MI+B2+Chapter+7

= = toc

Abstract
How a classroom is arranged can aid or hinder the many different learners that are in there. Chapter seven of the //Multiple Intelligences// talks about one of the simplest ways to organize a class in order reach all of your students with the different intelligences; activity centers. Armstrong talks about the four different activity centers that a teacher could implement in his or her classroom; the permanent open-ended activity center, the temporary open-ended activity center, the permanent topic-specific activity center, and the temporary topic-specific activity center. The permanent open-ended center is a center that is in the classroom all year long, like a reading nook or art area. The temporary open-ended center is something resembling the permanent open-ended center but can be taken down and setup quickly. Games involving the multiple intelligences are the best ways to accomplish this activity. The most practical of the four centers is the temporary topic-specific centers. These centers change frequently as the unit or lessons change. These centers tend to be activities dealing with the eight intelligences that focus on a certain topic. The final center is the permanent topic-specific center. These centers are typically used in a classroom setting where there is a yearlong theme and the activities can change with the different lessons pertaining to the theme.

[|Mykayla Synthesis]
This chapter presented some [|ideas] that most of us have never even thought of. The idea of the classroom arrangement had never occurred to many of us as an important aspect to teaching effectively. The [|activity centers] were mentioned seem like excellent ways to use the environment of a class to encourage learning. Coming up with centers for a lesson could be difficult, but coming up with these centers is as easy as searching on the Internet for [|starter ideas].

Kirsten
This chapter helps the reader to start thinking of her classroom as a sort of MI haven. The first part gets us thinking of how we can make things comfortable for the intelligences. Certain suggestions brought things to my attention that I hadn't really thought of before, or at least not in the context of MI. Like, under bodily-kinesthetic, the question of whether or not students get healthy snacks or "well-designed" breakfasts and lunches. We have to think of this not only for out bodily-kinesthetic learners, but for all our learners, particularly those who may be facing poverty and eating disorders. Poor nutrition can lead to poor learning, and it's something we have to keep in mind! I also thought the MI activity centers were something to keep in mind and thought they went will with an English classroom. I would like it implement SSR (sustained silent reading) in my classroom (depending on grade level/ability level), and the "book nook" would be a good idea. I also thought the intrapersonal ideas would go especially well in a classroom where a lot of individual and small group work may go on. Obviously, I think some element of all the suggestions could and should happen, but those were the first to catch my eye.

Jordan
The classroom is long thought of as standard rows of desks with students facing frontwards, listening to a teacher lecture about various topics that meet state mandated standards. Who designed this classroom? Armstrong points out that the “classroom ecology” (67) may need to be restructured to meet the many needs of multiple intelligence learners. Examining a classroom can be a good indicator to whether or not the classroom is designed to facilitate each of the eight intelligence’s learning preferences; by simply asking questions like “how is time structured in the classroom?” (Logical-mathematical), “do the colors of the room stimulate or deaden students’ senses?” (Spatial), or “does the classroom have windows?” (68), teachers can evaluate how the classroom is affecting students’ attitude towards learning. Armstrong suggests that instead of “the standard classroom” (if you will), the classroom should be designed in a way that there is an area dedicated to each of the eight intelligences. As a student, I think that I would have liked to have this option in some of my classes, but I do not feel that it is possible to have this option in some of my classes. English classes are heavy in literature and language and I believe that students process the information best through discussion. It would be hard to accomplish a discussion if students decided to work in an intrapersonal area of the room. As a teacher, I like the idea, but I do not think it is an appropriate method to use all of the time in the classroom.

Ryan Snowman
The MI Theory can be used and applied to enhance classroom environment. An inventive way to do this is by dividing the room up into different areas targeting specific intelligences. These areas are called activity centers (p.69). Armstrong suggests splitting the room into four sections or quadrants, with emphasis being placed on permanent, temporary, open – ended, and topic – specific areas. The bottom line to these activity centers is that they “provide students with the opportunity to engage in ‘active’ learning” (p.73). In other words, activity centers give students a chance to engage their learning that traditional classroom settings do not. Activity centers are an interesting idea. As a teacher, I think it will be worth trying to engage my students in this fashion, rather than trying to do it in the traditional manner.

Leah
Questions were brought up in this chapter about classroom environment that I had never thought of. When I think of classroom environment my mind usually goes directly to the dynamic between the teacher and students and students and peers, but the beginning of this chapter made me ponder things like the set up of the desks, visual stimuli, and scheduling the day according to student attention span. Activity centers were also talked about. These activity centers made me think about how the classrooms I entered as a student were set up. In junior high we had an English teacher who had a "book nook" that the chapter talked about, which included bean-bag chairs, a recliner, and a collection of books to choose from. Most students were jealous if they were not placed in this class. I want to foster my students' education by creating a surrounding that allows them these chances to work with their eight intelligences.

Brittany
One of the most beneficial things that a teacher can do is to create a supportive classroom environment. When talking about multiple intelligences, there are certain activities and ways to set up the classroom to achieve this environment. Each learners needs should be targeted in this kind of classroom environment. For example, just something as simple as the way that the furniture is arranged in the class can appeal to the spatial intelligence. Other ways to work with the intelligences can be to set up activity centers. Each activity center targets a different intelligence and the students can rotate through them to develop all of their intelligences. I believe that these activity centers are an excellent idea for engaging students while they learn. What makes these centers even better is that each intelligence can be targeted so that every student can engage with their strongest intelligence.

