Chapter 5: MI and Curriculum Development

Abstract

Chapter five discusses the history of MI theory, which is by no means a completely new idea and can be found in the history of the Greeks. A study conducted by John Goodlad found that 70% of the time students spend in school is occupied by the teacher talking to or at the students. To change this, teachers can expand their techniques and tools from the basic linguistic and logical teaching styles to meet the remaining intelligences, and they need to know how to teach to different students in the classroom. It is acceptable for a teacher to stand in front of the class and lecture, but it may become a problem when this is done too often. Not many students learn in this style anyway, so teachers can offer a variety of other ways to combine linguistic teaching with the remaining seven intelligences. MI can also be used in many different types of classrooms. Some examples of using linguistic intelligence in teaching would be lectures, books, worksheets, word games, sharing games, or storytelling. Examples of logical-mathematical intelligence are scientific demonstrations, creating codes, logic puzzles and games, or science thinking. The methods of MI teaching with spatial intelligence include photography, art appreciation, videos, slides, and movies. These ideas and methods also continue for the remaining intelligences. The author gives some examples of planning sheets for developing a curriculum around MI theory. The seven steps for creating lesson plans using MI theory as a framework are: Focus on a specific objective or topic, Ask key MI questions, Consider the possibilities, Brainstorm, Select appropriate activities, Set up a sequential plan, and Implement the plan.

Reflection

Many of us in the class thought it was interesting that the idea of multiple intelligences has been around for so long, yet we are just now using the MI theory, and it seems to be less of an original idea. MI classrooms do exist, but they may be referred to in different terms. We also thought that lecturing for 70% of the time students are in a classroom was using too much time in a linguistic teaching style, and we need to work on changing that. As stated in the abstract, teachers do not need to change all teaching habits such as lecturing, but they need to give students the opportunity to learn the way they learn best. Also, one can take a traditional linguistics approach of teaching and translate it into the other intelligences. We all agreed that the seven steps for creating lesson plans under MI theory will be helpful, as well as the charts and lists for teaching with multiple intelligences in the classroom. With this planning students will be exposed to a variety of education activities, which address each of the eight multiple intelligences. It is good to know that there are no standard guidelines to follow, but if it doesn’t work the first time then don’t do it again.

Chapter 6 MI and Teaching Stratagies

This chapter is about teaching strategies for the multiple intelligences. This chapter takes an in depth look at how to teach each one and then goes into depth about each teaching strategy. They included teaching strategies from elementary school to middle school and high school. The teaching strategies not only help the students but the teacher as well. Linguistic intelligence is very easy to develop strategies for. Storytelling is a great strategy for linguistic. To use storytelling you need to list the essential facts you want to convey through the story. Storytelling tells the students ideas, concepts, and goals that you want to cover but tells them in a way that they will remember. Others include journal writing, publishing, brain storming, and tape recording. For mathematical/logical intelligence there are also several teaching strategies they gave. One is Socratic questioning. This is when the teacher does not tell the students the information but rather asks questions and joins in on their conversations. The teacher is the questioner. Others are classification and categorizations, calculations and quantifications, heuristics, and science thinking. These should not be restricted to only math and science subjects. For spatial intelligence one of the ideas is visualization. Having students close their eyes and make a picture in their minds of what is being taught. A good way to do this is to have them create a mental blackboard in their minds. Many believe that this only has to do with writing. Other examples are color cues, graphic symbols, idea sketching, and picture metaphors. For kinesthetic learners one key strategy is a classroom theater. This allows students to move around and have a good time. It can be just a goofy fun short thing or a play that involves preparation and is formal. Others include, body answers, hands-on thinking, kinesthetic concepts, and body maps. Kinesthetic strategies are often overlooked. Musical intelligence has a few cool ideas as well. It is often overshadowed with other intelligences that are more common in traditional education. One for musical intelligence is putting information from a lecture or presentation into a song. Create a song out of what you are teaching. For example, if I were teaching a math equation I might make up a rap or a beat to the equation. Other ideas are discographies, super memory music, musical concepts, and mood music. It is very important for students to learn to work with others. For interpersonal intelligence a student could play board games. These games teach the students the information but they are also able to interact with each other which helps interpersonal learners. Other ideas are peer sharing, cooperative groups, people sculptures, and simulations. Intrapersonal teaching strategies are mentioned as well. One of them is called personal connections. It is when the teacher asks questions that can relate to the students lives. Questions that make the students think about how something relates to their lives. Some students really need time to themselves. Other examples for intrapersonal include choice time, personal connections, one-minute reflection periods, feeling toned moments, and goal-setting sessions. The final intelligence is naturalist. For a naturalist, one of the teaching strategies the chapter gives is bringing plants into the classroom. You can use them as props for background scenery. Not only can you bring nature into the classroom but you could also go on nature walks. To bring nature into the classroom you could also use windows, have a pet in the classroom, or do an eco-study.
The teaching strategies that they introduced in this chapter were really interesting and very creative. Most people in the class got a lot of information out of this chapter and want to use it as a reference in the future. Before this chapter many people in our class did not know many ways to teach for all of the eight intelligences, especially naturalist. Some people thought that some of the ideas and concepts were repeated from previous chapters but everybody got some new ideas to use in the classroom. We all liked how they listed the ways you can teach for each intelligence because it becomes a reference to go back to when we are teaching. Some people related these ways of teaching to their personal lives or their experiences throughout high school or middle school. This chapter helped us all consider how to be a successful teacher for every intelligence in the classroom.

