MI+B1+Chapter+4

toc

The MI Theory proves to be useful and effective thanks greatly to the fact that it can be modified so any age group easily understands it. The ‘MI Pizza’ visually represents the eight intelligences – linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist – in the classroom, and these eight words, when tweaked into simpler terms, allow children of all grade levels to comprehend the theory. Activities and events such as Career Day, field trips, wall displays, and songs or plays place the MI Theory into the proper context for //all­// students to grasp. However, in order for students to truly understand, teachers must not only tell students, but also encourage them to perform tasks that represent each of the eight intelligences. Students begin to internalize the theory and therefore learn more about themselves and their learning processes.
 * Olivia Wandelear**
 * Abstract**

We find it necessary for teachers to truly familiarize themselves with their students and their personalities. This ensures confidence from students because their teacher meets their needs in the classroom based on observations of student behaviors //and// misbehaviors in certain situations. The Multiple Intelligence Theory is only productive and effective if the teacher recognizes the certain types of intelligences in each of his or her students. While we as teachers should uncover as much knowledge as possible about the theory for our own benefit, it is equally important for a teacher who embraces the MI Theory to understand it well enough to explain it to his or her students.
 * Synthesis**

A few successful ways to integrate the MI Theory into our classrooms include representing and displaying the “MI Pizza,” in a classroom – a pie chart showing the eight different intelligences in a visual form. Likewise, and to ensure maximum understanding, many of us found it wise to modify the terminology of the intelligences into more student-friendly words. Teachers can change “bodily kinesthetic” to “athletic,” and “visual” to “word smart.” Posters hanging in the classroom depicting successful and famous people who display notable strengths in any of the eight intelligences allow the students to connect the theory with the world around them. A student can strive to achieve the same successes as the people he or she sees in the room, and recognize a piece of his self or her self in that figure. We learned that hosting Career Days is another great way to showcase real-life examples of MI Theory. An artist or sculptor represents a visual, or “picture smart” learner, while a veterinarian showcases a naturalist, or “animal and nature smart” learner.

The MI Theory and its practices represent healthy ways to encourage student growth and advancement based on personal strengths in the classroom. However, a teacher never wants to “pigeon hole” their students into one or two specific intelligences and focus all of their energy on ensuring success in one category. Students are constantly changing and advancing throughout their academic career, and we need to cater to these modifications by encouraging students to explore the MI Theory in many different situations and also by creating lesson plans that appeal to a variety of intelligences.

Shila Cook
This chapter gave me the impression that the Multiple Intelligence model is more than just a way for categorizing students for a teachers convince. Chapter 4 made it quite clear that having your students understand the model helped them feel more confident about their abilities, if they’ve been explained it in a positive way. Helping them understand that they are smart in more than one way is a confidence booster that most children need, and teaching them about this method is a great way to do it in a way that the students believe is scientific- proven. I hope that I get to teach this model to my students, even if I can’t spend much time on it. I feel like it would be a great introductory exercise on the first few days of school to get to know them, the way they think, and to help them get comfortable in a new class.

Olivia Wandelear
Chapter four encourages teachers to inform their students of MI theory. That way, students learn more about themselves and the way they learn. Armstrong lists several ways to explain the MI Theory simply, to all grade levels. The “MI Pizza” visually displays all eight intelligences in a way that all students can understand. I want the MI Theory represented in my classroom, and I like the option of hanging eight posters of notably successful people who actively displayed an intelligence, or combination of intelligences. Students can use these people as role models and concrete examples of the MI Theory in the real world. Practical use of the MI Theory allows students to familiarize themselves with their own learning processes.

Dylan Stefani
In the beginning of this chapter is clearly teaches you that you have to become equal or on the same level as the student. Don’t try and use big words when you have a class full of middle school kids. Some kids might even learn better is you add a symbol or picture next to the subject you are teaching. The MI pizza is a good example of this. I like the advice of telling a story to teach the students about MI. Having eight kids all be really good in a single learning style and maybe even put a swing on it like having them meet each other and adopt each others techniques.

Erika
It is important for a teacher who embraces the multiple intelligences theory to understand it well enough to explain it to his or her students. This chapter explained some ways that teachers can go about presenting the theory. I found displaying it on a pie chart and describing the different intelligences to be the most direct way. If I was going to present this theory to my students I would use it to help them to understand themselves and others better, and it would come in handy when putting people in groups. Giving students this knowledge could be very helpful for student interaction and would give them confidence that each one has an intelligence of their own.

Andy Shorey
In chapter four of Multiple Intelligences I learned that it is important when introducing the idea of multiple intelligence that you use sort of smaller terminology so that students don't get confused and that people want to understand about multiple intelligence. It is important that once the teacher explains what it is that you continue to use it in the classroom. There are many ways to do that such as taking field trips to different places to try and get all types of intelligence in. Maybe one day in class you can have a lesson plan that includes all eight parts of intelligence. Do projects based upon the types of intelligences and have them present to the class. Or do projects that include all eight to see what students are good and and what they aren't.

