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Morgan Ware
The MI Theory started when a teacher in 1904 decided to give students who were struggling a test to see what their intelligence was. Gardiner took this idea and said that our culture takes the idea of intelligence too narrowly. He said that there at least seven basic intelligences. He did not agree with testing students outside their learning environment. He suggested that learning has to do with solving problems and creating products in a context-rich setting. There are eight intelligences; one is linguistic, which is the capacity to use words to learn. Second is logical-mathematical, which is the capacity to use numbers. Third is Spatial, which is the ability to use the visual world accurately. Fourth is bodily kinesthetic which is the ability to use one’s whole body to express their ideas and feelings. Fifth is musical which is the ability to use music to express their ideas and feelings. Sixth is interpersonal which is the ability to read people ‘s moods, intentions, or feelings. Seventh is Intrapersonal, which is the ability to know ones self and to use that knowledge to learning. Eighth is Naturalist, which is the ability to use nature from everyday life to help learn. Gardiner also came up with a list to describe some one who is fully intelligent. One is potential isolation by brain damage. Some one with brain damage might have a harder time learning because of where the damage is in their brain. Second is the existence of Savant, Prodigies, and other Exceptional Individuals. Third are Distinctive Developmental History and a Definable Set of Expert “End-State” Performance. People have used music to help express their intellectual creativity. There are many more that explain the MI Theory. Gardiner explains that each person possesses all eight intelligences, and most people can develop each intelligence to an adequate level of competency. Intelligences usually work together are many ways and that are many intelligences in each category. However there are many more intelligences than Gardiner put on his list.

Matt Roy
Admittedly I am a pedestrian when it comes to the multiple intelligences theory. I have heard that there is an effort to move away from the old views on intelligence and brain development but this is really the first experience that I have had getting my hands dirty with this particular school of thought. Due to my lack of prior knowledge of the subject, I was happy to see that the author dove in to an exhaustive explanation and breakdown of the components that went into determining what the criteria would be for determining these human intelligences. It really was an interesting breakdown of every little piece that went into building this theory, right down to why Howard Gardner decided to call them “intelligences” as opposed to “competencies” (page 9). Ultimately, I really think that this chapter will raise my awareness in the classroom. Initially I was worried (maybe intimidated is a better word) by the idea of trying to hit every single student perfectly with every single assignment/activity that I present in class. The author provided a little calming insight by first expressing that each intelligence is extremely broad, meaning that it encompasses many tasks and activities that the student may be geared towards. Further, the author goes on to explain that every student has all eight intelligences, they are simply developed to different degrees. Finally, I was relieved to hear that just because a student may be very proficient with one activity that falls in a specific intelligence, it does not guarantee that they will be successful with all activities in that intelligence. This may help me encourage students to step out of their comfort zones.

Samy Tracy
In chapter one of __Multiple Intelligences__, I learned that there you are not just limited to one specific intelligence and that you can possess many at the same time or different ones at different instances. An example that was given that really struck me was how people can use different intelligences while just cooking a recipe. I like to cook a lot and this really rang true for me because I did not realize how many different intelligences I had to use just to make a certain dish. This would come into affect into the classroom because there are obviously many children with different intelligences and the teacher has to accommodate all of them. It is also possible to be intelligent within each category, as Gardner explains. This was very interesting to me because I do not think of myself as a very logical person but there are many times when I have to use mathematical intelligence, for example, when I am working. I have to give customers change and counting the drawer; I can do that without a calculator and many times without looking at the register to see how much change to give back. This is an instance when I exceed at the logical intelligence, but overall, I do not do very well with the logical intelligence at all. In the classroom, there are going to be students that are just like that too, they might exceed at using certain intelligence during one activity but difficulty using it at another and I am going to need to figure out ways to help them.

Alyssa Amari
Chapter one of //Multiple Intelligences// introduced Howard Gardeners theory of the eight intelligences. Each intelligence is defined by a capacity for a certain talent, such as a logical-mathematical person who has the capacity to use numbers effectively and to reason well. Gardener defined each as an intelligence after using his eight basic tests that he deems necessary for an intelligence to be considered an intelligence. Any person can be intelligent in one or more of the eight intelligences, in some cases one person (a savant) may function at a high level in one intelligence and low in all others, and in other cases a person may function at high or moderate levels for multiple intelligences and low for all others. All of the intelligences work together in many forms, and if an individual does not operate at a high level for all intelligences, it is likely that they will use their intelligence combined with another. Gardener believes that individual growth is measured by developmental patterns, and each intelligence has its own developmental pattern. Therefore growth is measured by development within an individual’s intelligence, not by development in each of the eight intelligences. As a teacher, I will be impacted by the Multiple Intelligence Theory in many ways; each student has their own intelligence. Due to this fact, I will have to adjust the ways that I determine student development and progress. I will not be able to assess in one way for the whole class, but I will have to assess each student by their development in their multiple intelligence. I will also have to create more opportunities for my students to explore and learn through their intelligence as much as I should create opportunities to develop some of their other intelligences from low to high operating levels.

