MI+B2+Chapter+4

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Abstract
This chapter focused on getting students to understand what multiple intelligences are and that all people possess them. Armstrong explains that the MI theory can be explained to most children (even kids in the second grade) in five minutes or less through asking students reflective questions, such as, "Are you able to speak?" ("Word Smart") "Have you ever done a science experiment?" ("Logic Smart") "Do you enjoy making things with your hands?" ("Hands-On Smart") Armstrong also suggests several activities teachers can do in order to introduce and/or teach about the multiple intelligences. Some examples are: field trips to locations that focus on a particular intelligence; wall and shelf displays that explain the eight intelligences or feature products made by the students using the eight intelligences; creating MI stories, songs, or plays for students to perform/read to further their understanding of the intelligences. The chapter finishes by reminding us that learning about the intelligences should be an on going thing through out the year.

[|Kirsten's Synthesis]
It seemed as though we all agreed that it is important for us to teach our students about the multiple intelligences and help them determine their own strengths. When students know their strengths, it can boost their [|self-confidence]. Many also felt it would be wise to do this at the [|beginning of the year], which would help students better understand where things were going or how they could approach certain tasks. Everyone also seemed to appreciate the ways listed that students could learn about the multiple intelligences, but a few suggested that perhaps some of the activities were more appropriate for younger students.

Sarah
Chapter Four explored different ways to introduce and promote self awareness of individual intelligences. Many of the suggestions were exploration and self exploration tasks that would acquaint students with the different Intelligences. Most of the activities examined in the chapter were hands-on opportunities that allowed students to discover how all eight of the interdisciplinary strengths combined at different strengths make up each individual. Although the ideas presented are very good ways to make the class aware of Multiple Intelligences, the activities are a bit novice for the seasoned student (my age cut-off would be around 9 or 10). However, I do agree that student awareness of their own Intelligences and the Intelligences of their peers is very important to understanding the learning process as a whole.

Leah
We know that teachers can benefit from instructing in different ways to tap into our student's multiple intelligences, so it's almost obvious that students would benefit from knowing about the multiple intelligence theory. Teaching them about the eight different "smarts" can help them make good problem solving techniques, and also make them aware of how to build up their intelligences to their full potential. Educating them on MI will also let them know why a teacher is setting up a lesson in a certain way, and make them more likely interact since they know that there is a purpose behind it. It can also benefit a classroom because they might be more compelled to speak up and tell me if they just are not understanding something the way I am teaching it and ask for another example.

Corinne
Chapter four discusses ways of learning students learning styles by teaching Multiple Intelligences to them, and getting their feedback or creating activities that the students can do in class that reveal their dominant intelligences. This impacted me because I have had teachers in the past ask about the way we learn best and what activities we like. However those teachers did not go as in depth as these activities outlined in the book did, nor did they actually share with us multiple intelligences and why they wanted to know. The chapter made me realize that it is important for students to know all about the eight different intelligences, and that they are all intelligent in a unique way. I feel that if I had learned multiple intelligences in the way outline in the book, that I would have gained better self esteem and knowledge of myself, rather than feel like I am bad at math because I am not smart. Knowing the different intelligence could help a student come to a self identity and want to develop their eight intelligences further. These students would also be able to self assess their strengths and weaknesses.

Ryan
Something interesting in chapter four that I really liked was the idea of teaching multiple intelligences through a lesson plan. I liked the idea of teaching a lesson plan on a topic based on the teacher's concentration, but telling the students that each part is going to be presented by one of the eight intelligences. This way they can judge for themselves which intelligence is the most developed for themselves. As a student this knowledge will impact me to be more aware of what homework and projects I seem to do better in. As a teacher this knowledge will present me with ideas on how to figure out my students developed multiple intelligences

Ryan Snowman
This chapter discusses different ways to teach the MI Theory to students. The best way to teach this theory to students is to use activities and examples. For example, linguistic people are “word smart” and an example of “word smart” people would be authors and poets. Other effective ways of teaching the MI Theory include field trips where the intelligences are easily displayed, inviting people in the community to the classroom to talk about their jobs, and creating board games that focus on the intelligences. There are plenty of ways of teaching this to school aged children. It is important to teach the MI theory to students and something that I will unquestionably integrate into my classroom. The strategies that I will adopt would probably include using examples and breaking down the categories into easier words. I would also model the behavior into everyday classroom activities, so that students begin to think and rationalize about what way makes them learn the best.

Mykayla
I feel this chapter is meant for teachers who are teaching younger students, like those in middle school. Out of the advice given in the chapter I would only use the wall displays and the biographies in my classroom. The rest of them seem too childish for high school teenagers. I also do not think that high school students would react well to field trips and games based on the eight multiple intelligences. These are some ingenious ways to teach the multiple intelligences, I just don’t think they are the ways I should be using to teach high school students.

