| |
| |
|
Psychology Information |
|
|
|
Lesson Plans that Reach the Multiple Intelligences
American schools have traditionally favored those students who excel in the linguistic and analytical arenas because these skills are highly valued in our culture. Unfortunately, this traditional approach leaves certain students behind to stumble blindly through an educational system which ignores their unique abilities. This is not to say that the development of linguistic and analytical skills should be abandoned in favor of nontraditional approaches to education. Rather, traditional and nontraditional approaches should be combined to formulate a method of education that is best suited to the students who populate our classrooms. The theory of multiple intelligences, developed by psychologist Howard Gardner, offers a balance which teaches students what they need to know in order to be successful in our society in a way that compliments the unique abilities that each individual possesses. Having said this, how does one go about effectively implementing the multiple intelligences into the classroom? Unfortunately, much has been done in the name of multiple intelligences without actually stimulating any portion of a child's brain. For example, simply running around a classroom haphazardly cannot be said to call upon the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence unless another component of the activity triggers thought on the part of the student. On the other hand, the student who creates a dance based upon a work of literature and communicates the essence of that work to an audience is clearly demonstrating the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. The following lesson ideas target a range of intelligences... 1. Use a scenario that relates to your content (something controversial works best) and ask students to discuss it. I have used a scenario called "The Soldier's Dilemma" to introduce themes found in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and in literature from the Realism movement. First, I read the scenarios out loud to the students, then I ask them to work in groups to answer questions about the scenario. Each group is asked to come to a consensus about their opinions. Once they have sufficient time to debate the issue, I ask them to return to their seats for a whole class discussion. During the process of thinking about and discussing the scenario, students must use their interpersonal skills to defend their positions, first with their group members, then with the entire class. Students also need to use their intrapersonal intelligences because the emotional level of this discussion requires a sense of self-awareness and self-understanding. Students also need to use their logical-mathematical and verbal-linguistic intelligences for analysis and their verbal-linguistic intelligence for communication. 2. Use an opinionnaire as a thought-provoking activity. I've used opinionnaires as introductory activities and I have also used them as the basis for essay assignments. I use a wilderness survival opinionnaire when I teach "To Build a Fire" by Jack London. Students complete the opinionnaire before reading the short story, then again after reading and discussing it. The second opinionnaire is followed up with an essay assignment that asks students to identify three statements from the opinionnaire for which their answers changed as a result of reading and discussing the story. This assignment requires students to consider the reasons for their answers on the first opinionnaire and then to consider what about the story and the class discussions made them change their opinions when completing the second opinionnaire. Students are also required to use textual evidence in support of their reasoning. As a result, students use their logical-mathematical and verbal-linguistic intelligences for analysis of the literature and for organization of their essays, in addition to the verbal-linguistic intelligence for reading and writing and the intrapersonal intelligence for the introspective thought process. 3. Assign a mini-research project and allow students to present their research in a way that suits their own intelligences. I assign a 1920s mini-research project as an introduction to The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I give students the opportunity to work alone, in pairs, or in groups of three or four. Each student is required to select his or her own topic to research. If students choose to work with classmates, their individual research is to be integrated into one presentation. As preparation for their projects, students brainstorm methods for demonstrating knowledge. The form of the final product is left to the students' discretion. As a result, students can use the combinations of intelligences with which they are most comfortable. 4. Assign small groups of students to "act out" a portion of a work of literature. I have used this approach with novels and Shakespearean drama. When using this approach with a novel, I assign groups of three or four students to a chapter. They are asked to select a passage or a series of passages that they like and which are important to the development of the chapter and the novel. They are also required to plan and present a rationale in which they explain the reason they select their passage(s) and the importance of the passage to the novel. They are asked to consider foreshadowing, symbolism, and characterization when planning their rationales. (The literary devices assigned depend upon the novel.) To complete this assignment, students use their intrapersonal, verbal-linguistic, and logical-mathematical intelligences in scene selection, their interpersonal and logical-mathematical intelligences in planning and organizing their scene, their interpersonal, verbal-linguistic, and bodily-kinesthetic intelligences to act out the scene, and they use their logical-mathematical and verbal-linguistic intelligences to organize and present their rationales at the end of the scene. When using this approach with Shakespearean drama, I manage to incorporate all of the intelligences into one assignment. It is an elaborate assignment that cannot be fully explained in the given space, but students are asked to adapt the play to a modern situation. Then they have to write a script, create sets, props, and costumes, plan music/sound effects, etc. Finally, they perform their rendition for the class. Handouts are available for most of these assignments. Visit The Writing Tutor to obtain handouts or to obtain more information about any of these assignments. References: Johannessen, L. R. (1994). The call of adventure: Jack London's "To Build a Fire." Notes Plus, 12 (1), 11-15. Johannessen, L. R. (1997, January 20). Teaching the Vietnam War. Presented at a teacher's institute meeting at Township High School, LaGrange, IL. Michele R. Acosta is a writer, a former English teacher, and the mother of three boys. She spends her time writing and teaching others to write. Visit http://www.thewritingtutor.biz/articles for more articles, http://www.thewritingtutor.biz/writing_editing_service for professional writing/editing services, or TheWritingTutor.biz for other writing and educational resources for young authors, teachers, and parents. Copyright (c) 2004-2005 The Writing Tutor & Michele R. Acosta. All rights reserved.
