5 Minds for the Future by Howard Gardner has been very insightful reading for me, as a music teacher. Chapter 3 talks about the synthesizing mind. Gardner proposes that the mind that will be most needed in the twenty first century will be the mind that can synthesize. He is not suggesting that left brain thinker (logical, sequential, linear, text, memorizes, SAT, spreadsheets) will become obselete. However, Gardner, like Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind, believes that left brain skills alone will not be enough. The twenty first century mind will need to have right brain attributes ( artistic, synthesis, empathetic, analytical, contextual, the big picture) as well, in order to make it in this fast growing technological world. The ability to use the right brain skills will be the skills that matter the most.
Just at Pink indicated in his book, Gardner points out the competetiveness we will face in the future global market due to Asia, abundance and automation. It's as if all past education is becoming obsolete. There is such an abundance of information and knowledge swarming around in cyberspace that every two to three years, more and more knowledge is being discovered and communicated. Gardner and Pink seem to agree that people who continue to do routine things in routine ways will not have any place in the future workforce or in society.
From what I can see in the classroom, the synthesizing mind will allow students to put knowledge and concepts together in a way that will make sense to them. If I can put the concepts in a way students can understand it or find some meaning in it, the students will be able to retain it in a lasting and meaningful way. They will then be able to communicate the concepts to others. In a sense, they will take ownership of it.
I am currently attempting to do this with my action research project. The action research is allowing me to reflect on my teaching practices. I have decided to try to attack intonation with my students. This is an area that many of my students struggle with. I am seriously looking at the research and other strategies and practices that my students will embrace and take ownership of so that they can get to the point of synthesis. I have been correcting the same students with the same issues all year long. It's time for a new approach. I'll let you know how it goes.
I like the way you made connections between Gardner and Pink. Interested to see how you will go about your identified area in your action research. Do you have a plan or solution for improving intonation - and how will you implement this and test how effective it is? But we can bounce about ideas in class on Saturday.
ReplyDeleteThanks to you and the other class members, I now have a more focused plan of how I am going to implement my action research. Originally, I had too much I was trying to do and show with my research project. Now that I have narrowed it down, I am much clearer on what I will do and how I will compare the data. I have already put steps for improving intonation into action. Can't wait to see what the results will be.
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