When the concept of multiple intelligences and different learning
styles were first introduced to me in LM1 last semester I was ecstatic that
different learning styles were not only acknowledged but encouraged to be
catered to. Expecting all students to learn in the same way is ludicrous when
you think about it…
Discovering what multiple intelligence/ learning style our
students have is a vital part of profiling our learners and since profiling our
learners is the foundation of 8 Learning Management Questions, there is much
importance on understanding how to identify and cater to the different
intelligences/ styles.
I had a fair idea that I was a visual learner but a lot less
sure of my multiple intelligences as I felt that I represented almost all of
them in some aspect. When I took the test I did feel it was not the best way to
gauge multiple intelligences as it is opinion based and sometimes people are
not aware of how they best work. I would only use this tool in combination with
an observation checklist or something similar to pick up what the chart misses.
As a result I do not believe the chart is an accurate reflection on my multiple
intelligences but here it is just the same…
(on a side note I learnt how to use the snipping tool under
programs -> accessories -> snipping tool to cut the section of my result
page to present)
So how do we cater to
these multiple intelligences and learning styles using ICTs in the classroom?
ICTs are our best bet as learning managers to 1) engage our
learners and 2) personalise their learning journey. Imagine an English class of
year 10 students, their final assessment for the year is to prepare a website
educating the public on any subject they are passionate about. Of course there
is criteria they have to meet, word limits, minimum number of resources and
references, but the choice is theirs and they can work individually or in
groups. The students are required to edit the website weekly until the due
date. The benefits of this assessment is,
the learning manager is able to monitor to their progress, address any issues
and correct them in class instead of just grading them badly after the due
date. The benefit for the different multiple intelligences is each learner is
able to engage in an assessment that values their way of learning. The
following are some brief examples of what might happen;
Kinaesthetic (body smart); the learner decides to create a
website educating different football plays. He films his team and himself in
practice and in games and then writes instructional information on his website.
Linguistic (word smart); the learner writes a book of short
stories and then instructional information on how she writes them.
Logical (number smart); the learner creates a website
dedicated to different ways of investing her pay from her part time job and
which avenue gets her statistically closer to her goal of owning her first car.
Interpersonal (people smart); the learners are able to work
together and decide to get together every week to work on their cooking
website.
Intrapersonal (myself smart); the learner is not forced to
work in a group and therefore invests a lot of himself in presenting a website
about how to create websites, with detailed step by step information including
images and you tube clips he created himself.
Musical (music smart); the learner’s website is how to play the
guitar. She films herself playing and uploads the videos to her website along
with sheet music and a story about how and why she learnt to play the guitar,
and her tips on how to learn for beginners.
Visual/spatial (picture smart); the learner creates a
website dedicated to tips for travelling around the world and uses a slideshow
of images to portray the different cultures and landmarks and refers to them
often in the website.
Naturalistic (nature smart); the learner’s website is about
growing your own organic vegetables. He grows his own garden and records each
week how is doing it and what the results are.
Obviously without a curriculum link the above example is a
little rough but hopefully you get the message I am trying to convey, ICTs are
a fantastic tool for catering to different multiple intelligences and creating
a productive and exciting learning environment.
Thanks for reading,
Nicole.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Image Acknowledgements:
Intelligence test: Aida-Michlowski-PhD-JD http://www.aidamichlowski.wikispaces.com
Every child is a star: etcetera etcetera: brochure illustration http://priyakuriyan.blogspot.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment