Multiple intelligences- Inteligencias Múltiples

Teaching MulTiple inTelligences wiTh iTslearning - a pracTical guide 1

itslearning as, 2011©

Teaching MulTiple inTelligences wiTh iTslearninga pracTical guide

2 Teaching MulTiple inTelligences wiTh iTslearning - a pracTical guide

Variety: the spice of life and learning

how can time-pressed teachers add variety to their teaching – and appeal to learners who learn in different ways? This paper looks at how to use itslearning to apply the theory of multiple intelligences in class – giving quick and practical tips that a teacher can put into practice tomorrow.

Howard Gardneramerican psychologist

& educator

The theory of multiple intelligences in a nutshell

First proposed by howard gardner in 1983, the theory of multiple intelligences is an attempt to analyse and better describe the concept of intelligence. gardner argues that the concept of intelligence that is traditionally measured by iQ tests (which focus on logical and linguistic abilities) is insufficient. instead, he suggests that there are a number of different types of intelligence. currently, gardner lists eight intelligences, although he seems open to the possibility of there being more.

• spatial• linguistic• logical-mathematical• Bodily-kinesthetic• Musical• interpersonal• intrapersonal• naturalistic

A realistic approach to multiple intelligences in the classroom

For many teachers, gardner’s theory can be summarised as “students learn in different ways”; and gardner’s different intelligences can be viewed as learning styles. learners may tend towards one learning style; however, they are not exclusive, so all learners will benefit from a broad approach to education that uses different techniques, exercises and activities.

But, as gardner says himself, no teacher has the time to teach to all eight learning styles. instead you should look to teach to two or three different styles, as this will still make a huge difference to your learners.

You can hear howard gardner talking about his theory and how it applies to education at: www.edutopia.org/multiple-intelligences-howard-gardner-video


CONTENTS

Making teaching to multiple intelligences possiblehow can teachers accommodate a number of different learning styles in their teaching?

The visual-spatial learning styleworking with prezis, visualising test questions and making courses more memorable

The linguistic learning styleusing audio feedback, playing with wikis and helping shy students speak out

The logical-mathematical learning stylecreating peer-to-peer tests and helping students find and correct their own mistakes

The bodily-kinesthetic learning styleFilming homework and dancing the school play at home

The musical learning stylerapping about fractions and blogging with song lyrics

The interpersonal learning styleasking students to teach each other and using role plays to explore language

The intrapersonal learning styleencouraging reflection and sharing advice with discussion forums

The naturalistic learning styleBringing the outdoors into the classroom

Tips on differentiationhow can teachers differentiate instruction in large classes?

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Making teaching to multiple intelligences possible

Teaching every topic, task or problem in seven or eight different ways is far too time-consuming for most (or all) teachers. The solution is to use different techniques and approaches when possible, to bring as much variety as you can into your classes.

although eight different learning styles have been identified, the styles are not mutually exclusive. This means that each learner will have a preference for a number of different styles – and as a result, most learners will benefit from the variety you add to your classes.

This paper gives you a brief introduction to each learning style, and then gives you some practical examples of how you can use itslearning to teach to each style.

Quiz your class

You can assess your class to see which styles are most prominent among your group of learners. This will help you define the best learning styles to teach. You can find a good assessment tool here: www.edutopia.org/mi-quiz.


The visual-spatial learning style

people with strong visual-spatial intelligence have a good understanding of the visual world and its relation to physical items, which means that they can visualise and modify physical objects in their mind. They are good at solving spatial problems, designing and doing crafts.

Give your classes some prezi

prezi is an online tool that allows anyone to create animated presentations that mix images and text – and teachers can use prezis in a number of ways. For example, prezis are a great way to visualise the progression of historical events and how they connect. history teachers can use them to add a visual element to their teaching, and you can even ask your learners to create a prezi that outlines the key dates and events in the period you’re studying.

Once completed, prezis can be embedded straight into the learning platform. Teachers can upload prezis onto course pages as study aids, and learners can share their prezis with other students.

