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Multiple Intelligence School (Fiji)
The Multiple Intelligence School is a not-for-profit, private school based in the capital of the Fiji Islands, Suva. It encompasses both primary and secondary education. It is recognised by the Fiji government’s Ministry of Education.

It came about because of a perceived need to offer a different type of educational experience that was based more on the principles of either Montessori, or Steiner progressive educational principles and which incorporated the underlying concepts of the theory of Multiple Intelligences. Initial planning started in July of 2007 and the doors were first opened to 13 original students, in January 2008.

Since then it has grown to approximately 140 students and has moved three times to accommodate the growth in student numbers.

Educational Aims
Children will be lifelong learners if they are to survive and thrive in the the future world. The pace of change is so fast, that the Multiple Intelligence School strives to turn children into effective life long learners.

There is no school motto but the school has strong secular values that it wants to instil in children. One of them is to become a socially and environmentally responsible citizen. The other is to have a sense of self awareness that enables children to feel that they are able to contribute to whatever sphere of influence they choose is appropriate for them.

These are ‘holistic’ outcomes and are often harder to quantify compared to traditional educational establishments.

Educational Practices
Classes have a small teacher to student ratio (1:15). Like Waldorf-Steiner education, teachers will often remain with a class for a number of years, particularly in primary education.

Secondary school students tend to be left more to create and follow their own timetable. Teachers are a ‘resource’ as are student text books or the internet.

Overall the school espouses a philosophy that suggest that actually one absolutely should ‘teach to the test’, however, the test need not be, and often times should not be a paper and pencil test. Testing, or assessment is supposed to be an exercise that allows the student and the teacher to consider whether effective learning has occurred, rather than trying to rank or order children from ‘highest’ to ‘lowest’ scoring.

Criterion assessment or benchmark assessment is considered far superior to normally adjusted assessment (following a bell curve distribution).

No student is ever asked to do or perform something that the teachers are not fully prepared to try and do themselves.

Teachers are encouraged to undertake further educational studies up to at least masters level, but the masters does not need to be specifically in ‘education’, it can be any discipline of interest.

Use of Multiple Intelligence Theory in the Classroom
The theory of Multiple Intelligences is used as a way of asking questions about the teaching and learning that occurs at school. It is not considered a pedagogy or a curriculum. There are a number of different ways that it is used and this follows the work of Susan Baum et al that highlighted different approaches that can be used. For instance students may have a preferred way of understanding or interacting with the world, and this might be a better avenue to pursue if a ‘conventional’ approach to teaching a subject does not appear to work. For instances a students who likes to move their body a lot, might understand geographic locations far better if they place cones or other markers on a large piece of ground and have to walk, run or hop and dance between them; in contrast to information that is either described with figures, or displayed on a map.

Unique features of the Multiple Intelligence School
The school believes that field trips tend to be highly effective ways of consolidating learning, particularly the more holistic and integrated approach to learning that this school uses. Children in Year 5 go on a week long trip to a remote Fijian village where the vast majority of the spoken language is Fijian. This is the children’s second language that they learn for the first 5 years at the school.

Children in year 8 go on a 3-5 weeks field trip to the Polynesian outlying island of Rotuma that is in the north of the Fiji group of islands. It takes two and a half days by boat to get there. Whilst there children are also surrounded by native speakers that speak Rotuman which is their second language that they study between the years 6-8.

All the children are expected to participate in the John Muir Award in at least the ‘Discovery Award’.

The Multiple Intelligence School has a strong swimming programme but it is based on survival swimming rather than competitive swimming. Children must learn how to tread water effectively; demonstrate shallow water entries, be able to duck dive, and be able to swim under water for significant lengths holding their breath. Once a year children experience the open waters outside of the swimming pool where they are assessed for their confidence in open ocean with significant waves, and in a river which has a significant current.

There is an end of year Revue/Review which is a school based performance but which all acts must audition for. The teaching staff is also required to present an item and they too have to audition. Classes and the teachers themselves have not made it through the audition which looks for excellence in performance (rather than just participating). The annual performance has been live streamed since 2014.

Physical education has a focus on establishing good habits for children to do physical exercises in functional strength, aerobic exercise and mobility in order to guard against non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in middle and mature years.

Team sports are considered an arena in which to learn about strategic thinking.