MI Chapter 5

MI theory makes it necessary for a teacher to use many different teaching techniques and strategies in the classroom. I liked that philosophers like Plato and Rousseau were mentioned because it shows that even back during their time they understood that everyone learns differently. The figure that showed the different activities, strategies, and activities a teacher can use for each intelligence caught my attention because it has some good information in it. The chapter explains how to create a MI lesson plan and goes into detail with each of the eight intelligences.

MI Chapter 6

Chapter six explains different strategies for grabbing the class's attention, transitioning, explaining class rules, forming groups, and managing behaviors. I think the chapter makes it pretty clear that a teacher should not use only one strategy and that one strategy will not work for the entire classroom. A lot of the strategies and situations described seemed like they would work for elementary or middle school only, but there are ways to tweak the idea a little bit for a high school classroom. The chapter also says that sometimes the strategy used should be one from an intelligence that is not as strongly developed in the student. For example, a student who is more intrapersonal should be introduced to some interpersonal activities. This is one of the chapters I will probably return to as I start teaching because it has a lot of great suggestions.

MI Chapter 7

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.

MI Chapter 13

I liked this chapter! It showed me that the MI theory is not designated to the classroom. I’m not a big fan of computers, so it helped me out to see how the MI theory could be applied to a computer. If I had had this shown to me sooner in life, maybe I would not dislike computer in the way that I do. I am NOT a logical mathematical person, so I always assumed that I would be horrible with the computer and did not try to learn how to use it. I will try to see how the multiple intelligences effect my life outside of the classroom. This makes sense, since as learners we are to be constantly learning everywhere.

MI Chapter 10

I know that I have always hated standarized tests because I was a poor test taker in high school. Even if I understand concepts and ideas, I did poorly on tests. Having student portfolios is a suggestion in this chapter as it was in Wormeli's book that we are reading. The author introduces "The Five C's of Portfolio Development", which will help me as a teacher when I do decide to use portfolios in my students learning and my teaching. The chart of what to put in a MI portfolio helped me to get ideas for lessons. The "Celebration of Learning" stood out to me in this chapter because, again, it gives the students a choice in their learning. I would have loved to have had more of that while I was in high school!

MI Chapter 4

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.

MI Chapter 3

I feel like I have read this chapter already, because it was basically giving suggestions for assessing the multiple intelligences of the students. I like the idea of looking at school records, but I’m a little nervous that students may find that a little too intrusive. Personally, I think that the best way of finding out this information would be to pay attention to the students, talk to the students, and hold activities which will show a little bit more about the individual students. Talking to the parents, again, may upset a student. The inventory pages were great! Overall, I feel that this chapter was a little repetitive, but it still had some useful advice.

MI Chapter 2

Chapter two explains that it is important for a teacher to understand their own intelligences. I plan on filling out the inventory in the book, although I think that I know which of my intelligences are more developed than the other. I’ve gotten ideas from this chapter to help me find ways to keep all eight intelligences in the classroom, even though certain ones may be more undeveloped for myself. Crystallizing and paralyzing events were explained, and I myself have had a paralyzing event in which a creative writing teacher negatively critiqued a story of mine. Up until a couple of years ago, I had stopped writing fiction all together. As I continue to work towards becoming a teacher, I hope to more fully develop each of my eight intelligences so that I can help a wider range of individuals and learning styles.

MI Chapter 1

When becoming a teacher, one should at least be a little familiar with the theory of Multiple Intelligences. A teacher should keep in mind that everyone has different learning styles and that not all students will be strong in the same intelligences. A curriculum should touch upon each of the eight intelligences in order for the students’ education to be truly equal. There are people whom are very strong in one intelligence, but weak in the others and vice versa. Each individual is different, so teaching grammar in a linguistic only approach will not help the student who has a strong spatial intelligence. When I begin building lessons plans, I am going to do my best to ensure that I include the eight intelligences in my teaching.