FIAE 7, 8, 9, &10

Grades are a huge issue in education that is under constant debate, and this is a lot of what these chapters were about. How to grade fairly is something that teachers have to face every day. Because every student is different, and living under a different situation, how they should be graded can be extremely varied, but the educator needs to do this while continuing to hold the entire class to the same standards. There are also huge variations in what teachers grade on; some grade more on effort, while others grade very strictly on every aspect of classroom life. There is a lot of agreement that the grading system is very flawed, as it doesn't accurately depict all that a student knows, or the person that a student is.
I know that in math, for example, I tried so, so hard and I still did terribly, I even failed algebra II because I just could not understand it. It looked terrible to my parents though, because they had a really hard time believing that I was trying if I was doing so poorly, it was my only bad class so they assumed that, if effort could get me good grades in every other class, I must not be putting effort into math. When I got to senior year and was working on making up the grade with a different teacher, I actually did really well because the teacher was amazing a differentiating the lesson to help me understand.
Anyway, grading systems should be more holistic. There was a lot of talk about grading on preparedness and attendance, and while these are important things, I think it is crazy to base student performance on that. The teenage years are really hard on kids, and whether they have a pencil or their notebook is not always their biggest life concern. I know that I never remembered anything that I was supposed to bring to class, and the teachers that were okay with that and helped me find ways to rectify whatever I'd forgotten were consistently the ones that I respected, adored, and learned from the most.
Grading is obviously important, and I'm all for a 100-point scale, I think students do need to be challenged and reminded why they're in school to some extent, but grades should absolutely never be used as something that makes a student feel less than they are, like they're stupid, or like trying is not ever going to be good enough. If grading could be in a place where they inspire students, and guide them through a beautifully whole education that really allowed them to master the information regardless of  how the attain it. There are students that may be poor test-takers, or not great at writing answers and I really do not believe that giving these students one opportunity to show me that they understand the information and giving them no chance to fix mistakes they may have made in exhibiting their knowledge, is a good way to encourage students to put in the effort to learn.

UBD Chapter 8, MI 8,11,12

These chapters, on the whole, talk a lot about you can be sure that making sure that your multiple intelligence friendly, differentiated classroom is fair for all students; that the multiple intelligences can be used to practically everything you could need help with in the classroom. The eighth chapter of UBD talks heavily about grading students, and how to best do it in the differentiated classroom. The chapter urges that you really should not grade students on pre- or formative assessments, rather just checking them for completion. The problem with grading these in the differentiated classroom is that all students learn at different speeds, and grading them all the same way is not going to make for student success. It's much better at the these early points to look for progress instead of mastery. It also talked about, just as students learn differently, they also tests differently, and giving them options for assessment can hugely effect their success in exhibiting their understanding. The MI chapters covered a range of multiple intelligence related topics. Chapter eight talked quite a lot about using the multiple intelligences to get the attention of your students. This is something that I had never really considered to be a possibility, but it totally makes sense. A student's multiple intelligence strengths tend to correspond with their interests, so of course using them to keep a class interested would be a great tactic. This is really helpful, because I do worry that I wil not be able to get and keep the attention of my class. An area also covered was how the multiple intelligences can be used in special education, the chapter provides examples for each of the multiple intelligences. These activities are at their roots, however, the same as what you would use in any classroom, as the chapter so eloquently says, "the best learning activities for special needs students are those that are most successful with all students” (p154). The book goes on into the next chapter to talk about how student's internalize information based on their multiple intelligence strengths, this can involve making up little songs or rhymes for some students, or for some others maybe visualizing the information, or repeating it aloud.

I love how these chapters make it clear that grades are just a snapshot of student ability, especially when you're grading tests, any number of factors could play into a students performance. A good student on a bad day could fail, and understanding that and being flexible enough to help remedy that is really important. I also really enjoyed that they talked even more in depth than it has before about how to use the multiple intelligence theory as a tool in your classroom. The idea of using them to get and keep the attention of students, and to keep them on task better, is something that I hadn't thought about, but I love the idea. It kind of reminds me of the MEL structure that we're learning about with Dr. Theresa, two of the important components are connections and context, which would be really important when using the MIs as a way to get and keep student attention. Basically, I know I'm not alone in just wanting to have a classroom where students feel like they can always succeed, no matter how daunting a task may seem, and the information in these chapters was really helpful as it gave further ways to create this kind of environment.