MORE RESOURCES:
Psychology - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
You, I and We Our life in society hovers around the concept of 'You-I- We'. The first stage is 'You-You' which is called 'dependent' stage. Subconscious Drives Make You Unhappy Feelings and emotions are nerve impulses.The feel of paper and the flush of shame. Animal Cruelty: The Key to Serial Minds What makes a common person a Serial Killer? According to research, serial killers exhibit what is known as the 'Triad of Warning Signs in Childhood.'1Indicators include:* Firestarting, invariably just for the thrill of destroying things* Cruelty to Animals: Most children can be cruel to animals, such as pulling the legs off of spiders, but future serial killers often kill larger animals, like dogs and cats, and frequently for their solitary enjoyment rather than to impress peers. Narcissistic Personality Disorder Tips FIVE DON'T DO'SHow to Avoid the Wrath of the NarcissistNever disagree with the narcissist or contradict himNever offer him any intimacyLook awed by whatever attribute matters to him (for instance: by his professional achievements or by his good looks, or by his success with women and so on)Never remind him of life out there and if you do, connect it somehow to his sense of grandiosityDo not make any comment, which might directly or indirectly impinge on his self-image, omnipotence, judgment, omniscience, skills, capabilities, professional record, or even omnipresence. Bad sentences start with: "I think you overlooked . Why Other Children are Rejecting Your Child IntroductionDeveloping healthy peer relationships is critical for the normal development of a child. Peer relationships have been found to be an important predictor of positive adult adjustment and behavior. Parapsychology: Maximizing Effectivity Of Targeted Controlled Remote Viewing Techniques Individuals with a solid working knowledge of Controlled Remote Viewing (CRV) have undoubtedly encountered the "plateaus" experienced at various levels throughout the ability's development.Successful employment of CRV to identify characteristics of past, present, or future events depends heavily on the viewer's ability to transmit retrieved data between the subconscious/conscious divide. Anti-Social Behaviors and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Anti-social behaviors are common with ADHD individuals. About 60% of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder kids are also oppositional or defiant. What is the Addictions Recovery Measurement System? As I climbed 15-feet on a wooden ladder to the top of an old platform, next to this wall of leathery gray flesh, I caught a good whiff of fresh animal dung that immediately cleared my sinuses. Attempting to hide my fear from my wife with a poker face, and already feeling a little queasy, we were then advised by an old man who held a hammer in his right hand, to step into a shaky bamboo cradle seat atop of this seemingly gentle 8000 lb mammoth giant. The End of Psychotherapy In two articles entitled "We Are Not Our Personalities" and "Eliminating The Past" I make the point that it is now possible to "dismantle" all the life experience that is stored in the human bio-field, i.e. Metaphors of the Mind (Part II) Storytelling has been with us since the days of campfire and besieging wild animals. It served a number of important functions: amelioration of fears, communication of vital information (regarding survival tactics and the characteristics of animals, for instance), the satisfaction of a sense of order (justice), the development of the ability to hypothesize, predict and introduce theories and so on. Cult De-Programming? The following good work from a person engaged in trying to free people from cultish programming is far better than most. It demonstrates the person is aware of mind control techniques employed in influencing people. The Myth of Mental Illness "You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird? So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing - that's what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something. Eating Disorders and the Narcissist Patients suffering from eating disorders binge on food and sometimes are both anorectic and bulimic. This is an impulsive behaviour as defined by the DSM (particularly in the case of BPD and to a lesser extent of Cluster B disorders in general). Biometrics ABSTRACTBiometric identification refers to identifying an individual based on his/her distinguishing physiological and/or behavioural characteristics. As these characteristics are distinctive to each and every person, biometric identification is more reliable and capable than the traditional token based and knowledge based technologies differentiating between an authorized and a fraudulent person. Establishing Trust in Grief Management Groups Trust is the basis of all human relationships. Trust can be thought of as a tool that can measure the positive and negative nature of a relationship. Are Observations Objective? On the outset all observations may seem to be objective, but in reality subjectivity tends to shape the objective observations. The observations can be categorized into three for better understanding Objective, Subjective, medley of subjective/objective observations. Serial Killers Countess Erszebet Bathory was a breathtakingly beautiful, unusually well-educated woman, married to a descendant of Vlad Dracula of Bram Stoker fame. In 1611, she was tried - though, being a noblewoman, not convicted - in Hungary for slaughtering 612 young girls. Are All Dementias Alzheimer's? I'm surprised when some patients and caregivers confuse dementia and Alzheimer's as one and the same. Each time a family member is suffering from memory loss, the conclusion is always Alzheimer's. Metaphors of the Mind (Part I) The brain (and, by implication, the Mind) has been compared to the latest technological innovation in every generation. The computer metaphor is now in vogue. Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) At a Glance Most narcissists (75%) are men.NPD is one of a "family" of personality disorders (formerly known as "Cluster B").
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
