Week II Post
Another week in the book for AEDU 335! This week's readings and activities were, once again, very interesting. In this post, I will be focusing on the multiple intelligences for a handful of reasons. Some of them are the fact that it is one of my favorites and it was a big part of this week's readings and assignments.
For those currently in the Trinity Adult Program I do not need to delve too deeply into defining it since we covered in this past winter in AEDU 303: Education Psychology. For those who happen to stumble upon this somehow, the multiple intelligence theory basically states that there is no such thing as one all-encompassing intelligence. All people are both alike and similar but never completely the same. Everyone is good at certain and struggle with others and that's the basis of that theory. It should not be confused with how to learn or learning styles.
Of the assignments we had this week, I found "Big Thinkers: Howard Gardner on Multiple Intelligences” to be the most interesting. This article in, in-essence, a follow up to Howard Gardner's initial 1983 publication on multiple intelligence. He gave 8 points in this article, and interestingly enough a lot of it seems to have come true in the present day. He made points like having student-centered lesson plans and embracing technology in the classroom, all of which I have seen.
For those currently in the Trinity Adult Program I do not need to delve too deeply into defining it since we covered in this past winter in AEDU 303: Education Psychology. For those who happen to stumble upon this somehow, the multiple intelligence theory basically states that there is no such thing as one all-encompassing intelligence. All people are both alike and similar but never completely the same. Everyone is good at certain and struggle with others and that's the basis of that theory. It should not be confused with how to learn or learning styles.
Of the assignments we had this week, I found "Big Thinkers: Howard Gardner on Multiple Intelligences” to be the most interesting. This article in, in-essence, a follow up to Howard Gardner's initial 1983 publication on multiple intelligence. He gave 8 points in this article, and interestingly enough a lot of it seems to have come true in the present day. He made points like having student-centered lesson plans and embracing technology in the classroom, all of which I have seen.
Hi Jay,
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of Gardner's idea on having student-centered lesson plans. I work wth many teachers at my school who do this well. I think the best way to engage students is to have student-centered lessons. These kind of lessons grab the attention of a class and incorporate activities that are interesting and meet their needs as individuals. This process makes learning more active and engaging. When teachers create active and engaging lesson plans, students will most likely retain more through practical tasks vs. sitting through a lecture, listening, taking notes and memorizing the information. I believe there is a place for lectures, but we need to create lessons that get kids moving, get them excited to learn and collaborate with their peers.
Thanks,
Kirsten
Hi Jay!
ReplyDeleteI also love Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. I think the theory is valid, and teachers see this every day in the classroom with their students. I especially like the incorporation of technology into the classroom. A plethora of knowledge and support is at our fingertips, as well as the students. It is imperative we utilize this resource. Our AMLE text discussed this as well. Education must change with the times if we are going to effectively teach our students This week, though, I really liked the article assignment. I think that focusing on strategies that effectively transition middle school students from the expectations of elementary school to the expectations of middle school is a critical component to student success and alleviation of anxiety in the transition.
Changing with the time! Huge! I love that the multiple intelligences have been around for what seems like forever, but are still so useful and prevalent today. I encourage you to look into PBL (Problem Based Learning) and tie that into student-centered lessons. Teaching to the whole child is a daunting task, but if you can figure out how students learn the best - your teaching life will become that much easier!
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