Planning Collaborative Esl Lessons for Multiple Intelligences.

Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence’s (MI theory) is a valuable resource for teachers, if they understood how they could apply this in the classroom (Snowman & McCown, 2012). In this class, there are multiple intelligences observed amongst the students; however, there is minimal differentiated instruction to allow the students the best opportunities for success. It is critical that teachers understand that their teaching methods may not be wrong, but they

The Theories of Howard Gardner and Urie Bronfenbrenner are two theorists at the heart of my education philosophy. I firmly believe in Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory and his perspective that everyone has their own individual learning style. This is important to know, especially when working with children. Understanding how each child learns best and the way they process information provides teachers with a unique viewpoint into each student and allows for opportunities to teach in a way that fosters many benefits for everyone. Using Gardner’s theory as a basis for my teaching, allows me to plan meaningful inclusive curriculum and create a classroom environment that encourages success for each child and their families.

To meet my students’ needs, I will begin supporting them psychologically, academically and develop classes that appeal to a wide range of different bits of intelligence. I am going to develop assorted techniques to construct my lesson activities that allow students to relate to the subject matter in ways that fit their interests, learning styles and strengths. I have many students who show abilities in different areas of intellect consequently I will let them work in collaborative education groups, either merging diverse intelligence styles or gathering them, is going to be a successful strategy. Alternatively, I will let my learners express their strengths in several areas of intelligence, they will be able to feel comfortable and capable. I will take in consideration Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences and I will get these types of intelligence involved in my lesson activities too, with the goal that each student can be encouraged to examine and celebrate their own skills, for example:

Bearing this in mind the different groups of learners, visual (where the learner finds observing a task and then repeating it easier), auditory (where the learner explanations of what to do easier) and kinaestic (where the student learns by experience and doing the task themselves) and having opportunities for all types of learners and combining more than one type in your scheme of work, will ensure equality in your teaching practice.

This learning experience is designed for a year 1 class (middle of the year) with diverse learning needs. The lessons take into account Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory and caters for EAL/D, students who are ready to move beyond the lesson and students who are not ready to move beyond the lesson. The activities seen in the three lessons may be modified to suit the needs of individual students (refer to catering for diversity).

Results of the VARK self-assessment quiz indicated that I have a strong preference for kinesthetic and weak preference for Read-Write learning style. Second quiz for intelligence shows I have high percentage for Visual-Spatial and low for Rhythmic-Musical. Being a strong kinesthetic learner and with high Visual-Spatial intelligence, I will likely to teach by demonstration and less on reading and writing. Furthermore, I will have more hands-on and role-play and arts and crafts activities and less on reading and writing assignments. Create projects and activities in which all five senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, and hearing) will be used. This style of teaching will benefit the kinesthetic learners with Visual-Spatial and Bodily-Kinesthetic

‘‘Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory can be used for curriculum development, planning instruction, selection of course activities, and related assessment strategies. Instruction which is designed to help students develop their strengths can also trigger their confidence to develop areas in which they are not as strong. Students’ multiple learning preferences can be addressed when instruction includes a range of meaningful and appropriate methods, activities, and assessments. Gardner’s early work in psychology and later in human cognition and human potential’ led to the development of the initial six intelligences. Today there are nine intelligences and the possibility of others may eventually expand the list. These intelligences (or competencies) relate to a person’s unique aptitude set of capabilities and ways they might prefer to demonstrate intellectual abilities’’ ( (Armstrong, T., 2010). Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences

I explained to the kinesthetic learners that when learning information, they usually are most interested in how something works and so hands-on activites are very important to their learning. I explained that they could use information to construct very concrete representations of what they are learning such as charts, models, or diagrams. In addition, I explained how sometimes body movements or choreographed movements could help in remembering information. I gave the example of using Dr. Rich Allen’s series of hand motions to memorize up to twenty facts. In addition, I explained how I use manipulatives in my classroom to aid instructional practices. I also said that actually doing a task is usually their best learning process. Instead of reading about a task or watching it done, it is important for their own learning style that they involve themselves in a task as much as possible. I explained project-based assessments, and concluded that these types of assessments would best be suited to their learning styles. One of the participants said that she has to transfer her teacher’s words into their own learning aids. When her teacher gives an assignment or lesson, she makes her own style of notecards and uses these notecards to study. Even when the teacher gives her a paper with the information (graphic organizer), she still uses her method to study. It helped this student understand why doing the work over again was important. She continued to say that she sometimes

Prior to this workshop I knew that people could learn in the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning methods but these classes showed me new ways to employ these styles of learning.

Linguistic instructional methods, such as reading and listening, activate the left side of the brain, while non-linguistic methods, which incorporate the senses and movement, activate the left side. As a result, engaging both sides of the student’s brain in the learning process, through a balanced plan of instruction, is important. Such an approach is also believed to improve a student’s ability to remember and apply that information in the future. In order to facilitate this, the teacher must include the use of non-linguistic representations or cues in their lessons to make challenging content comprehensible. Such elements as visual aids - like graphic organizers, pictures, illustrations or images; hands-on experiences including the use of manipulatives or physical models that students can touch, move and create; physical or kinesthetic techniques using movement including gestures such as hand movements to illustrate concepts; and demonstrations, modeling

A strategy to be implemented in the classroom will be by including multiple opportunities for students to take in the core information or concepts and utilising Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory in learning centres. The students’ interest and developmental needs dictate their learning, as they are able to draw on prior experiences. To implement Gardner’s Theory in my classroom, seven learning centres will be organised, each dedicated to one of the seven intelligences. The students will spend time moving through the centres, dedicating fifteen to twenty

Howard Gardner introduced the theory Multiple Intelligence where he believes every person has the capacity to hold a unique set of “intelligences”. Growing up, I was taught that a person who was intelligent held a lot of knowledge. However, Gardner includes the importance of other capacities of intelligence. These intelligences include linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial-visual, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist talents. As teachers, it is crucial to let every child know they are special and hold a unique place in the world. Just because one student is not as good at solving mathematical problems than the other students, it does not mean he/she is less intelligent than the others. That

Implementing the multiple intelligences theory will support the children in the scenario by catering to the children’s interests and abilities at the time, consequently engaging the children and causing fewer distractions in the classroom (Whitebread & Coltman, 2008). The EYLF states that when educators are responsive to a child’s strength, ability, needs, and interests, they build on the child’s skills and knowledge (DEEWR, 2009). This forms an important basis for curriculum decision making and allows the use of spontaneous teaching moments to scaffold children’s learning (DEEWR, 2009). This interactive approach is effective because it allows for social, emotional and physical growth alongside intellectual development to occur (Scott,

If a teacher is having difficulty reaching a student in the more traditional linguistic or logical ways of instruction, the theory of multiple intelligences suggests several other ways in which the material might be presented to facilitate effective learning.

In working with different peoples' styles and kinds of intelligence, I must sometimes stop and see how can I work best with them. By having a balanced curriculum, lesson plan, and activities in the classroom we can meet the needs of the students but also motivate them to learn. Of course it is not realistic to think that educators can have a plan for every single intelligence type in their classroom, but by focusing on the strengths of each student teachers can have an avenue of learning every student.