Study tips for visual-spatial learners

• colour code your notes• add diagrams to your notes when possible• use mind-maps to show the connections between things

Use visual test questions

itslearning’s digital test tool gives you ten different question types to choose from, including a number of great visual question tools. This includes hotspot, an excellent tool for testing geography and biology. in hotspot questions, learners must identify and click a certain part of an image. For example, you can test your learners’ understanding of the human body by asking them to click on the different organs.

Be creative with your course

course dashboards in itslearning function like mini-websites and you can include a lot of varied information, as well as a lot of visual elements. in order to make them more memorable for visual-spatial learners, embed videos, use charts and graphs, and insert images to support your texts and general information.


Use audio feedback as well as written feedback

Traditionally, we think of strong linguistic learners as good at reading and writing, but they are also usually good speakers and listeners – and audio feedback is a great way to add variety to how you give feedback to learners. and it will save you time.

when correcting a piece of work, instead of writing all your comments, simply open the audio recorder and speak your feedback into your microphone. You can save the audio file to the learner’s dashboard as a note, and they can listen to it at any time. and because most of us speak faster than we type, this kind of feedback method should make assessing work faster.

Use discussions to release shy linguistic learners

not all linguistic learners like speaking in front of others, and the itslearning discussion tool is a great way to let them express their opinions without having to stand up. so how can you use it? You can use discussion forums to introduce a topic (icT teachers, for example, can start a discussion thread about ccTV at the start of a module on internet privacy) or as homework assignments (english teachers can set-up a discussion using a question on a set text and ask students to comment as part of their homework assignment).

The linguistic learning style

people with strong verbal-linguistic intelligence can use words effectively for reading, writing, listening and speaking. poets and authors are often seen as the epitome of verbal-linguistic intelligence.

Study tips for linguistic learners • Talk about what you learn• retype your notes• write outlines or summaries of what you learn

Avram Noam Chomskyamerican linguist &

philosopher

Just2Easy wikis

Just2easy makes a number of teaching and learning applications that are fully integrated into itslearning. One of the most popular is a document sharing tool that allows learners to work on the same text document at the same time. as the document is updated live, the learners – and the teacher – can see when new text is added or existing text modified.

Teachers can use this tool in a number of ways. For example, you could ask your learners to create a wiki about the topic as part of their revision. simply create a document and write the key words for that topic. Then split your learners into pairs and ask them to start defining each word. as the edits are made live, learners can add to each others’ definitions and correct each others’ inaccuracies.


Ask your learners to write the end of term test

asking students to write test questions forces them to research a topic, as well as prioritise which aspects of the topic are most important. itslearning’s in-built test tool makes this very easy to do. simply ask your students – alone or in groups – to come up with ten questions each for the end of term test. You can then choose the best questions for the final test.

This not only gives you a bank of questions to use in future tests, but it also ensures your questions are varied. and because learners are often tech-savvy, they will most likely unlock the test tools full potential by including a range of question types and including multi-media to make the questions more engaging.

Encourage learners to go back and correct their mistakes

itslearning includes a number of tools for teaching and assessing maths. Kikora, for example, contains more than 4,000 maths exercises, targeted to different age groups and skill levels. But the beauty of Kikora is how the exercises are completed. instead of simply giving learners the correct answer at the end of the exercise, it isolates the point at which the learner went wrong. This means learners can go back to their mistake and work out how to correct it. Kikora even gives hints if a learner is really stuck.

The logical-mathematical learning style

people with strong logical-mathematical intelligence can understand complex problems, both logical and mathematical. They ask questions, find solutions and reflect on the problem-solving process.

Study tips for logical-mathematical learners

• don’t just memorise: think carefully about the cause and effect of what you learn• stop periodically to reflect on what you’ve learned


Ask learners to complete their homework on video

For early learners, it’s often easier to understand basic multiplication when they have a concrete example – so you can use physical items, such as pens, to show them how to do basic multiplication. if you want your students to revise the work at home, set them some simple multiplication exercises. But instead of asking them to write down their answers, ask them to video their hands moving the objects around as they complete the task.

