE MATERIALS.

The primary book which will be required for this seminar will be Howard Gardner's Creating Minds: An Anatomy of Creativity Seen Through the Lives of FREUD, EINSTEIN, PICASSO, STRAVINSKY, ELIOT, GRAHAM, AND GANDHI, (New York: Basics Books, 1993, 464 pages). In addition, Gardner's recent book, The Disciplined Mind (1999) will also be required.  Many additional references will be supplied (put on reserve) from Gardner's (1993) references to biographical and autobiographical citations about the key characters in his book. Since his 1993 book is based on his earlier works, especially Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (New York: Basic books, 1983), this book will also be suggested for further reading.

Additional references strongly related to this class are in the WWW reference site.

5. REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION.

Requirements for this seminar will include the following projects and activities:
 

• [45%] Individual papers in which participants will choose a representative "creative" person whose life and related creations will be analyzed for confirmation or disconfirmation of Gardner's model.  The papers will be up-loaded to a web format where everone can view each participant's paper.  Peer and instructor evaluations of these papers will comprise 50% each for this component.  A "rubric" will be created by the seminar participants that will help guide evaluations of the papers.  Points will be allocated for this assignment and then converted into a propotion.  Previous papers may be viewed at the MI-papers site.  This years papers are available at this site:  THIS YEARS PAPERS
• [25%] TEN (10) weekly postings (REFLECTIONS) and reactions to others's postings (REACTIONS) in the seminar's "On-line Discussion" site will also be required.  This will be like an ongoing "electronic journal" of each members thoughts about the weekly seminar discussions and related activities. This will involve a minumum of 10 Reflections and Reactions.  At the end of the seminar each participant will be required to assemble these postings in a journal-like format and make one last posting which summarizes what they feel they have obtained from the seminar. This will involve considerable "self-evaluation" in light of Gardner's model, especially the "intrapersonal" facet of intelligence.  20 points will be allocated to the 10 cycles of Reflections/Reactions and 5 points to the portfolio-like compilation and summarization/conclusion.
• [30%]  One Group Investigation Model project will be required by each sub-team in the class. The content and focus of these projects will be determined by seminar participant consensus. For example, participants might like to identify seven exemplary people from a different historical period - the Renaissance, the Age of Reason, etc - and attempt an analysis vis-a-vis Gardner's model. Peer evaluations, both outside the group (30%) and within the group (30%), as well as instructor evaluations (40%) would be used here.  Again the seminar paraticipants will create the "rubric" to guide these evaluations.  Some previous Group Investigation papers may be viewd at the GI-papers site.

The following Mastery, or criterion-referenced, grading scale will be applied to the weighted "percentage-like" score:
A+ GE 98 A = 94 - 97.99 A- = 91 - 93.99 B+ = 88 - 90.99 B = 85 - 87.99 B- = 82 - 84.99 C+ = 79 - 81.99 C = 75 - 78.99 C- = 70 - 74.99 D+ = 67 - 69.99 D = 64 - 66.99 D- = 60 - 63.99 F = LT 60

6.  INCOMPLETES AND ATTENDANCE!!:

Any incompletes not made up by the end of the semester will automatically result in an incomplete for the course. Also!!! when the incomplete is made up after the semester is over, regardless of what grade one might have achieved in the class, it will be lowered "one whole letter grade"!!!.
Classroom Attendance will be closely monitored and a maximum of two unexcused absences will be allowed. You will be "docked" TWO whole percentage points from your total percentage score at the end of the class for each unexcused absence starting with the third absence!