Week 9: Multiple Intelligence Theory

Dear webmates! We are resolutely moving towards the end of our training! After ninie weeks, I can tell you I really feel confident about improving my teaching practice after spending all this time with you and our dear Donna.

Week 9 has been quite interesting: I was able to post my final project, after good feedback from my peer reviewers. My main project will consist in a WebQuest on the Water: I entitled it: Wter, the Next Source of War?
I will soon post it at http://www.zunal.com/ ( Webquest Maker). If you haven't seen this tool yet, I invite you to try it. Other things I want to implement are: a Delicious English Resources Bank for students and colleagues to use, and a test/quiz website  with EasyTest Maker (http://www.easytestmaker.com).
Multiple Intelligence Theory was the Reading topic of this week, and I learned a lot from Howard Gardner's workshop on the topic ( http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/ ). 

They key ppint I retained from the document is that " “all human beings possess all nine intelligences in varying amounts and that we can improve education by addressing the Multiple Intelligences of our students.

However, not all specialists agree with Gardner's assertion that it is possible to teach and assess differently according to students' strenghts and weaknesses. Opponents such as E.D Hirsh for instance, argues that MI theory does not encourage educators to teach ‘core knowledge’ – a common collection of essential facts..."

Linda Gottfredson, an advocate of Psychometric evaluation also claims that “all of us do differ in intelligence and this intelligence can be scrupulously measured”, thus opposing Gardner’s argument that “they only measure rote memorization skills and one's ability to do well on short answer tests”.  Other major criticisms toward MI include the fact that it is not such a “new” concept, that it is not well defined, and more interesting, that “it is impractical” because “Educators faced with overcrowded classrooms and lack of resources see multiple intelligence theory as utopian”.

My final appreciation of the theory is that, if it is not easy to teach each student according to his compliance with one type of intelligence or the other, it remains possible to vary strategies to make sure each student has a chance to learn.

Here is a summary table of Richard M Felder and Barbara A. Soloman on "Different Learning Styles and Strategies":

	HOW DO YOU LEARN: YOU…	HOW TO HELP YOURSELF
Active	Retain and understand information by doing something with it. Like trying things. Like group works.	Participate in group study with interaction, collaboration cooperation.
Reflective	Prefer to think about information. Like thinking about things. Like working alone.	Review previously learned materials; write short summaries of reading or class notes in your own words.
Everybody is active sometimes and reflective sometimes. Your preference for one category or the other may be strong, moderate, or mild. A balance of the two is desirable. If you always act before reflecting you can jump into things prematurely and get into trouble, while if you spend too much time reflecting you may never get anything done.
Sensing	Like learning facts. Like solving problems by well-established methods and dislike complications and surprises. Are more practical and careful.	Ask your instructor for specific examples of concepts and procedures. Find out how the concepts apply in practice
Intuitive	Prefer discovering possibilities and relationships. Like innovation and dislike repetition. Work faster and are more innovative.	Ask your instructor for interpretations or theories that link the facts, or try to find the connections yourself. Take time to read the entire question before you start answering and be sure to check your results.
To be effective as a learner and problem solver, you need to be able to function both ways. If you overemphasize intuition, you may miss important details or make careless mistakes in calculations or hands-on work; if you overemphasize sensing, you may rely too much on memorization and familiar methods and not concentrate enough on understanding and innovative thinking.
Visual	Remember best what they see- , diagrams, flow charts, time lines, films, and demonstrations.	Find diagrams, sketches, schematics, photographs, flow charts. See if any videotapes or CD-ROM displays of the course material are available. Prepare a concept map by listing key points…
Verbal	Get more out of words- written and spoken explanations.	Write summaries or outlines of course material in your own words.  Practice working in group
Good learners are capable of processing information presented either visually or verbally.
Sequential	Gain understanding in linear steps. Follow logical stepwise paths in finding solutions.	Ask the instructor to fill in skipped steps, or fill them in yourself by consulting references. Outline the lecture material for in logical order.
Global	Learn in large jumps. Solve   complex problems quickly or put things together in novel ways once you have grasped the big picture.	Before you begin to study the first section of a chapter in a text, skim through the entire chapter to get an overview. Instead of spending a short time on every subject every night, you might find it more productive to immerse yourself in individual subjects for large blocks.