How to videos

For people with strong bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, the best learning takes place when they are ‘doing’. how to videos are a great way to allow them to do this. For example, if you are teaching learners about pulley systems, you can ask them to make a simple pulley system for their homework – and video themselves doing it. This way, they physically do the work while also talking through the process (and hopefully theory). if you ask them to upload the video to the learning platform to complete the assignment, you also get a record of their work.

Students dance the school play at home

Many schools choose to put on a musical each year as the big chorus lines and dance numbers allow students of varying ability to take part. But teachers also have limited time to rehearse the dance numbers with students. One solution is to record the dance number on video and upload it to a specially created school play course page. This means the students can watch the video and dance along at home.

The bodily-kinesthetic learning style

people with strong bodily-kinesthetic intelligence think in movements. They use movements either for self-expression, or as precision actions to achieve a goal (think surgeons, athletes, choreographers and film/theatre directors). They often retain information best if it’s associated with an activity.

Study tips for bodily-kinesthetic learners • pace & recite as you learn• act out material or design learning games• use flashcards


Mr. Duey fractions rap

There are a number of educational musicians on YouTube who sing educational songs (a good example is Mr. duey, who raps about maths). To appeal to musical learners, you can play the video in class and ask learners to sing along. You can even embed the video alongside homework assignments for learners to listen to as they do their homework. (itslearning’s YouTube add-on means that this is simple to do and that learners can watch the video without leaving the learning platform.)

Lyrics to teach a language

when teaching a language, you can use songs to teach new vocabulary, revise grammatical structures, practice pronunciation or simply inspire debate. play the song for your learners and after they’ve heard it once or twice, ask them to discuss the meaning of the song or answer a set of questions about it. For homework, create a gap fill exercise using the song lyrics and embed the song alongside the assignment so the learners can listen to check their answers.

The musical learning style

people with strong musical intelligence not only enjoy music but also understand sounds and the emotions they convey. They often learn best while listening to music and will associate what they have learned with the songs they heard when they learned it.

Lyrical blogs

You can even ask your students to write their own lyrics to explain a mathematical subject and they can share their lyrics with their classmates via their blog or sing them directly into the in-built sound recorder.

Study tips for musical learners

• create rhymes to remember material• Beat out rhythms while studying• play music when you study

Mr. Duey, a middle school teacher and rap musician


Create a pages containing information to educate others in the class

people with strong interpersonal intelligence understand other people well and so make good teachers. They also learn best in a group. To combine these two skills, you can divide your class into small groups and ask each group to create a study page for the others in the class, covering a different aspect of the theme you’re working on.

in itslearning, pages are like mini-websites that teachers and learners can use to present, organise and share information. when teaching learners about the solar system, for example, you can ask each group to create a page about a different planet. The learners need to work together to decide what material to include, and how to arrange it so that the others can benefit from exploring it.

Use video and role-play in language classes

language teachers can use embedded videos in itslearning to inspire language learners. if you’re teaching holiday language, for example, begin the exercise by showing your learners a video of a bad holiday interaction (a scene from Fawlty Towers may be a good option). Then ask your learners to discuss why the interaction went wrong.

Finally, you can ask your learners to act out a similar situation with a better outcome. You can even add a role-playing aspect of the exercise by asking learners to act out scenes for different complaints and even assign each learner in the role-play different ulterior motives.

Study tips for interpersonal learners • study in groups• act out material with others• Teach what you learn to someone else• write test questions for other students

The interpersonal learning style

people with strong interpersonal intelligence thrive on social interaction. They understand the motives, emotions, perspectives and moods of other people – and learn best in a group.


Encourage reflection with individual learning plans

itslearning comes with an in-built individual learning plan tool (ilp) that helps learners understand and reflect on the learning process. it’s easy to use and quick to do. Begin by showing your learners the aspects of the curriculum that they have to cover, and ask them to set themselves learning goals connected to the curriculum.

