Chapter 4: Teaching Students About MI Theory

I’d always just figured that I would explain the Multiple Intelligences theory to students. While a lot of the techniques explained in this chapter were innovative and creative, many of them seem to be targeted towards younger children. These are of course excellent techniques for those grade levels, in my opinion. However, this is operating under the assumption that they’ve already been introduced at one point to these, as I was. If students have never been introduced to MI Theory, these may be excellent ways to start. In that case, I’d be glad to use them in my classroom. For my envisioned classroom, the biography exercise would be very fitting, as would the reading from books about MI Theory. I also thought the Human Intelligence Hunt was a really cute idea, especially for students who don’t know each other very well. It almost (almost) makes me wish I were planning on teaching a younger crowd.

Chapter 3: Describing Intelligences in Students

This chapter, while repeating a lot of information about Multiple Intelligences that we’ve already become familiar with, offers a great deal of useful information-seeking techniques to become very comfortable with students’ strong intelligences. I was a little surprised and frustrated with the initial contention that quick tests shouldn’t be used to exactly identify students’ strong multiple intelligences. It seemed to me like that would have been a good technique to get an immediate inventory of students, even if it weren’t exact. I think it could work if there were also personal connection to students. A lot of the ideas offered sound really helpful for going in depth.

Chapter 4: What Really Matters in Planning for Student Success?

Chapter 4 was a handy laundry list of teaching attitudes and skills that teachers should strive to be. I was somewhat surprised by how much importance was attributed to including students in classroom decisions around their own learning. I still have the mental paradigm that students are trying to get out of work, but I imagine that the other elements of DI and UbD would soften the relation between students and teachers. The advice that seemed most helpful to me was building awareness of what works for each student. I really like the idea of having a fact base for each student that helps me remember how they learn best.

Chapter 3: What Really Matters in Learning? (Content)

This chapter plainly explained the scope of our essential standards by giving two examples that were too big and too small, and making them correct. The clear description of the 3 Stages plan was very helpful, especially as I was making my key understandings and essential questions. I’m glad they pointed out the “twin sins” of classroom planning and teaching – that’s good to know. I can imagine it might be easy to accidentally slip into those habits, and it doesn’t seem like it would be easy to get back on track. The planning template is something that would be very helpful to use in a classroom.

Chapter 2: MI and Personal Development

This last chapter makes it a point to make it clear that the favored intelligences of the educator will be evident in the classroom. It is important not to obscure less favored intelligences in the classroom, so the teacher must be proactive in including other intelligences, either through student involvement or seeking advice from a colleague. The chapter emphasizes that a teacher can take steps to develop intelligences that have maybe been missed out on earlier in life. The example of Mozart really helped to show the importance of nurture in the theory of multiple intelligences.

Chapter 1: The Foundation of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences

This chapter really made multiple intelligences fall into place for me. I’d always had a vague detached understanding of Multiple Intelligence Theory since even elementary school, but until this reading it never really connected. The big chart starting on page four showed me just how big the scope of MI theory is. I also hadn’t thought about the tests that Howard Gardner set up to prove the labels of his intelligences. The key points that the chapter discussed were helpful too: I hadn’t thought how an activity could connect to many intelligences – the examples for multiple intelligences that are usually given are isolated to that one intelligence.

Chapter 2: What Really Matters in Teaching? (The Students)

This chapter definitely forces the focus towards the students, where it should be. The examples the chapter gave of students who have barriers that need accommodation were striking. The example of Noah, who couldn’t sit still at his desk because he was a physical learner, really stood out to me as a fidgeter myself. I remember putting a lot of effort into suppressing that motion instead of putting the effort into learning, and I’m glad people are starting to pay attention to what really matters in a classroom. The chart in the chapter shows how much variation there is in any given classroom.

Chapter 1: UbD and DI: An Essential Partnership

The seven axioms and their corollaries presented in Chapter 1 definitely do explain that Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction go hand in hand with one another. It seems like Understanding by Design could probably merit some explanation, as I don’t know if I completely understand what it is just yet. I agree with all of the axioms presented. I really agree with Axiom 3 – work and activities that seem pointless and don’t apply to one’s life are really bad for learning. I definitely see that the benefit of a good classroom comes only with a lot of concentration and deliberate planning.