Chapter 6: Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design

Abstract:
Teachers must eventually begin teaching the unit they have been designing. This chapter will help teachers deal with different strategies to help guide them as they try to implement Understanding by Design into their own classroom. Some of the strategies mentioned in this chapter are: students need to make connections in the classroom on their own, students need opportunities to learn the basics and opportunities to apply them in meaningful ways, post and review the essential questions that will be gone over in the unit, and sharing the standards and desired outcome with the students. We must understand that differentiated teaching is both structured and improvisational. We must develop lesson plans and manage our time in the classroom as best as possible yet understand that one can only be prepared for so much. Flexibility can be used in many different ways throughout a classroom such as: time, space, resources, student groupings, and partnerships. One of the ways to help with flexibility is by clustering. Instead of creating an individualized lesson plan for each student that is in the classroom the teacher can instead cluster students’ needs together in order to make things more manageable. Responsive teachers become great at recognizing student patterns that require adjustment in instruction to meet specific goals. It is also important to try and relate the understandings in a way that will keep the students interested and wanting to learn more. This will also help with the students being able to bring their knowledge into the real world. In this chapter we also go over the RAFT model which will help touch upon different categories for a learner. Management routines are also very important in the classroom. As a teacher you are usually the sole supervisor against overwhelming odds. As long as the teacher asks themselves questions about how they are effectively managing the classroom then the teacher will always be prepared and in control of the classroom. Developing instructional plans using these techniques supports maximum growth for all learners. We also learn of the substitution method that can be applied in times where one has the time to implement it. Instead of adding to an already poor lesson plan, one should instead substitute the poor lesson plan with a much better one. The rest of the chapter is devoted almost entirely to table and figures that help address the bullet points of the chapter, from selecting supporting strategies to asking important management questions to yourself.

Summary
To most of the class this chapter really helped them quiet some of the doubts that they may have had at this point in their careers. Be it for helping them plan a curriculum or lesson plan, or to kelp keep things in order with the students and themselves. While not much was mentioned from the four pages of graphs and charts in the abstract section, nearly everyone in the summary made a reference to them and their impact. Some students felt a certain statement hit them stronger than most from the chapter. “differentiated classrooms are developed to ensure all students have access to high-quality and meaning-focused curriculum”. Many of us thought that it was weird that many of the question that we have been asking ourselves were sitting there waiting for us in the text. Even though the text stated that their were no right answers to these questions in was calming to know that we were not the only ones who had ever felt this way or wanted to ask these questions. Many of the questions listed were helpful for us because we never would have been able to think of them ourselves. Three of us found the analogy of learning being like sports where you learn/drill something even though you cannot see why or how it will be used later on. Yet, once the time comes and you are fully prepared for the challenge you immediately understand why the teacher/coach made you do them in the first place.