Your learners should then record these goals in their ilp, and set out a plan for achieving them. You can add comments or questions to the ilps to encourage reflection, and should encourage your learners to update their ilp regularly to show how they are getting on. Once the learner has achieved a goal, she can record her work in her eportfolio – and use her blog to reflect on how the learning process worked.

Use discussion forums to share advice

Vocational training often involves dealing with and learning from real-life situations. For example, nurses study in class, but also gain experience from a number of different work placements during their course. But how can you enable these nurses to learn from each others’ experiences when they are often working in different places?

use itslearning to set up discussion forums where learners can share experiences and ask for advice from each other. You can monitor the discussion to ensure people are always getting the best advice and you can even use examples as discussion points in class.

The intrapersonal learning style

people with strong intrapersonal intelligence have a good understanding of who they are and how they feel, and they know their limits and abilities. These people often work best alone, and are very good at setting goals, managing deadlines and reflecting on results.

Study tips for intrapersonal learners • study in a quiet setting• write short summaries of what the material means to you


The naturalistic learning style

people with strong naturalistic intelligence understand the patterns of living things, and they apply scientific reasoning to the world. They often learn best by relating abstract concepts to something concrete in nature.

Study tips for naturalistic learners

• study outside when it’s practical• relate abstract information to something in nature• Take breaks when studying and head outdoors

Aurora BorealisAn aurora is a

natural light display in the sky,

particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision

of energetic charged particles

with atoms in the high altitude

atmosphere.

Bring the outdoors inside

people with strong naturalistic intelligence are often happiest when outside, but it isn’t always easy for a teacher to take a class outside, so use itslearning to bring natural elements into the class. For example, when teaching natural biology, use itslearning to embed images and videos of the plants and animals in their natural environment – and show these to the class.

Visualise the connections

Mind-maps have been used for many years to help people organise their thoughts and visualise the connection between ideas. people with strong naturalistic intelligence can use mind-maps to make theoretical systems and connections appear more concrete.

You can embed mind-mapping tools (such as MindMeister) directly into itslearning so learners can make and share mind-maps in an electronic format. You can even create your own mind maps on a subject and share them with your students for revision purposes.


Use groups to differentiate in classes

in itslearning, it’s possible to assign permissions for each learner. This means you can create one assignment for weaker learners, and tougher assignments for learners who are ready for a challenge. For example, most question-based assignments increase in difficulty as the questions progress. let’s say you have a 20-question assignment: you can set questions 1–10 for your weaker learners, questions 5–15 for your intermediate learners, and questions 10–20 for the real brain boxes. simply create different groups of learners within each course, and then assign each group the relevant test when you set the assignment.

Use videos to explain topics

some people remember things much better if they see them. an easy way to accommodate this is to record your explanation of a topic. For example, when explaining how to do long multiplication, you can train your webcam on your pen as your work through a problem on paper. learners can then watch the video at home to get both a spoken and visual explanation of long multiplication before they begin their homework.

How to use itslearning to differentiate teaching in large classes

One of the hardest aspects of teaching to multiple intelligences is finding the time to teach a subject in different ways. here are some tips on how to use itslearning to individualise your teaching for each learner.

Offer different hand-in options on assignments

while some learners find writing essays easy, some struggle to communicate in writing even if they understand the subject well. so let learners choose how they complete certain assignments. For example, you can let your learners hand-in a written answer, or record their answer with the in-built sound or video recorder.

Let learners pursue their interests in their own time

if you have learners who are interested in a specific area, they may be keen to work more in that subject than the curriculum requires. luckily, course pages allow you to upload a great deal of varied study material, so you can include ‘extension material’, such as links to interesting websites, additional test questions and book extracts, that learners can use at home to extend their learning.

Have extra material ready to go

some learners work faster than others and so complete class exercises before the rest of the class have finished. itslearning allows you to keep a bank of exercises always at hand. if a learner finishes an assignment quickly, you can simply give them one of the extra activities you have on the learning platform to complete while the rest of the group ‘catches up’.


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Multiple intelligences- Inteligencias Múltiples

Education

Transcript of Multiple intelligences- Inteligencias Múltiples