MI:5,6 / UBD/DI:6,7

Chapter five of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom focuses on utilizing your knowledge to bring as many multiple intelligences as possible into your lesson plans, as effectively as possible. Something that it definitely stressed was helping students develop all of their multiple intelligence abilities, not just there strengths. This will help them grow as learners, and switching back and forth to accommodate this will help you grow as an educator. A really good lesson that has the ability to reach any student is able to access any of the eight intelligences necessary, and allow the teacher to interchange them as needed. It also begins to talk about different ways that a teacher can create lessons and entire curriculums that will truly access and develop all of these skills. Chapter six of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom dives more deeply into planning these lessons and curriculums, giving more specific ways to incorporate all of the learning styles.
Chapter 6 of Understanding By Design and Differentiated Instruction also draws upon the theme of teaching a classroom of diversified learners. It focuses a lot on teachers being aware of and responsive to the learning needs of their students, watching their progress closely throughout the unit. Also how important it is for educators to be flexible and do whatever they can to accommodate the learning needs of the entire class. Chapter 7 talked much more in depth about the actual learning of the students. It discusses how, regardless of the diversified learning styles, each student should be focused on one connecting essential question, or "big idea." Having this really guides a student's learning regardless of how they learn. It also talks about really getting students to understand the content, this has to happen as opposed to just skimming information if you want students to actually internalize the information, rather than just testing then immediately forgetting it.
All of this information is really interesting because it gives me some really valid answers to questions that I was not aware that I had, but it also raises some anxieties. I worry about not being able to see when a student is in need academically (or otherwise, honestly), and missing my chance to really get them to understand material that may be giving them trouble, and could continue to do so in the future. The suggestions for avoiding that, particularly in Understanding By Design and Differentiated Instruction chapter seven, did help to stave off some of that worry, however. The Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom chapters were also really interesting, as it gave some great ways to incorporate all of the learning styles into the curriculum. I also loved that it talked about helping students develop their skills, instead of just helping them play to their strengths, because this is something that I would love to be able to successfully do in my classroom. All in all, I learned a lot in these chapters that I feel excited to try in my own classroom at some point to help students with any learning need to feel comfortable and confident in my classroom and with my content.

MI Chapter 10

This chapter was another one that talked very in depth about student assessment. This one in particular put focus on testing students and measuring how they are progressing based on their earlier work, rather than by pitting them against other students. Another interesting topic it talked about was assessing different learning styles. It talks about how even if you do teach with multiple learning styles, unless you find ways to tap into these while doing assessments, you will not really know how well that differentiated instruction worked. This is why allowing students opportunities to use their strengths to show you what they know is really important. MI portfolios are another great way to monitor student growth while also helping to differentiate their instruction and assessment. As stated in an earlier posts, I really like the idea of portfolios to show student and teacher alike how that particular learner is progressing.
This is also all really important when it comes to keeping a student's interest. I, personally, enjoy writing essays, but I also like to break out and express my understanding in more creative formats when given the opportunity. I believe that students learn best when they are comfortable, and that working with their strengths will only help them grow. Giving students ways to express what they know in whatever way they feel that they can best convey that understanding, as well as letting them create something that will really hold and accelerate their interest in the context at hand, is something that I believe will play a very important role in my future classroom.

Chapter 6 FIAE

Chapter 6 focuses heavily on how to put together a test, and create the best possible questions to assess your students' understanding. It definitely emphasizes how much work goes into effective test questions, which interested me a lot, as it wasn't really a subject that I had put too much thought into. A great portion was about how to keep students on their games during tests and to kind of keep them interested, which is by changing up the types of questions you're using. They give a lot of really specific advice, but the most important was probably one of the simplest; to be clear. All I could think about were all of the times in high school when I was sitting in a test and could not understand what the teacher wanted from me as an answer. Either the question was too broad or too bizarrely stated. I was once asked the who Angela's siblings were in Frank Mccourt's Angela's Ashes, I wrote down their names and ended up losing two points for not writing which was her brother and which was her sister; which I though was pretty clear. Giving students this kind of frustration is not helpful to the learning environment, and makes them second guess their knowledge.
Making tests less terrible is really important because so many students are just terrified of tests when they really should not be. A teacher's job is not to play word games with students while assessing their understanding, or to try to trick them, and not being clear does this, whether it is intentional or not. This is definitely something that I'll strive to be aware of, as I remember being a student and feeling the pains of test anxiety that sitting down to some teachers' assessments would give me.