Chapter 2: MI and Personal Development

Abstract

In this chapter, the first thing we are told is that before applying any model of learning in a classroom environment, we should first apply it to ourselves first. If we do not fully understand something when we first start using it in the classroom we will not only not fully understand how to teach it but we will later lose fluency from not having a complete competence in the intelligence we are trying to use. As teachers we should experiment on ourselves before trying anything in the classroom. We must know how we learn best in order to teach as well as you can. Ideally right in this chapter there is a multiple intelligence inventory for adults. The book says repeatedly that there is no standardized test to definitively answer exactly where each of your eight intelligences are. Each test that is out there is quick way to give you a rough idea of where your strengths and weaknesses are. It is always a good idea to know what kind of intelligences you are strong in because that is an intelligence you do not have to further develop for teaching. Luckily there are many options available to you if you are lower than you want in certain intelligences. Some of the options at your feet are: seeking help from a colleague who is especially high in a certain intelligence, using available technology such as CD recordings, videotapes, calculators, or computer, also one can use the kids themselves for help with drawing on the board, providing a musical background or sharing their own knowledge in an area. Some people may not need to develop a certain intelligence at all and it will still remain relatively high for them throughout their lives but for the average person, each of the eight intelligences are constantly changing throughout their lives. There are three major factors that come into play that will effect how far each of your intelligences develop: biological endowment, personal life history, and cultural and historical background. Your biological endowment is your hereditary or genetic factors and injuries to the brain before, during, and after birth. In other words, these are the cards you were dealt. The other two factors are more about your environment than your biological being. Almost every person you know or have spent extensive time around has changed how your intelligences have awakened or developed. Even where you live and what is going on around you will develop your intelligences differently. If you were born and raised in a small town with neighbors that live miles away will naturally develop your intrapersonal intelligence much more than that of someone who has always lived in the bustling city atmosphere. Throughout ones life one will unknowingly experience crystallizing and paralyzing factors. Crystallizing helps intelligences develop and can be thought of as “turning points”. During times of crystallization the intelligence takes off and experiences high and quick growth. On the other hand, a paralyzing factor is where a intelligence is lowered or shuts down temporally due to many different experiences. Usually this will happen at times of humiliation or extreme duress. We can adapt any classroom to fit in with all the types of intelligence we would expect in a classroom. By doing this we can promote flexibility and variety in the classroom. There are many different resources available to you as a teacher to put to use. While it is almost impossible to have an extremely high aptitude in every intelligence, it is imperative though to at least understand each one.

Reflection

As a whole we were all very interested on how to heighten each of our own intelligences so we could do the best we can at teaching. While a lot of us had some worries about how we were going to implement each of the eight learning styles, after reading the chapter we learned of multiple ways to get support through resources. Pooling all of our resources will make everything that much easier. Some of us had already learned about multiple intelligences in either an earlier education class or through psychology so a lot of different theories were brought up. Some believe that developing intelligences is more nurture than nature, others believed that nature vs. nature is even when it comes to developing intelligences, and some said that the testing is essentially flawed because the answers may differ just from what time of day or what day it is when they took the test. Most of us have decided that we will make changes based mostly on the students imput. If a project or area does not go over as smoothly as planned, it has to be assumed as our fault, not the students. Depending on how the students participated and took to the section will determine what changes we make to our teaching style and presentation. It was almost unanimous that the best way to test a theory is to experiment with it in the classroom. From there we can properly apply it and take a look at it from afar to see what, if any, changes need to be made. Most importantly, this chapter made us re-think how we are going to teach.

Chapter 1: The Foundations of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Abstract

The theory of Multiple Intelligence was proposed by Howard Gardner because there was previously only one other way of measuring intelligence, known as the IQ test. Howard Gardner believed that there was more than one form of intelligence, and created the multiple intelligence tests. The eight intelligences of this theory include: Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalist. Someone who mainly uses linguistic intelligence uses words effectively, orally, and in writing. A logical-mathematical person has the capacity to use numbers effectively and to reason well. Someone who uses the spatial intelligence has the ability to perceive the visual-spatial world accurately, and someone who uses the kinesthetic intelligence has expertise in using one’s whole body to express ideas and feeling. A musical intelligent person has the capacity to perceive, discriminate, transform, and express musical forms. An interpersonal intelligence relates to the intentions, motivations, and feelings of other people. Intrapersonal intelligence requires self-knowledge and the ability to act adaptively on the basis of knowledge, and a naturalist intelligence shows expertise in distinguishing among members of a species. There is the possibility that there are more intelligences other than the eight listed, and this shows that the MI Theory is not perfect. Gardner followed eight guidelines to make sure the MI theory is measuring intelligences and not just aptitudes, skills, or talents. These include: potential isolation from brain damage, the existence of savants, prodigies, and other exceptional individuals, a distinct history of development and a set of “End-State" performances, an evolutionary history and evolutionary plausibility, support from psychometric findings, support from experimental psychological tasks, an identifiable core operation or set of operations, and susceptibility to encoding in a symbol system. Savants are people who have a particular intelligence at which they excel in, but below average ability in other intelligences. One important point in Gardner’s theory is that all people have, and can adequately develop, the eight intelligences. No intelligence acts by itself; it is a combination of other intelligences where only one might get all the credit. The difference between Gardner and other theories is that his is based upon a person’s actual intelligence not just their learning style.

