Chapter 12: MI Theory and Cognitive Skills

This chapter addresses how the MI theory should be used to memorize material. The concept of a bad memory is too broad. A student can have a poor memory in one intelligence area and a good memory when it comes to material learned in a manner consistent with their strongest intelligence. The part of this chapter that makes me worried about the future of America is that our problem solving skills are below that of other developed nations. To me that is a much more important test than math skills, or reading abilities. Being able to problem solve is essentially being able to think. It doesn’t matter what intelligence you want to use to be able to think through problems, but you have to be able to think through a problem. As a teacher this will be my greatest goal and challenge. I want to teach students to use their heads, I do not care what type of learner they are they need to be able to think and articulate those thoughts in some manner.

Chapter 11: MI Theory and Special Education

This chapter discussed how the multiple intelligence theory applies to special education. Essentially special education has been working on the multiple intelligence theory for years. The idea is that if a child has a learning disability in one area, they might be able to overcome what they are lacking by learning in a different manner. Differentiated instruction has been going on in special education for a much longer period than in the normal classroom. The problem was that people were always focused on what the students can’t do instead of using the MI Theory about what the students can do. In my future classroom if I was truly to buy into the differentiated instruction and learning by design there might not be a need for special education teachers. It seems that all students are now given their own unofficial IEP and that should provide them with the best education our schools can provide.

Chapter 8: MI Theory and Classroom Management

This chapter addresses how the multiple intelligences should be considered during classroom management. It describes how some students might not respond to a certain type of discipline because they are tuned into a different type of intelligence. The chapter does a good job giving ideas for transitions and steps to get the students attention but I question whether or not the methods would work with modern day high school students. The idea of it is valid though and it is up to me to fine tune the methods to cater to the students I will have in my class. Using current music or some more advanced adaptation to the telephone game, like a text message or instant message. I think having strategies to get the students back on track is important but there are probably many new technologies out there that can help me do this.

Chapter 14: MI Theory and Existential Intelligence

This chapter introduces a potential ninth intelligence, existential intelligence. This is basically the deep questions about the meaning of life and why are we here. This is a highly spiritual concept and I will struggle with it in the classroom. The class is supposed to be a safe area for all students, when you start adding spirituality and religious thoughts there are going to be people that are uncomfortable. While the bigger questions in life can probably be tied into all subject areas, I think they are extremely personal thoughts and have no place in a public classroom.

Chapter 13: MI Theory in Other Applications

This chapter explains that multiple intelligences are not a classroom only concept; instead there are areas in the real world that the different intelligences apply. The example that stuck out to me the most is the cultural influences of multiple intelligences. I think the reason that this struck me as important is that I know students will move into my classroom that are not from small town Maine and I will need to be able to accurately assess who the student is and how they learn. Their culture will play a huge part of that. Another area the intelligences are prevalent is computer technology. With the technology advancing as quickly as it is, there is not going to be any excuse for not knowing how technology can help all of my students, no matter what type of learner they are.

Chapter 7: MI Theory and the Classroom Environment

This chapter addresses how important it is to have your room set up to be warm to all the types of intelligences. Just as a poor setting can hurt the learning process a good setting can enhance the learning experience. I like the idea of having areas set up for certain types of learners. There would probably be a way to rotate the types of stations also since a lot of kids will fall into many types of intelligence categories. In my class the only thing I know for sure is that I want tables instead of desks. I think the open space of the table lends itself nicely to a math class so you have room for your calculator, notebook, book, ruler, or anything else that is being used in that days lesson. Other than that I will try to make my room inviting to all students and try to change it up depending on the material we are covering.

Chapter 10 Synthesis

Abstract: The theory of multiple intelligences does not apply simply to learning.
It also makes sense to use many different
ways to assess a students learning. It would not be an accurate assessment of their knowledge if you know you have all types of learners in a class but only gave one type of test. This chapter introduces many different types of assessment tools that are available to accurately gauge your students learning.



Synthesis: The greatest common factor in everyone’s response to this chapter is that teachers need to use different methods to evaluate their students learning other than tests. If a teacher presents material in a certain way they should take that into consideration when they are assessing the same material. Allowing students to demonstrate that they are learning instead of simply seeing if they can answer questions about the material they learned is a powerful way to assess how the student is progressing. Teachers also need to be good at observing their students. Whether this means creating journals that are kept throughout the course or a portfolio of work, the teacher needs to make sure that when they are assessing the students they are taking into consideration all aspects of the class, not just one test.

Chapter 6: MI Theory and Teaching Strategies

This chapter was basically a list of example strategies that a teacher could use for each type of intelligence. Chapters like this are the reason that future teachers should keep their books. When the time comes in a classroom that you are thinking of ways to incorporate a type of intelligence into the lesson, having a book with examples that are supported by evidence of why it is effective, is invaluable. The interesting thing about the example strategies is that a lot of them actually overlap each other so students of different intelligences could be interested using the same activity. One of the strategies that I think is powerful is the discographies; students are usually into some type of music, so if a teacher does this correctly the students would be grabbed by the use of music.

Chapter 5: MI Theory and Teaching Strategies

The fifth chapter of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom is focused on how a teacher can design his/her lesson plans to include all types of learners. One of the important points this chapter makes is that a teacher should use a theme over the course of the year to show how the material they are covering relates to the real world. This will be especially important to a math class. One of the favorite questions of students who do not like math is, “when are we going to use this”. By designing the answer to that question into the lessons, students will begin to understand that math is all around them. Another interesting point in this chapter is the breakdown of a lesson plan. They are showing eight different days spent on one idea, having an activity for each of the intelligences on different days. This seems great in theory but I question how realistic it is to think you are going to cover the same materiel eight different days.

Chapter 10: MI Theory and Assessment

This chapter shows us how the use of different types of assessments fits better to a student’s actual learning than a standardized test does. It argues that if we agree that students all have different types of intelligences then a standardized test would naturally put anyone that is not a written learner at a disadvantage. This is very important in my classroom because the students deserve the chance to showcase what they have learned. It will be difficult to find ways to assess kids in math class that allow them to demonstrate the skills they are learning, but that is a challenge for me. It seems that politically the schools are stuck with standardized tests, but I can still find ways to let my students feel good about what they are learning.

Chapter 4: Teaching Students about MI Theory

The fourth chapter in this book deals with ways to introduce the Multiple Intelligence theory to students. I learned a valuable trick when asking the class questions about what types of intelligences they have. It was suggested to ask questions that are designed to include people. Questions that are only answered by a few students, while the child may have a higher intelligence in that area, can give the other students a built in excuse for not doing work. There were some example activities to introduce the multiple intelligences to the students that would work nicely such as the intelligence treasure hunt.

Chapter 3: Describing Intelligences in Students

The fourth chapter in Armstrong’s Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom described possible ways to determine what kind of intelligences students might have. The area that will stick with me is the idea the other uses almost out of jest. Observing the students when they are misbehaving in class to see what they are doing will give the best assessment of what kind of intelligence they are. There will be students in my class that will be doodling or fidgeting and it is nice to see how I can use this to learn about the student, and revamp my approach to keep them interested. There were a lot of other ideas such as, asking another teacher about the student, asking their parents, and asking the student. The best assessment will be observing the student when they are not aware they are being assessed to see what their natural tendencies are.

Chapter 2: MI Theory and Personal Development

The main point I am taking away from chapter 2 is that I need to assess my intelligences and know where I am strong or lacking. In areas that I might not be strong in I should ask other teachers or even the students for ideas on ways to appeal to the students that are strong in that intelligence area. I tried to come up with a turning point of why I am a physical intelligence but I think if they exist they are not always something you would remember. As a teacher I think the important part to remember from this chapter is that I could be a student’s paralyzing factor. It is my goal to never to anything bad to a kid that would make them forever scared of math, and maybe if I am engaging enough I can be a positive turning point for some students.

Chapter 1: The Foundations of MI Theory

This chapter was good to read because it provided me with the background of the Multiple Intelligences according to Gardner. One of the main points I will take to the class from this chapter is that all intelligences are in everybody. Also the fact that doing a task that is specific for one type of intelligence will most often use other intelligences as well is good to remember. Those ideas mean that lessons can be designed with many types of options that will allow all individuals a way to relate to the information and help them understand. I found it interesting that Gardner did not want the intelligences to be confused as learning styles. It is a very easy assumption to make that they will go hand in hand but maybe there are times when the two parts of a person will not work together.