FIAE Chapter 5

Chapter 5 discusses tiering assessments, and the best way to do so with different types of students. This was really helpful, as it is something that I have thought about quite a lot. How does one challenge the advanced students, and the students of lower readiness alike? While also not overwhelming any of my students? Tiering is to start in a less complicated area, and gradually develop into harder work, giving student individual attention to determine at what grade level each of your students is at, and what and how you need to be teaching them in accordance with that. I found the lists on pages 60 and 61 particularly helpful, as they give examples of grade level, advanced level, and early readiness level tasks and worked through ways that students in these categories could be challenged enough to grow at that level. The chapter also discusses learning contracts, which is a vehicle for tiering assessments, which is a very student-interactive way to assess development and mastery.They involve checkpoints for task completion, and assignment dates, as well as "contractual stipulations" (61), all of which are negotiated between teacher and student.
I would definitely be interested in using tiering in the classroom, as it seems like a great way to differentiate instruction. I have always worried that I wouldn't be able to challenge students at every level, and this definitely seems like a good place to start, though I do not feel like I have enough of a grasp on exactly how to execute it to use it were I in the classroom right now. The learning contracts are also interesting, but I feel like if they weren't set up in the right way they could overwhelm and possibly disinterest students.

Chapter 4: FIAE

Portfolios are introduced in this chapter as a great way to really keep track of how all of the students in your classroom are doing with the content.  They are a very versatile way to assess student understanding yourself, and also to help students assess themselves. Having such a hands on way for students to assess mastery is no doubt a great option, especially if you want to be able to watch the progression of their mastery over time. It's also great for students to see how they have grown throughout your unit, semester, or year, depending on how you utilize portfolios. It can also make it easier for students to organize the work that they have done. Another great option is to use rubrics. The great thing about rubrics is that they set out really clear guidelines for students to meet. Using them to grade also shows students where they have done really well, and where they need to work harder to meet the standards, or come to the teacher for help or differentiated instruction. This all also enables student self-assessment, which allows students to critically look at how they are progressing, and where they can grow even more.
Anything that makes an educators can do to make instructions and expectations more clear to students is great. I really want to make students feel more comfortable and relaxed in the classroom, as unnecessary stress just deters learning. I also think it is definitely really important that students can see how they are progressing with the content you are giving them, as it can give them confidence to grow even more.

IDI/UBD: Chapter 5

The fifth chapter of Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understand by Design focuses on different ways of assessing student learning. The idea of differentiated instruction demands that assessment of the understanding of content and skills should also be differentiated and tailored in a way that offers students a chance to really show what they know, as opposed to what they've memorized. It emphasizes that a teacher can best do this by having a clearly stated goal for the standard they are trying to reach, so that they and the student can be on the same page as to what it means to understand the content they are working on. This chapter also cites the importance of frequent assessment, to make sure that you are properly guiding the class toward this goal, and providing opportunities for assessment that may lie outside of standard testing practices.
I, personally, haven't really thought about assessing students before, but the chapter provided a lot of interesting information. I do think that it is very important to give students alternative ways to exhibit their understanding, especially students that learn in differentiated ways would definitely have a lot to gain from choosing and in a way hand crafting evidence of their understanding and skill. Providing students chances to share their understanding through projects and other alternative assessments, in my experience, keeps them more interested and invested than just answering multiple choice questions. I also would gladly implement frequent assessments, as I never before realized how important it is to properly leading a classroom toward your goal.

FIAE: Chapter 3

This chapter, three, of Fair Isn't Always Equal provided much more in depth information on accessing student understanding and mastery. It describes the three major types of assessment; pre-assessment, formative assessment, and summative assessment. It also describes the uses of all of these. Pre-assessment is a great tool because it gives you an idea of while students are already advanced in this topic, and which may need assistance, formative is mid-content assessment, which can be used  to determine the success of the lessons and where you should go from there, and summative, of course, captures the end results of the learning. This is all important to know, as it isn't really obvious to students that all of the testing being done on them is, in fact, for the purpose of bettering their chances of gaining the skills necessary to master the content.
In today's classroom, I think assessment is a huge concern. Standardized testing and accountability requirements are making it hard for teachers to cover information in a meaningful way. Because of this, their own assessments are simply catering to the pure memorization of content, rather than actual understanding and obtainment of skills. Finding ways to assess students in ways that promote understanding is really important, as student's need to carry these skills with them through their education and lives, otherwise learning it in the first place is a useless endeavor.