Mykayla
This chapter dealt mostly with the different types of activities stations a teacher could set up in their classroom for all eight of the intelligences. The activity station that I found the most interesting was the “Temporary Topic-Specific Activity Centers.” These seemed the most reasonable to implement in a classroom and the most fun from a student’s standpoint. The idea of taking a lesson and breaking it down into eight activities for the intelligences so that each student can learn through their best method seems perfect. The only issue is that every time a teacher does something like this, the students gravitate to the same station every time. I like the idea of making the students rotate through the stations. I do not think I would use this as an everyday activity, but instead as like a reward for the class. I would have loved to do different activities like the ones mentioned in the chapter. By making it a treat and not an everyday thing, students may actually appreciate the tasks that much more.

Ryan
This chapter shows how the MI Theory can be used and applied to the classroom in order to make it a better learning environment. In order to apply this theory to the classroom information about students must be gathered. Once the teachers know their students well enough they then can use some of the options in chapter seven. One these options was the activity centers. In these activity students are allowed to interact with other students and this is called active learning. It seems that as a teacher a lot of observation needs to be done before students can be divided into four groups in order to make activity centers works, but as a teacher I will strive to incorporate this idea into my classroom. This way my students will be engaged.

Corinne
Armstrong delves further into the eight multiple intelligences, and explains how a teacher could use each one in different ways in the classroom. The chapter explains that just speaking does not necessarily work for a linguistic learner, it matters how you say the words and the vocabulary that is used, because both have an effect on the meaning of what you say. Armstrong offered the idea of creating different activity sections of the classroom that each target a different intelligence. This idea seemed a little elementary for a high school or middle school. Personally, I had this kind of set up kindergarten and first grade, and I feel as though that image would be conjured up by every high school student who walks into their classroom and sees this set up. The idea is interesting, but I find it hard to believe that it would work at a secondary level.

Scott
This chapter is about the multiples intelligences and the ecological factors in learning. What I took out of this was a guide to making sure that the classroom is a comfortable learning environment for all intelligences. The book suggests using different areas so that will help all the different types of students. The suggestion is to have four different activity centers. The permanent open-ended activity center where to specific tools for each intelligences would be kept throughout the school year. A temporary topic-specific activity center would change frequently depending on the unit of lesson. For a temporary open-ended activity center you might set up a quick activity for each intelligence in order to introduce a topic to your students. The permanent topic-specific activity center would be used for year long themes and the idea is a little difficult to grasp for me. The idea of these "activity centers" is foreign to me, right now I can't see myself using it, but as the chapter explains, there needs to be a fundamental change in how we picture classrooms.

Jennie
In this chapter, it is explained how each of the intelligences prefer to have their learning environments. Are the way our classrooms configured really helping our students learn? Armstrong posed each of the examples into questions. Is the room attractive to the eye (Spatial)? Do students have a chance to work independently (intrapersonal)? It could even be as simple as does the classroom have windows that students can see the outside of the building (naturalist)? Armstrong also shows us a way of nurturing all the intelligences all the time- having activity centers that a line with each of the intelligences. If I take all these questions into consideration when I'm configuring my classroom and the way I do things then hopefully all the intelligences in all my students will be satisfied.

Rachel
Chapter 7 really interested me. It is all about the “classroom environment.” For the past few weeks we’ve been discussing how to teach to multiple intelligences in one class. Now we’re learning how to set up our classroom to meet the needs of the different intelligences. I think this idea makes perfect sense, but it had not even passed through my mind that the organization, decoration, and layout of my classroom affected my students as well. What I am worried about is not having my own classroom. How can I create a learning environment for my students that meets each need if I have to share a class space with however many other teachers?

Drew
Chapter seven offered me a little tid-bit of information I would not have otherwise thought of-- classroom environment. When I think back to the classroom environments I have experienced, they were actually quite dull. My history classrooms were always plastered with maps and posters which could apply to the visual/spatial learner. Otherwise, things were very interpersonal. Desks were set up in close lines which allowed us to snicker to each other when the teachers back was turned. Otherwise, these set-ups really didn't apply to anybody else. However, my physics classroom really applied to everybody. There was always the hum of music in the background, tons of physical items to work with, work for the logic learners, posters for the spatial, tons of interpersonal and intrapersonal times and experiences, and many activities done outside. Normally I would have thrown physics to the sharks and not cared about it but, the environment I was in was captivating and kept me going. This chapter really took me down memory lane. I feel like my physics teacher did a great job in providing a good classroom environment for the many differentiated learners.

Sarah
Chapter seven introduced, explored and developed the concept of learning environments for different learners. At no point before reading this chapter did I ever consider my classroom to be an implement to connecting with multiple learners. As a matter of fact, I always assumed the room in which I will teach will be a personalized “math fun zone”, and never did I think about what effects the types of graphics could have on my students. Having read this chapter and gained some perspective on the idea, I promise to decorate and arrange my classroom in such a way that all types of learners can interpret the projected atmosphere.

Tim
This chapter I found to be phenomenally interesting. At no point in my readings did I ever think of creating a classroom with different “activity centers” to help engage the various learners in my classroom. Not only does it give the different learners a chance to exercise their best abilities, but for an observing teacher it gives them a great opportunity to recognize what type of learner every student is. This chapter gave me some great insights in to how a classroom geared towards multiple intelligences should be designed and some good ideas of how to get students engaged within a classroom.

Cara
As a teacher, it is our responsibility to make the classroom comfortable for our of our learners. A typical classroom may not work for all of our students. I can remember in high school hating the classrooms that did not have windows (maybe because I have a strong naturalistic intelligence?). I understand that I will not be able to simply ask the school to make the classroom have windows, but there could be other alternatives to this that I might be able to come up with. Things like the paint color and desk setup also add to the atmosphere of the classroom.