Recognizing Multiple Intelligences in Class Design: An Example (following Armstrong (1994))
- LINGUISTIC INTELLIGENCE
- Students compose a written explanation of a particular function of the brain and share explanations with one or more of their classmates, explaining and clarifying.
- LOGICAL-MATHEMATICAL INTELLIGENCE
- Students create a formula or an equation to illustrate or explain some function of the brain.
- SPATIAL INTELLIGENCE
- Students draw a picture or map or make a model of the brain or create some symbolic representation of how some aspect of the brain functions.
- BODILY-KINESTHETIC INTELLIGENCE
- Students create with their bodies, in relation to one another, different representations of how the brain works. Or, students act out or mime some function of the brain and have their classmates guess which one it is.
- MUSICAL INTELLIGENCE
- Students listen to, sing, or compose songs which explain some function of the brain.
- INTERPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE
- Students create with their bodies, in relation to one another, different representations of how the brain works. Or, students work together to create a description or a multi-media representation of their understanding of some aspect of the brain, sharing responsibilities for the project, presenting it as a group, and soliciting feedback from their classmates.
- INTRAPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE
- Students reflect on how they perceive their brains in relation to themselves. Do they feel their brains? Do they have an image of the brains? Do they think of themselves in terms of their brains ("I'm the brain in the
family")?
Trying it Out
Following discussion, Brain and Behavior Institute 1997 participants worked in groups to sketch out lesson plan ideas. Each group was asked to develop a lesson plan related to some aspect of brain and behavior, focusing on one or another of the multiple intelligences of children.
Delores Ayer, Alicia Boyd, Marita Wagner (Intra and interpersonal Intelligences
Focus: Learning
Goal: To teach students how self-esteem affects/relates to learning
Activity: Students will participate in carrying out an experiment involving two groups, one experiencing high expectation, the other low expectation. After discussion of the procedures and purposes of the exercise, ach group will be expected to memorize a list of twenty words. One group will receive encouragement and praise while doing so, and the other ridicule and dicouragement. After a predefined time period, student will be asked to recall the list of words. It is hoped that the group that receives praise and encouragement will have turned in the longer list, while the other group will so less well. Group discussion following the activity will allow students to consider implications and draw conclusions about the significance for learning of high and low expectations.
Leon Bailey, Carol Rosenbaum, Mitchel Schwartz, Geneva Tolliferreo (Spatial and Musical Intelligences)
Focus: The Organization of the Brain
Goal: To get students to be familiar with the organization of the brain through hands on activities
Activities:
1. Making models, puzzles; show what know about brain and then add to it by looking at real brain; computer research; make, play pin tail on brain
2. Computer research to see what else is known.
3. Listen to music of different kinds, talk about/discuss how it makes one feel, differences between different people, differences between hearing song, thinking of it from title.
4. Think/talk about/discuss what must be going on in brain, how relates to models, what need to add to them.
Evaluation:
1. Student participation.
2. Demonstration of material in models
Rita Brown, Yvette Palmer, Lucy Ryan (Linguistic intelligence)
Focus: The Nervous System
Goal: To determine if we perform actions without thinking, to illustrate that thinking is not necessary to see, mime, or create.
Activities:
1. Introduction. Teacher will throw out an eraser to a student to catch. Other students will observe the behavior of that student. Teacher will pose questions: what behavior did you think about? What behavior did you not think about?
2. Classroom discussion: List, discuss activities you do thinking/not thinking.
3. Observe how many times a person blinks within a one minute period with a partner.
4. Cooperative Group. Students will determine what activity you think about and not think about.
5. Assign written story: "Aliens". Students will write a story describing an alien that is limited to two movements that it does not have think about. Must be fictitious and interesting.
6. Observe activity. Students will observe a family member to see what thinking/non-thinking activities are done at home.
Time period: Two class periods
Evaluation:
1. Feedback from observation - comparison on group-cooperative/at home activities.
2. Critical thinking
3. Observations
4. Oral and written expression
Alison Cook-Sather, Paul Grobstein (Logical/mathematical Intelligence)
Focus: Is intelligence related to brain size?
Goal: To help students appreciate intelligence as a poorly defined concept, realize it cannot be evaluated by a single standard, recognize racism/sexism in guise of science, make explicit one's own beliefs/assumptions and evlaute them in light of new observations
Activities:
1. State and discuss hypothesis: intelligence is related to brain size
2. If true, it should be possible to predict relative intelligence by putting brains in order of size. So collect information on brain size , including frog, rat, cow, chimp, Alison, Paul.
3.In small groups, develop criteria for intelligence, assign values to each brain, test if intelligence/brain size orders are the same
4.General discussion of findings, conclusions, difficulties in evaluating intelligence, as well as of why hypothesis would have developed in first place
Evaluation:
Homework assignment: Write a paper which gives your own conclusions, traces your own thinking in reaching this conclusion, and considers social implications
Lillian Green, Lorraine Seabrooks, Tom Witkowski (Interpersonal, Spatial Intelligences
Focus: Reafferent Loops
Goal: To create an output which will have an effect on the world which can influence the brain which will in turn re-affect the world; to show that every time there is a change in the output there is a change in the input
Activities:
1. Passing ball back and forth.
2. Throwing ball back and forth.
3. Vocabulary words
4. Place cards
5. Role-playing (using cards)
Evaluation:
Outcome and an understanding of the goal of self-evaluation.
Nora Kasper, Jenny Kim, Velma Lester (Bodily/kinesthetic Intelligences)
Focus: Neurons and neuron ensembles
Goal: To get students to understand parts of neurons, how they interact, ensembles of neurons interacting, similarities to families/neighborhoods/communities
Activities:
Student interactions to illustrate/consider properties emerging from interactions and and how these influence the outside world.
1.Group work (cooperative education, research on parts).
2. Act it out.
3. Role playing
4. Individual, group activity in response to music of various kinds
Evaluation:
1. How well work together
2. How the group adequately explains the parts of processes of interaction
3. What happens when things go wrong
4. Community relationships: impact on classroom/school, on family/neighborhood
Reference Resources
Armstrong, T. (1994) Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom. Alexandria, Virginia: American Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development
Connolly, P. and Vilardi, T. (1989) Writing to Learn Mathematics and Science. New York: Teachers College Press.
Freire, P. (1970) Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum.
Gardner, H. (1983) Frames of Mind: The Theory of Mulitple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books.
Gardner, H. (1991) To Open Minds. New York: Basic Books.
Gardner, H. (1993) Multiple Intelligences: The Theory into Practice New York: Basic Books.
Lytle, S. and Botel, M. (1988) PCRP II (Pennsylvania Framework for Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening Across the Curriculum) Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Marzano et al (1997) Dimensions of Learning. Alexandria, Virginia: American Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development
Moore, R. (1992) Writing to Learn Biology Saunders College Publishing.
Myers/Briggs Learning Styles Inventory
Shor, Ira (1992) Empowering Education: Critical Teaching for Social Change Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Slavin, R. (1995) Cooperative Learning Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Spring, J. (1944) The American School. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Alison Cook-Sather
Director, Bryn Mawr/Haverford Education Program
acooksat@haverford.edu
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