FIAE: Chapter 2

The second chapter of Fair Isn't Always Equal focuses largely on determining student mastery of specific content. This wasn't something I had yet given a ton of thought, especially in reference to differentiated instruction. It was a bit surprising how difficult this can be, and how often a teacher needs to check student progress to assure that they are well on the path of fully understanding whatever standard it is you have them working toward. The process involves checking for these skills frequently in ways that require them to answer, or self access, using not empty knowledge, but full and deep understanding of the content with which you have provided them. The chapter suggests that it is important to break up the standard in a way that makes each part easy to access a student on, this kind of breaking apart also eases differentiated teaching and assessment, as it helps more clearly state what goals the learner needs to ultimately meet.
Mastery is definitely hugely important to any classroom, as the ultimate goal of any lesson is to guide students to gain that given skill. In reference to differentiated learning, this could mean creating very different lesson plans and accessing mastery in a altered way, while still being sure that the student is being held to the same caliber. This would always be important in my classroom, because I believe that every student has the right and ability to master the same content as any other, regardless of how they learn.

FIAE: Chapter 1

The first chapter of Fair is Not Always Equally spends a lot of time discussing the logistics of differentiated instruction. It talks about how differentiated instruction can start with something as simple as how you set up the room, and how you can seat students in a way that makes help from fellow students more readily available, and other forms of help more readily accessible. It also talks a lot about the difference between differentiated instruction and allowing gateways for students to be assigned work that is too easy, or that which doesn't present as much as a challenge as the rest of class, therefore leaving these students dissatisfied and uninterested.
I think the difference between these two things are really important today. In a world where standardized testing is forcing teachers to force information quickly onto their students, just giving easier work to those struggling seems much easier than taking the time to help them gain the tactics to actually understand and apply the information. I also would worry that using tactics that were too obvious would make the student in question uncomfortable in my classroom. Regardless of whether the rest of the class understood that things were the way the were because that student needed extra help, the student would most likely be hyper aware enough to believe that their struggles were obvious to the rest of the class. This would definitely inhibit their learning, and their trust in the teacher.

MI Chapter 4

The fourth chapter of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom gives ways for teachers to introduce the idea of multiple intelligences in the classroom. It explains that it is a very simple concept, probably the easiest of all of the intelligence theories, to understand, as it is not overly technical in it's word use or full of confusing acronyms. Because of this, it can be effectively explain to children in 1st grade, and well understood by older children. Understanding the theory is important as research suggests that children benefit greatly from learning about and reflecting on their own learning processes. Knowing their strengths and weaknesses also gives them the ability to be their own advocates when they find themselves in new learning environments.
Knowing their intelligences is really important for these reasons, obviously, as students that know themselves and their learning styles can help teachers understand what they need in a learning environment. But, for me, the biggest issue of a student not understanding this concept is that, in their experience, their strengths may have been overlooked, or not celebrated as intelligence. The book says that the younger the grade levels, the more hands shoot up when a question is posed as to who believes they are intelligent. As somebody that wants to teacher secondary children, I think this really sad, as every student should understand that they are intelligent in their way, and that they are always capable of growing in whatever area that they want to. I believe that knowing this will give students confidence and aid in their success.

MI Chapter 3

Chapter 3 of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom focuses on the student rather than the teacher. Once a teacher understands their own multiple intelligence strengths and weaknesses, they can be implemented on the classroom. The chapter mostly gives ways to access student multiple intelligences. It tells us that these "proclivities" begin at a very early age, so early that they've probably already gain some primary form of learning before they even begin their schooling careers. The chapter also makes it clear that there is no  "megatest" for multiple intelligences to tell you with absolutely certainty where your student will excel, or where their weaknesses lie. Some of the ways it suggests observing them for their intelligences, however is to watch the way that they misbehaves (as these are usually associated to their intelligence strengths), to know how they spend their free time, to look at school record, talk to other teachers and parents, and ask the student.
Knowing this information about a student drastically changes the way that you teach them, so finding them out as quickly as possible is really very important to the classroom. The chapter was very helpful giving such inventive ways to find out, outside of just giving them a test. Searching their past and their records, and observing them closely gives you and even more in depth view of the student. Finding these out also lets you be aware of what you can do as a teacher to accommodate them, and, if you are weak in that area, seek help from other teachers and students.