Josh
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.

Kasey
This chapter outlined ways to teach students about MI theory. One tactic is to use words that students can more easily understand, such as “word smart” and “picture smart” in place of linguistic and spatial. By doing this, students can more easily understand and discover which intelligences they are strongest in. Another idea was to give examples of famous figures and what intelligence they possessed. I think this would be an effective activity to use in my classroom, because students may be able to relate to them, and think, “Hey, I’m just like him/her.” Many MI teaching activities were discussed, such as career days, field trips, and MI tables. The concept of MI tables sounds like something I would want to incorporate into my classes. By having each student spend time at MI station, they can discover their strengths and also get a chance to address their less developed intelligences and try new ways of learning.

Dan
Chapter four talks about teachers explaining the eight intelligences to their students, but not just explaining it but in a way all students could understand the concept. I really liked the pie example and where you take eight students all with different intelligences and put them together to further understand the concept. I really enjoy that because I really enjoy learning from my peers and that is where most of my learning has taken place in my life and I feel is a very powerful tool.

Kyle Rines
When this chapter talked about changing the names of the intelligences to something that gears toward the students (such as 'sporty' in place of kinesthetic, or a pair of eyeballs for visual) I could instantly relate. I remember in 6th grade taking one of these tests, but I also remember the names being different. I believe this is a good tool to use for younger students, because MI theory becomes easier to understand. Other ways that I found useful were Career Day. This way the students can see older adults or mentors from their community in front of them, portraying what they do for a living. Grasping the attention of a visual student might be an artist, or a photographer.

Kay Sue Collins
This chapter discusses ideas for teaching children about multiple intelligences. I noticed as I read through the ideas that some of them appealed to me more than others. This was an indication that the ones that I didn’t like had styles that I wasn’t totally comfortable using. I need to be careful of those prejudices when teaching. It may result in certain learning styles being neglected in my curriculum because I am uncomfortable implementing them.

Courtney Burns
While as a teacher I may understand and recognize all of the eight intelligences it will also be important for me to make sure that my students can too. When students understand the MI theory they can develop their own strategies to help themselves learn the material better (discover ways that work for them). There are several ways that MI theory can be taught including games, lessons, displays and more. For me the one that stuck out the most was the reading assignments. Since I will likely be teaching older students this will be a great opportunity to teach them about MI theory as well as get them using research tools and discovering the different resource that are available to them.

Tim
Because there is a lack of quick and easy formal assessments to identify multiple intelligence strengths and weaknesses in students, it can be a challenge for educators to understand the way students learn. One technique elaborated on in the chapter suggests the observation of misbehaviors, while another suggests note keeping on a case-by-case basis. As a teacher I should strive to delve into the depths of a student’s personality and understand how he or she learns the best. This can be done by observing trends and repeated actions throughout a student’s academic career. Parents can give insight as well; different types of intelligences can be displayed in school while others may only shine in a home environment. Creating a comfortable academic environment may enable the student to expose all their strengths rather than just a portion of them.

Ben
Chapter four of //Multiple Intelligences// goes even deeper down the rabbit hole of giving practical instructions on how to implement MI theory. It offers what appear to be a variety of “getting to know each other” activities, each geared toward getting to an understanding of what each student’s aptitudes are. From this chapter, I feel I learned a bit more about what the goal of MI theory actually is. I had been approaching this as though it were a theory about how the brain works, and how to apply that knowledge to teaching; I now feel that it is not. The purpose it does serve, however, is the purpose of getting us to understand how some students feel unintelligent and therefore worthless, and how we might help them to realize that they are just as intelligent as the people around them. By supporting students in this way, I feel like these students will have more success in school.

Heath Booth
Our students are trying to figure out who they are in addition to learning the curriculum. By introducing the concept of MI to them and allowing them to assess themselves, we are providing some powerful tools for both their education and growth as people. Chapter 4 provides strategies for presenting the concepts of MI in ways that would be accessible to any level of student. I focused on some of the potential pitfalls of getting too specific in our assessments of the intelligences. First of all, we do not want to “pigeon hole” our students; they are still developing and will changes dramatically in every way possible way. They may have not yet discovered brilliance in a particular area just due to a lack of exposure. Secondly, we don’t want to isolate them from each other.

**Tyler**
What really struck me in Ch. 4 of MI was simply the creative ways of teaching each of the 8 intelligences. for example, changing the names of the intelligences was one that really stuck out. By changing them to something interesting( Bodily to Athletic) students may feel more engaged and comfortable abut taking the tests. I feel as if I have a good base knowledge of how I can potentially teach my students to help them reach their fullest potential. Along with that, I can bring this into the classroom to not only help myself by making it easier to sort out each student and the strongest of their MI's but also these creative ways will help the child become more engaged.