Chapter Four: Teaching Students about MI Theory

I am so appreciative that Armstrong saw the importance of including an entire chapter on the education of MI to students; I was a little surprised while reading the previous chapter at just how little he included on the matter, as they are most likely going to be your best source when gathering data on their preferred intelligences. I will have to say that I thought some of the suggestions were impractical and rather time consuming, in addition many were quite amateur in nature and would not have been task appropriate for a high school classroom. I do commend the sheer number of suggestions and the creative nature of them all.

After reading this chapter I have to say that the tactic I am most convinced to use is not one listed in its pages, but rather one introduced to me in Dr. Grace Wards EDU 221 class. As a first day ice-breaker activity each student was giving a MI questionnaire, through answering scenario based questions and having intelligence specific answers to choose from, each student was tasked with determining their top two preferred intelligences. This not only acted as a vital source of information for the teacher but was enlightening to the student as well. This chapter helped express the richness of that activity and further cemented my plans to implement it into my own classroom. While I feel that I am most likely to use this method I as well think the question of what our preferred intelligence might be is a great question to re-examine halfway through the year. The factors of time and a new approach might reveal information that was not gathered the first time around.

Chapter Three: Describing Intelligences in Students

            I enjoy the practical nature of this chapter; it offers numerous real life methods to assist in implementing the teachings of this book. The personal nature of getting to know your students is significant in so many ways when it comes to teaching, how you go about collecting that data is not always as straight forward. The sheer amount of students teachers have acts as a barrier to achieving learner specific knowledge, in addition many learners might not consciously identify with their preferred intelligence, while some (those who register on the interpersonal scale) might not care to share their thoughts. In addition I thought the suggestion of going through individual students files and analyzing previous teachers reports (kindergarten in particular) was an original and resourceful idea. We as teachers are not alone, our colleagues act as sources of knowledge in so many ways and their experience with specific learners can be some of their most helpful knowledge to convey.

The suggestion that I think I am the most apt to follow from this chapter is the one in regards to journal keeping. I understand the logistical task of keeping notes on 80+ students and applaud them for their realistic and honest outlook on even the ideas that they pose. I however find this approach so important that it outweighs any of the negatives that might come with it. Tracking the progress of a student is crucial to understanding the learner on so many fronts. We can track them through their work but this leaves out so many of the important visual cues that we encounter as well as the emotional ones. If a student starts to spiral downwards due to issues unrelated to the class I might not pick up on the initial signals, however if I track the student with journal entries I might notice a pattern after the second or third week.  I hope that I will be able to come to some arrangement that allows time in my day to incorporate such an activity.

Chapter Four: What Really Matters in Planning for Student Success?

           Chapter Four had a plethora of great information. One of the first ideas that I connected to was in regards to why it is okay to deviate from the age-old methods of teaching, such as the reading and regurgitating of text. Changing these methods to better suit learners needs is not resorting to cheats or less than practices, it is the goal that should remain intact not our methods to get achieve it. In correlation to this, another valid point expressed in this chapter was in our perceptions of students who possess fewer capabilities or content knowledge than the majority of our students. Our approach towards them should not be to dumb things down or offer a weaker workload; our focus is quality not quantity. Again this brings us back to goals, it is important to reach the goal and that can only be accomplished if we help the student find the right path, by the end we have all made the journey no matter the factors we encountered along the way.

Within my own personal thoughts, the talk of DI and ranging levels of content knowledge and ability has brought to light the ideas of peer perception on how others are learning. I remember being called into the gifted and talented program as an elementary student and I recall times when I was not, those feelings impacted me greatly. How we encourage and promote the learning of each of our students without making them feel less than or without increasing their ego to the point of implied hierarchy is so important. The outlined suggestions on page 46 I purposefully marked so as to find it in the future. Creating a safe and comfortable learning environment while also stressing the importance of respect and camaraderie is a lesson that should be included in every class no matter the concentration.

Chapter Three: What Really Matters in Learning? (Content)

Chapter Three of Integrating Differentiated Instruction & Understanding acts was a great overview and manual to the Understanding by Design process. The aspects of state learning standards I think are relatively unknown to most individuals; in and of itself the career of teaching is surrounded by misconceptions. I myself was ill informed of the bureaucratic nature of standards; the more I delve into the topic the more overwhelmed I become by the complexity and serious nature of them. To add fuel to the fire these standards are ever evolving, making them difficult to stay on top of. This chapter’s blunt “you can’t please them all” attitude did seem to take the edge off a bit. I took many Advance Placement classes in high school and was always amazed at the “teach to the test” approach many of my teachers took. Key ideas or topics were overlooked due to the probability of them not being mentioned on the exam. We as students acted as guinea pigs, trained for the soul purpose of getting a high score on this one exam. I find these actions to go against every philosophy of teaching.

The information I was the most appreciative of however, was in the instruction of UbD use in conjunction with the standards. This pairing dissolves the rigidity of state dictations and allows there to be some movement, benefiting both the learner and the teacher. It also answers to the question posed in the beginning of the chapter in regards to time management and content overview.

Chapter Two: What Really Matters in Teaching? (The Students)

           While the previous chapter gave me some anxiety into the tasks required of teachers this chapter offered me reassurance that the feat was not impossible to accomplish. It was the specific real-life examples incorporated into the chapter that offered me this breath of fresh air. Examples of barriers I might come across, and coinciding examples of how they might play-out, showed me the possibility and ease in which a teacher might try to counter certain obstacles.

I think this chapter does well to express the importance of flexibility when it comes to our curriculum and methods of approach. As a teacher we will need to mold our curriculum to each of our students accordingly, what seems like a solid game plan at the start of the school year might turn out not to be a suitable approach. Teachers must not be married to these previously orchestrated plans but rather be able to accept their need to be fluid.

Lastly one of the more minor points of the chapter that stood out to me was the need to incorporate DI for those who are gifted in your specific field. I think the talk of DI is often directed towards those who possess traits that might act as an anchor. My classroom will also be present with individuals who already have knowledge of the subject I am teaching and I must work hard to plan lessons that still intrigue and interest them without overwhelming those who enter with zero background knowledge.