IDI/UBD Chapter 4

The fourth chapter of Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design further discusses issues of content. This more focuses on clarity of content, however. The chapter focuses on how an educator needs to establish clear understanding goals for content and give both quality curriculum and instruction. Though most teachers believe this and that variety is necessary in the classroom, research suggests that this is an ideal that most instructors are not currently meeting. Therefore, they are falling short of the sort of responsive classroom that they would like to have. Differentiated instruction is a big part of this, as, in many classrooms, students who are struggle tend to be given smaller goals and less work while students who tend to over-achieve tend to be given more goals and extra work. In an ideally functioning classroom, the same goals belong to everybody, but they may be reached in different ways to accommodate different learners.
Also central to this is the idea that every student in a classroom understand the similarities and differences between themselves and their fellow learners. Acceptance and appreciation of these creates a more respectful and comfortable environment for learning, and discourages supporting each others learning efforts as opposed to competing with them. This is important to any classroom, as academic stress, embarrassment, and discomfort are not helpful to any learner, and a classroom that provides that would be less effective for it. I also really appreciated learning about situating lessons so that no student is being over or under extended, as I think that it is really important to supporting a students learning that neither of these things occur.

IDI/UBD Chapter 3

The third chapter of Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design discussed content, and specifically the way that guiding standards in content can overload both teacher and student. Though the standards are "intended to focus teaching and learning, guide curriculum development, and provide a basis for accountability systems" (p. 24) they are still too many, according to the book, we would have to add about nine more years of school in order to teach each benchmark for only thirty minutes each. The textbooks, and the extent of information in them, progress the problem.
This is where the backward design method would be useful, as teaching this much information tends to lead educators to push information in order to meet standards, and not focus on actual student understanding. The proposal is that teachers start with an explanation of the big ideas, and work back, deciding on acceptable evidence and integrating learning experiences. Knowing this method and how to facilitate actual content understanding in the classroom is really important, as there is nothing more frustrating to a student than just having information thrown at them. Exploration and creative learning is so important in the classroom, as it not only helps students really learn, but it keeps them interested in a way that lecturing, or textbook teaching at them absolutely does not. This chapter made me think about how to tackle those standards that I will be facing in a new and pretty exciting way, as backward design is a much more inventive and creative method than some of the alternatives.

Team 1 Chapter synthesis: MI2

The second chapter of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom explains how crucial a teacher understanding their own intelligences is to their ability to instruct a classroom full of diverse learners. The chapter mentions that these intelligences are influenced by uncontrollable factors, such as your biological and cultural history, but also that, despite these unavoidable factors, and your personal intelligence strengths and weaknesses, you never stop growing as a learner; anybody can hone and develop any intelligence at any point in life. It also explains external factors of intelligences, which are separated into crystallizing and paralyzing experiences. These experiences steer us to or away from different subjects that become our varied intelligences. All of these factors are very important for educators to understand, as we need to be fluent in the idea of multiple intelligences in order to effectively use them in our classrooms.

Understanding how multiple intelligences work and utilizing them in the classroom very much changes how one's classroom operates. Knowing your own multiple intelligence strengths and weaknesses allows you to find ways to teach to the entire room. For this reason, a teacher needs to be well versed in the intricacies of each intelligence, as it is key to using them with students, even when the areas in question are the educators personal weaknesses. It also gives you an idea of what areas of intelligence you should seek advice for in, in order to use them appropriately. The book suggests that this can be done by asking for this advice from colleagues and your students. This kind of collaboration with colleagues creates opportunities for professional teamwork, and with students creates a more involved classroom that gives students of all intelligence areas a chance to demonstrate inventiveness and leadership.This chapter also makes you even more aware of how capable students are of growth. Even a senior in high school has the capacity to gain skill in any area of weakness, which is a pretty powerful concept for the classroom. It's also nice to remember as an educator, as it reminds one that despite our weaknesses, with time, we can gain strength in teaching those areas. Another section that is hugely important to the classroom is crystallizing and paralyzing experiences. Knowing that you as a teacher, or your students peers, can easily create an experience negative enough to paralyze a sector of a person's intelligence is very impactful. Having a classroom to facilitate crystallizing experiences instead is necessary to having a healthy, comfortable, and encouraging environment, which is an atmosphere for which all teachers should always strive. 

http://www.literacyworks.org/mi/intro/index.html

http://www.davidlazeargroup.com/

UBD/DI Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design delves deeper into understanding you students and creating relationships with them conducive to teaching them the content effectively. It speaks of understanding both the variety and and the vast differences in the classroom, citing particular stories about personal problems deterring the successes of different students; problems at home, an undiagnosed learning disability, and a misunderstood learning style.

The one that particularly struck me was the first, Elise, who was a great student, but became progressively less successful following her parents divorce. Knowing things like this about your students is so important to teaching responsively, because the idea that her failure could bring her parents back together to fix her is all that kept her from doing well. She had parents that were perfectly willing to do everything they could to help her, but that wasn’t what she wanted.