Reflection

Chapter one provided an overview of the Multiple Intelligence Theory. Many of us were already familiar with the MI theory through other psychology and education classes. We noted that the intelligences had to meet specific criteria before they were considered in the theory, and the theory may not be complete yet. It was exciting to look at the connection between the brain and the eight intelligences because they all use different parts of the brain. Most of us in the class thought it was interesting how each type of intelligence could work together because everyone uses a variety of the intelligences. We will all have a classroom where students will be using the eight types of intelligences, and as teachers we will need to fulfill the needs of our students. We will also need to know how to teach to all of the multiple intelligences through numerous activities, projects, and lessons. Some of the class realized that we will have to branch out from our own dominate intelligence to reach all of the students’ intelligences. Teachers can encourage students to find out which ways they learn best and to develop those intelligences in school assignments and activities. The best part of this theory is that it acknowledges all different kinds of learners, not just those who are regarded as “book smart”.

Chapter 1 An Essential Partnership

Abstract

In this chapter the book introduces Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction. Understanding by Design is deals with deals with the curriculum or the information that is given to the student. It focuses on how the material is taught. Differentiated Instruction deals with who a teacher is teaching and where the teacher is teaching the students. It deals with the environment of the classroom. This chapter talks about the importance of combining these two approaches and how one is not the same without the other. When these are combined they allow maximum learning for all students. These models need to be balanced. In the classroom there is a need for the same amount of both. The first Axiom in the chapter deals with the idea that a curriculum needs to deepen student’s understandings of the material. Even though all of the students are different, it is the teacher’s job to deepen the understanding of every student. Axiom two says that students learn at different rates and at different times. When students are able to apply what they have learned to special situations it shows that they have actually understood the material. This will come at different rates. Axiom three deals with all learners, struggling learners, and advanced learners. Every student should learn from the curriculum. Struggling learners should focus on only the information that is essential to them and that should be straightforward. Advanced learners can be challenged by finding the essential information. Axiom four says that teachers need to constantly review the curriculum and make essential changes when necessary. They need to make sure the curriculum they set out to teach is actually working. After the subject matter is reviewed the curriculum should be changed and flexible according to the abilities of the student. Axiom five suggests that just knowing the information is not enough. All students should be challenged to think in deep and meaningful ways. Teachers should provide various opportunities to explore, shift perspectives, interpret, apply, empathize, and self-assess. Axiom six talks about how technology can be a useful tool in the classroom when used in the right way. Finally, axiom seven says that Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction are simply ways of thinking. They are not rules but ideas and should be used in a flexible way. All of these axioms and corollaries had an example of a teacher doing these things in real life. From this chapter you were able to see what integrating these two concepts would look like in a classroom. Combining these two concepts allow students to learn as much as they possibly can in ways that are beneficial to them. Students are able to be successful when combining these. When dealing with any kind of professions no matter what the field is the person must follow current knowledge (like the content) but also focus on the needs of the clients (the students). Teachers need to be able to adapt to the needs of their students. One curriculum that is strictly followed and applied in one way does not meet the needs of all students in the class.

Reflection

The class really liked the idea of Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction being put together to make a really effective teaching strategy. This chapter really introduced what these concepts were and hot they can be implemented. It gave the class new ideas on how to integrate what they have to teach and a way to teach it so all students can understand. It is something that all students should know and incorporate into the classroom. Many thought it was obvious how important those ideas were. Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design were clear to those who had never heard about it before or who did not really understand what they meant. You can use these designs for any type of class and they really emphasize teaching to different types of learners. A lot of people liked how the different designs had to go together or they would not work. The scenarios were good because it gave an example how the axioms really worked and how they could be applied to the classroom. These models give some people hope that education will not be based on standardized tests but rather on deep understanding and application. These two models are essentially ideas that some people have had in their minds but not known how to express. Although most people found this chapter to be helpful, some people were confused about the axioms and corollaries even with the example of Mr. Axelt. One felt that they would have to be in class with Mr. Axelt to experience what he was doing. The written descriptions were not enough. Axiom seven was good because it stated that this method is a way of thinking and it can be changed. People liked that it was not just a set of rules. Most people want to follow these guidelines when teaching a class. They like the ideas and how they focus on not just the “what” of teaching, but the “who” and “how” of teaching as well.