Chapter 3- Multiple Intelligences: Describing Intelligences in Students.

This chapter revolves around how to dig deeper into the issue of how to best access the multiple intelligences of the students. This chapter also discusses the idea that every person is capable of increasing their proficiency in their own multiple intelligences. It provides an insight on how teachers and parents can get involved within their child's' life and reinforce certain multiple intelligences as well as recognize which multiple intelligences they are already proficient with.
The best ways to assess the students’ multiple intelligences are to observe them, how they behave or misbehave within class, as well as observe them outside of class but within the school setting. There are also several other ways to get an assessment information about students’ multiple intelligences such as collecting documents, reviewing school records such as their grades over the years or test scores. Other strategies to review students in general as well as their learning is to talk with other teachers, to talk with parents, and set up special activities which enhance their intelligences as well as using reinforcements around the room. Talking with parents is beneficial because they can then come to future parent-teacher meetings with a better understanding and additional information about that student that can be useful for the teacher. Asking the students themselves is the best way to understand them because no one will know them better than themselves. Learning ways to understand and work on the different multiple intelligences can help to create a better learning atmosphere and a better work ethic. This chapter also reinforces the idea that teachers need to get to know their students very well in order to help them succeed not only with their academics but with their everyday lives. Learning how you learn is a valuable tool to any student as well as the teacher.


Overall, many people agreed that this chapter gave further insight into the application of MI and how to identify the different intelligences. This chapter allowed many people to truly understand how to describe multiple intelligences as well as improve on the different them. This approach was seen as a way that can help motivate the students and ultimately help them to become better learners. This chapter really enhances the idea that student's can also take education into their hands and enhance their own learning. This chapter reveals that being a hands on teacher is vital to a student's learning.

Chapter 3 What Really Matters In Learning? (Content)

This chapter touches on many things that we have been doing in Dr. Grace's class. It starts with the difference between standards that are too specific, standards that are too vague and the effect both of them have on student learning. Textbooks are one of the causes of information overload. Some teachers forget that they are in business for students to master concepts, not to just cover material. In order to be a responsive teacher, we must not use the textbook as a road map for our content. Backwards design is what we have been working on exclusively in class. It consists of three stages. They are: identify desired results, determine acceptable evidence and plan learning experiences and instruction. Backwards design starts with the standards, how they are going to meet those standards, and what they are going to do to prove it. Backwards design focuses on big ideas, essential questions and meeting standards. This is the opposite of activity-based learning, which starts out with an activity, or the assessment, then ends with achieving and discovering goals that fit.

Overwhelmingly, everyone found this chapter pretty helpful because it related directly to what we were doing in class. You liked to see the importance and the clarification of the template that we have been using (what it actually means to use backwards design). Everyone was supportive of backwards design. Many of you shared experiences of having teachers that did or did not use backwards design. People who had teachers that used backwards design, noticed that they were very effective teachers. People who had teachers that did not use backwards design, noticed that they were using the text book very inefficiently. It is not a road map but a source for supplemental information, especially with today’s technology. Teachers that did fun but pointless activities were frustrating because there was no purpose.

MI-Chapter 4: Teaching Students About MI Theory

Chapter 4 is based on how to present multiple intelligences to students and how to utilize them in the classroom. The best approach in the reading on how to teach the students multiple intelligences is to simply explain it to the students. By utilizing simple concepts to explain even small children can understand. For instance instead of attempting to explain linguistic the teacher can explain it as being 'word smart'. This link proves that the push is on for a comprehensive idea of where a child's intelligences lie. This type of concept might also work well in the classrooms where english is taught as a second language.
One way to provide additonal emphasis to the students would be to have a career day where the parents come into the class and discuss what they do for a living. The students would then have to decide which of the intelligences the parents utilize in their jobs. A good visual representation of the MI concept is the pizza chart which would show the various intelligences are separated by their names, but together combine to make a whole object. A way to connect multiple intelligences from the various students is with a field trip that would play to the strengths of the students.

The ability of the student to recognize their own intelligences, both strong and weak, can assist the teacher in their ability to develop lesson plans that encompass all of the eight intelligences. The benefit can also come in the way of better performance on tests and homework assignments as the students are more aware of what works best for them when it comes time to study. By identifying their own intelligences students and family can find activities or games that incorporate the various intelligences as a way to increase the weak areas while continuing to work on the strong areas. As we continue to develop our own comfort level with the MI theory while we are students we also need to continue working on how to encorporate these theories in each of our classrooms.

http://surfaquarium.com/MI/inventory.htm
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/mi/index.html

Chapter 4 of Ubd/DI: What Really Matters In Planning For Student Success

Abstract: This chapter discusses the importance of incorporating differentiated instruction into the curriculum and how to be a successful teacher. There are two important concepts to being a successful teacher, curriculum and structure/instruction. These two aspects to teaching need to be uniquely balanced and mastered by the teacher to offer a plan for student success. Being able to have a powerful curriculum allows students to have a better chance of understanding the material. Most teachers would agree that differentiated instruction is the best way to create a responsive teaching/learning environment. Responsive teaching is when the teacher analyzes’ a student to be able to teach to a students strengths. Also the curriculum should focus on the important concepts of a unit and allow all students to become engaged with the material. The following are nine skills/attitudes that teachers should use to effectively teach:

• Have a clear curriculum
• Accept responsibility for the student success in school
• Create a respectful environment
• Talk and share with other about multiple intelligences
• Have well developed classroom management
• Help students
• Have flexibility
• Use a variety of instructional strategies (example; Jigsaw)
  
• Reflect on student progress

The chapter goes a step further in describing these skills/attitudes by offering examples of each in the classroom.

Class Reflection: There were many different views and concepts each student in the class discussed in their reflections. The following is a compilation that gives the general consensus of the class’ thoughts on this chapter. The main concepts in this chapter offer a way for teachers to effectively convey the material. Also the concepts of this chapter, mainly the nine skills/attributes closely parallel the MEL theory. The act of teaching is using concepts, like ones discussed in the chapter, and applying them to one’s teaching method/style and constantly refining and adapting to the effectiveness of the teaching. The two most popular concepts discussed are for a teacher to be flexible and establish goals with the students. These both allow students to be the focal point of a lesson opposed to the lesson plan, students come first.