A teacher knowing their students well is really important to me, as every really wonderful teacher I’ve known has done so. It creates an environment of comfort, where the student can trust coming to you for whatever they need. It also allows the teacher to find ways to meld lessons to match their different learning needs, and to make important connections to the content. Using differentiated instruction, such as using group work and discussion, giving the option to work independently or with peers, and allowing students to explore the content in question are just some of the really interesting ways to differentiate instruction mentioned in this chapter.

UBD/DI Chapter 1

The first chapter of Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design gives a really clear definition of the concepts mentioned in the title. It also explains to us the significance of these two methods of educating, as they are both currently being widely discussed, and are seen as practical and logical in the classroom. These methods are seemingly an effective way to combat the learning standards and accountability tests that teachers feel are “impoverishing” (p.1) their students. Understanding by Design (UbD) is set up to not only give students the information that they need, but also allowing them to use their minds and actually understand the information complexly. Differentiated Instruction (DI) plays into it by having the teachers using understanding by design to alter bits of the lesson to cater to the diverse learners in their classes. 

These together address a huge challenge to today’s teacher, which is, they say, “crafting a powerful curriculum in a standards-dominated era and ensuring success for the full spectrum of learners.) (p.2). The two techniques are reliant upon each other, because each of them attend to one of the four elements of teaching: “whom they teach (students), where they teach (learning environment), what they teach (content), and how they teach (instruction)” (p.2). UbD, of course, addresses what we’re teaching and how it is done, as it is used to effectively deliver both information and understanding, while DI is about the whom and where, as it is about knowing your students and instructing to their individual needs. These two tactics seem incredibly necessary to deal with these problems of teaching to tests, and of teaching to a diverse classroom of learners. They also encourage student exploration, and relevant assessments that also to gauge a real comprehension, rather than just empty memorization.

Chapter 2 MI

The second chapter of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom discusses implementing the multiple intelligences (MIs) in your own life in order to accurately use them in the classroom.  It explains that this is a necessity of commitment, as knowing it works for educators and adult learners will strengthen the dedication to using it on students. It also helps gain fluency in each of the individual intelligences, which will help to use them in the classroom. Another way that identifying your own MIs is to understand where your areas of weakness are, they use the example that, as an educator, you could have very limited spatial abilities, which makes you prone to avoiding drawing diagrams and pictures, and using graphics. However, there will be spatial learners in your classroom, meaning that you have to develop this skill more to properly instruct them.

Understanding this and how the MIs are developed (the three main ways being biological endowment, personal life history, and cultural and historical background) are crucial to teaching a diverse classroom effectively. Also important are the activators and deactivators, “crystallizing and paralyzing experiences.” These are factors that will either suppress or feed the development in a certain MI. In seventh grade I had a crystallizing experience with English, having been told by my teacher that I was a strong academic and creative writer. This is the kind of moment that I would love to be able to create for students, while dashing any possible paralyzing experiences in my classroom. Encouragement to develop intelligences and playing to a students is is important for a teacher to do, as certain moments can really affect you students’ future.

Chapter 1 MI

The first chapter of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom is very heavily focused on what the multiple intelligences are and from where they derive. They were developed to challenge intelligence tests, that were felt to too narrowly define intelligence. These tests were first created by French psychologist Alfred Binet, who was as by the minister of public instruction in Paris to find a way to determine which primary school students were at risk for failure. The testing moved to the United States years later, with the idea that intelligence could be “objectively measured and reduced to a single number or “IQ” score.” (p.1).

It was a Harvard psychologist that began to seriously challenge this, proposing in his his book, Frame of Mind, that there were, bare minimum, seven basic intelligences. Recently, an eighth has been added, a ninth in discussion. His eight types are linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, interpersonal, and natural. Different people match different types, but Gardner, and the book, make it clear that everyone develops some semblance of each intelligence, and can strengthen that area at any point of life, also that even within the categories there are many ways to be intelligent. 

These intelligences are extremely important to the classroom, as teachers need to understand how each of their individual students learn, and even in what areas they could use help. It’s also important because it does debunk the idea that there is only on definition of intelligence, which is an important guiding idea in a classroom. It’s also important because Gardner is adamant about our standardized testing is not the right way to test a student’s knowledge. He suggests that tests that span a wider range of the intelligences would be more effective, though he does use standardized tests to assess multiple intelligences.