The Voyages of the Mimi

Research and Development of the Mimi

What was the pedagogical problem this Electronic Learning Environment was trying to solve?

In 1981, The United States Department of Education was concerned about the growing disinterest in math and science, particularly among upper elementary girls and minority children. A call was made for proposals that would help spark interest in math and science for these groups. Sam Gibbon was the director of Math and Science at the Bank Street College of Education. Gibbon had been the producer of Captain Kangaroo, Sesame Street, The Electric Company and 3-2-1 Contact. He already knew the value a the dramatic story format over other kinds of television programs. He and his colleagues wrote a proposal to develop a scientific drame based on whales with non typical images of science and scientists. The Department of Education liked the proposal and awarded them a 2.65 million dollar contract to develop these integrated materials.

Other Research

Scardamalia and Bereiter (1994) argue that schools should not ignore the social processes, structures and dynamics involved in knowledge building communities that occur outside the schools. Schools can and should be restructured to be like the scientific knowledge building community. Using the Voyages gives students and teachers the opportunity to experience a knowledge building community and participate in meaningful discourse. Through the efforts of groups of teachers implementing this ELE in their classrooms and sharing their experiences with other classrooms via the World Wide Web, the knowledge building community can expand beyond the classroom walls.

The Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (1990) argue that anchored instruction provides a shared environment for a community of learners to experience the kinds of problems that the concepts and principles that are being learned were designed to help solve. When people learn new information in the context of meaningful experiences, they are more likely to see that new information as a useful tool and they understand the conditions that makes that information useful. This will help avoid the problem of inert knowledge , knowledge that might be recalled when asked for, but is not used spontaneously when solving problems. The Voyage of the Mimi provides anchored instruction.

Tinker and Papert (1989) have done research on the micro-computer based laboratory (MBL) that uses a microcomputer equipped with software, probes and sensors to measure temperature, sound, light and pressure. They have found that because of "the dynamic nature of real-time applictions, students learned the conventions of graphing very quickly in MBL applications, and, as a consequence, the students learned how to interpret graphs." Whales and Their Environment and Scuba Science are software and hardware components that include a micro-computer based lab. Tinker and Papert see the micro-computer based lab as

"...one of the most promising new developments in science instruction that emerging technologies have enabled. With appropriate hardware and software, the micro-computer based laboratory gives students unprecedented power to explore, measure, and learn from the material environment. This power enables the earlier and more thorough treatment of science topics while also fostering process goals. Constructionist use of MBL could show the way to substantially reorganized and revitalized science curricula in which more science was covered much earlier in ways that increased both content and an appreciation of the process of science."

Brasell (1987) argues that real time graphing allows learners to process infornation about the event and the graph simultaneously rather than sequentially. Short term, working memory is limited in capacity, retention and rate of transfer to long term memory. Real time graphing allows a rapid cognitive link of the event to the point on the graph representing that event within short term memory, increasing the chance the linked information is transfered to long term memory as a single unit.

Research continues to explore how people learn. One of the new approaches is Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences. In 1983, he published Frames of Mind . He describes seven faculties people possess that work alone or with other faculties in the process of learning. He calls these faculties "Intelligences". These intelligences are:

  1. Musical Intelligence

    This child likes to sing, hum tunes, listen to music, and play an instrument. Is good at picking up sounds, remembering melodies, noticing pitches/rhythms, and keeping time. Learns best through rhythm, melody and music.

  2. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence

    This child likes to move around, touch and talk, and use body language. Is good at physical activities such as sport/dance/acting and crafts. Learns best by touching, moving, interacting with space, and processing knowledge through bodily sensations.

  3. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

    This child likes to do experiments, figure things out, work with numbers, ask questions, explore patterns and relationships. Is good at math, reasoning, logic and problem solving. Learns best by categorizing, classifying and working with abstract patterns/relationships.

  4. Linguistic Intelligence

    This child likes to read, write and tell stories. Is good at memorizing names, places, dates and trivia. Learns best by saying, hearing and seeing words.

  5. Spatial Intelligence

    This child likes to draw, build, design and create things; daydream; look at pictures; watch movies; and play with machines. Is good at imagining things, sensing changes, mazes and puzzles, and reading maps and charts. Learns best by visualizing, dreaming, using the mind's eye, and working with colors/pictures.

  6. Interpersonal Intelligence

    This child likes to have lots of friends, talk to people and join groups. Is good at understanding people, leading others, organizing, communicating, manipulating, and mediating conflicts. Learns best by sharing, comparing, relating, cooperating and interviewing.

  7. Intrapersonal Intelligence

    This child likes to work alone and pursue own interests. Is good at understanding self; focusing inward on feelings/dreams; following instincts; pursuing interests/goals; and being original. Learns best by working alone, having individualized projects and self-paced instruction, and having own space.
The Voyages of the Mimi Program gives teachers many ideas to teach students in ways that are consistent to Howard Gardner's theory.
Voyages of the Mimi | The First Voyage | The Second Voyage

Standards and Reform | Implementation | Critique | References