Scott
Chapter 4 explains that children benefit from instructional approaches that help them reflect on their own learning. It is important for students to know about the MI theory so that they can see how they use their different "smarts." Students can be introduced to the MI theory easily, using the author's instructions. The eight intelligences can be taught in a variety of ways. Some ways that stuck out at me the most is to do a marathon using all eight intelligences. The other one was the method using tables that require students to use a different intelligence at each table. This one stuck out because it triggered a memory of me doing this in first grade.

Jennie
I really like the idea of getting students to understand the multiple intelligences. Having them understand this concept levels the playing field, so to speak, for the students who don't think of themselves as smart. The idea of bringing people in from the community to explain how they use the intelligences is a really interesting way to show how its not just in school that these are important but they extend into the "real world."

Brittany
Teaching students about the eight different multiple intelligences is a step in the right direction. The sooner a student figures out how he/she learns best, the sooner that the teacher can instruct the class material in the most effective way. Teachers need to take a proactive approach to exposing students to the eight intelligences at a young age. Activities such as exploration tables, real-world connections, and displays are all easy ways to introduce the concept of multiple intelligences to students. Upon discovering his/her strong intelligences, students can start directing their learning and studying habits in that manner. Activities that help students explore the different intelligences could be a great icebreaker during the first week of classes. If activities like this take place within the first week, the teacher then has a better idea of the direction to take when creating lesson plans and generating a more successful learning environment.

Tim
This chapter was all about explaining the Multiple Intelligence theory to students that were as young as second grade. Before this chapter, I thought it would be a ridiculously fruitless attempt to try and explain the MI theory to students so young, but the chapter does a very good job showing different strategies to help present the MI theory in a clear manner. Not only does explaining the theory help clarify things for students, but it also benefits teachers attempting to discover early signs of specific intelligences in a young student. This chapter will impact my classroom because it has given me even more options when it comes to discovering the intelligences of my students.

Drew
I find that this chapter in particular would be very useful for elementary educators. To introduce the fact that each student has eight different intelligences would build confidence and maybe make them go on a personal venture to use them to improve themselves. I really enjoyed the step by step list of simple introductory questions that the author uses to address the intelligences and prove that they exist. Like I said before, it is really good on an elementary level and anyone could understand it.


I was pleased to see the number of suggestions laid out on how to present MI to students. Many of the activities would lend themselves well to "getting-to-know-you" sorts of activities, like the human intelligence hunt or the MI tables. I also noticed that each of the activities sort of had a focal point on one intelligence or another. Like, you had readings (linguistic), board games (bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical), or displays of some kind (spatial). While reading this chapter, I toyed with the idea of spending my first few class periods with students just working with MI before we did anything else, and using it as a reference point through out the year. I think the activities provided in this chapter are a good starting point if that's something I chose to do.

Jordan
This chapter describes the many ways of teaching the MI Theory to students which include but are not limited to: a verbal explanation, career days, self displays, differentiated lesson plans, experiential activities, and board games. Going in and simply discussing the MI Theory with students and drawing a diagram on the board is not going to make sense to all students. Even though we have constantly been discussing Multiple Intelligences, it did not occur to me that it would not make sense to some students simply because it made sense to me. Armstrong suggests being inclusive when discussing the MI Theory, so that every student feels like a part of the eight intelligences. He then uses examples to demonstrate practical use of the MI Theory in daily classroom activities, such as wall displays. In my personal experiences with the MI Theory, teachers tend to favor the academic portion of it: Math/Logistical, Linguistics, and Interpersonal Intelligences. Few teachers make Michael Angelo an inspiration of a math class and instead shoot for Albert Einstein. After seeing Armstrong’s point of view, however, I feel that I am going to be more cautious not only about exposing students to the MI theory, but also how to teach it. As a teacher, I am going to expose the students to eight ways of thinking instead of just one so that I can be at ease that each student felt comfortable with the information in at least one form.

Cara
Teachers should introduce students to multiple intelligence theory in the classroom. A student who knows and understands what MI is will be more likely to recognize which of their intelligences is more developed and how they can help themselves to learn material. Also, it will be easier for a student to make suggestions to a teacher about how to teach a lesson in a way in which they will take in the material a little more easily. The “human intelligence hunt” seems like a really fun and cute idea for a freshman class, since the students may not all know one another.

Rachel
Educating students about multiple intelligences is a good way to encourage them to develop their own way of learning. It is possible to stunt or hinder the growth of a learning style in a person. By teaching students about their own intelligences and how they learn, it gives each student a sense of self, helps them to understand how and why they think, and also helps me as a teacher understand each of my students’ learning style. I think that this is an important topic to cover in my classroom because it can show the students that I care about them as individuals and it can help me teach each student the ways that they learn best.