MI Chapter 13

Write a brief abstract of the chapter.

This chapter briefly goes over some uses of multiple intelligences theory that were not really covered in the book. First, it discusses computer technology and how it can be used to hit every one of the multiple intelligences. Then cultural diversity and how different cultures value different MI’s. It also discusses how MIs can be used in career counseling.

How did you connect to the reading and briefly reflect on your thoughts?

We thought that the chart of all the different successful people from some different races was really good. It really expressed that every race has people that excel in all areas of the MIs. The list of jobs that certain intelligences are good at was also very helpful in figuring out which jobs would be suitable for each intelligence.

MI Chapter 12

Write a brief abstract of the chapter.

This chapter talks about using the Multiple Intelligence with different cognitive skills. For example using all the different MI’s to help with students’ remembering facts and problem solving. They used the example of spelling words and how to tailor the lesson to all different learning styles so all the students learn how to spell the words in their own way.

How did you connect to the reading and briefly reflect on your thoughts?

We thought that the best part of this chapter was when it gave different examples of people who had different intelligences but were still very successful. I personally thought that the connection between the musical and logical-mathematical intelligences was a great one because I feel that they are very connected. Music is completely based on mathematics and numbers. It may not be considered solving equations and problems in a traditional sense but when composing a piece the musician is doing just that.

DI/UBD Chapter 10

Abstract:

This chapter applied the backwards planning model to the evaluation of how well you have applied the UBD and DI model. It also explores the importance of integrating new teaching practices into your established routine and not just falling into the same patterns year after year, or even unit after unit. They suggest working with colleagues to develop and implement new ideas and practices. Many suggestions are given for implementing UBD/DI into the classroom.

Reflection:

The suggestions given in this chapter are easily applied to the normal classroom. There seem to be many ways to ease into the UBD/DI model if you are a veteran teacher, and there are many bases from which to start as a new teacher. We found this text to be very helpful in designing a classroom conducive to learning and that is also flexible.

Multiple Intelligences Chapter 9

Abstract:
Today, most schools either don't touch upon all the intelligences, or give the "neglected" intelligences almost no attention. An MI school would give students access to all the intelligences. In an MI school, there would be ways to cater to all the intelligences through programs and activities such as band, home economics, photography, along with the traditional classes.
Reflection:
We decided that most schools don't have classes that help students develop all of the eight intelligences. In middle school, some students get home economics or music. In high school, band is more of an optional class. The same goes with art, they are offered, but not as much encouraged. Most schools nowadays focus on the basics like history, science, math, etc. However, even some science classes don't tap into the naturalistic learner in some.

MI Chapter 7

Abstract
This chapter focused on multiple intelligences and the classroom environment. Getting to know your students’ multiple intelligences, and just the fact that there are multiple intelligences, helps determine the kind of classroom environment you as a teacher need to create. Things such as MI activity centers, topic-specific activity centers, and open-ended security centers could be helpful with this.

Reflection
We all found this chapter to be very interesting because we have yet to cover it in depth in class. One of the ideas we really liked were the activity centers. They seem like a creative way for the students to get the work done the way they like, and also a good way for you to see what their “strengths” are. Our concern with this type of activity is that students will go to centers because their friends are there rather because it caters to their multiple intelligences.

MI Chapter 6

Write a brief abstract of the chapter.

This chapter gives a large list of teaching strategies for each MI. There are 5 specific strategies given for all 8 of the intelligences, so 40 total strategies.

How did you connect to the reading and briefly reflect on your thoughts?

Although there were many useful strategies presented here, I really liked the “windows onto learning” one. Naturalist has been the intelligence that I have had the hardest time thinking of ways to include in the classroom. I was often one of those students that looked out the window and I think it is a really cool idea to use the window to help teach a lesson.

Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design Chapter 9

Abstract:
This chapter basically reviewed all the reasons why differentiated instruction is important. We want to know what we want the students to learn and then we want to teach them. We want to make sure that we reach all learners. We also have to assess the students to make sure that they are actually learning the material. This chapter gave an example of a lesson created through backwards design. The goal when teaching with DI is making sure that the student is learning as much as they possibly can. We must adjust certain lessons for the benefit of some students.

Reflection:
We think this chapter was helpful. It basically just reviewed all the positive and useful things about differentiated instruction and the benefits of using backwards design. If we know what we want out students to know, it can be easier to create a plan to work towards that goal.

Multiple Intelligences: Chapter 5

Abstract:

This chapter focused on Multiple Intelligence theory and applying it to curriculum developement. The teacher should continually shift their method of presentation to work on combining intelligences. There are several toos such as brainstorming, logicstic puzzles, picture metaphors, body maps, mood msuic, peer sharing, journal keeping, and nature walks. There is a seven-step procedure that suggests one way to create MI lesson plans. The chapter also discusses how how MI theory "provides a context" for structrng thematic curricula.

Reflections:

We thought this chapter was pretty good and informational. We agreed with the chapter's statement about how teachers should continually shift their way of presenting information so they can connect to all the different intelligences that are present in the classroom. We thought the seven-step process to guide making MI lesson plans. We also thought the idea of using themes to "weave" subjects together and provide students with opportunities ot apply their multiple intelligences was helpful and interesting.

DI/UbD: Chapter 6

Abstract:

This chapter mainly focused on "instructional decision making" in classrooms that are built on the principles of Understanding by Design and Differntiated Instruction. All students should be working with curricula that focuses on the important ideas of the subject and also requires them to think about, understand, and know how to apply the information that they acquire (different ways of doing this is great because that teaches to differentiated instruciton). It is also important to make use of classroom elements as "tools for effective instruction" (time, space, student groupings, etc.). Clustering learner needs to make instructional planning more efficient is another thing to be kept in mind, as well as thinking about how to manage your routines and ways of teaching to the multiple intelligences.

Reflection:

We liked this chapter because of the variety things that it covered. We thought about the statement discussing the evidence there is that says students who are labeled or thought of as "low-performing" do better with a rich and significant curriculum. Just because students come in with low knowledge or have difficulty understanding something does not mean we should change the curriculum to something that isn't challenging. It goes the other way, if they're already familiar with the content and have a good grasp on it we can't just teach the way were planning on anyways because it won't challenge them, classrooms and lessons need to be able to effectively educate all students even if they're on different levels.

Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design Chapter 7

Abstract: This chapter focuses on teaching in a way that caters to a diverse classroom and allows everyone to understand the content. Some of the chapter focuses on letting your students know the essential questions and goals of the course. This lets the students know what is expected of them and what they should understand when the course is done. It discusses the six facets of understanding and their use as tools. The WHERETO format can be used as a blueprint for instructional planning so you are able to teach all students for understanding. It lets the students become aware of the goals and helps them find the relevance.

Reflection: At first, the WHERETO's seemed a little confusing, but through the chapter, they became a little more understandable. The idea of letting students know what the goals are is a great idea. When students know what they need to do, there is a better chance that they will do it right.

Assessing Chapter 6

This chapter was about how to write good test questions. It is most important to make sure that the question is posed in a manner that is clearly understood by the student. The chapter also talked about how to make questions that don’t give away the answers. It also talked about adding a little humor to the test through jokes or puns or just ridiculous answers on multiple choice questions.

We thought that this chapter was very useful. Although some things seemed like common sense the tips were really helpful. We thought that the part about how to make questions to the point without playing “mind games” as Meredith described them was important. We have all had teachers who have written questions that were worded in a way that made no sense so we could only guess as to what the answer they wanted was.