Simone Thiry
The theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) was examined briefly in my Introduction to Education class, and then touched on in my Psychology of Learning class. The attitude of many psychologists who doubt the MI theory led me to come into this class with a skeptical view on the subject. In this chapter, I learned more about the Intelligences with which I was less familiar, and I feel more comfortable with a MI based curriculum than I did at the commencement of the course. The chapter not only described the intelligences, which I already knew about, but proceeded to offer a theoretical basis, including examples that gave me a deeper understanding of how the Intelligences work. The chart in the middle of the chapter gave a broader and more concise view of how the different intelligences compare to each other, and I made connections that I would not have otherwise made. For example, I am now more likely to relate the Naturalist Intelligence to urban “street smarts” than to the Logical Intelligence that I was inclined to after hearing about a proclivity for species classification. The comparisons that I drew to my own experiences helped me appreciate the Intelligences that are often looked down upon by individuals who fit easily into the unbalanced educational system. By understanding that each person possesses all eight Intelligences, and focusing on developing my own Naturalist and Physical Intelligences, I can help myself understand the abilities of my students. In my classroom, I will need to be attuned to the Intelligences that are not my strongest, and maintain constant vigilance for Intelligences that may meet all of Howard Gardner’s standards.

Kevin Lind
MI Chapter 1 Reflection

The most important idea in this chapter is that there is more than one form of intelligence. This is an important concept for teachers to know because it can influence how they view their students. Just because some students haven’t developed one of the intelligences, does not mean they are dumb. It means they are different. I will definitely use this knowledge in the classroom to create lessons that will target multiple intelligences. The existence of multiple intelligences is also important because it can help prevent teachers from making assumptions about their students’ abilities. There are many reasons students could have difficulties in one intelligence, such as suffering brain damage or being born with a disability. These are important ideas to keep in mind because of the numerous ways students could be affected by either of these problems. When I am in the classroom, I will do everything within my power to treat every student with the amount of attention they need to get over the problems they may have. It is also important for teachers to know that every student has the eight intelligences. The issue is whether the intelligence has been developed or not. I hope that I will be able to help students develop intelligences that they may not have really used before. By assigning a variety of different projects, I believe I can help students develop their intelligences, and display the intelligences that they have already developed.

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Lauren Breton
Chapter 1: //Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom//

The first chapter of this text presents the MI theory as an argument, by first describing the eight intelligences in detail. After, it describes the theory behind the idea of multiple intelligences and the key points within the theory. For me, as a person who scored highly in linguistic/verbal intelligence as well as interpersonal intelligence, this was incredibly beneficial. By presenting the theory in the same way that I was trained to develop my intelligence in writing argumentative papers, I was able to understand the concept more fully and the MI theory made more sense to me. Also, at some points within the first chapter, dialogue between Gardner and others, including the author of the text, was able to help me understand the MI theory through my interpersonal intelligence. The use of dialogue made me envision the chapter as more of a conversation, as opposed to a description, and I was able to better understand the MI theory through that textual interaction. Through this chapter, I was able to understand the difference between MI theory and other intelligence theories. Before I read this chapter, I believed that the MI theory was about learning styles, when in all reality it was about the specific intelligences and what those intelligences are. Also, after reading this chapter, I have come to realize that the eight intelligences do not function independently of one another and that the intelligences that people are weak in can be further developed. This knowledge will be beneficial within my classroom because I will be able to help my students learn which of their intelligences is strong and will be able to help teach new material to their stronger intelligences while simultaneously trying to strengthen the intelligences that they are weaker in.

Megan Millette
Throughout this chapter it discussed many of the aspects of MI Theory. It started out by introducing the eight intelligences the theory deals with, while also taking the time to describe each on thoroughly. The book surprised me by saying that Gardner believed “that virtually everyone has the capacity to develop all eight intelligences to reasonably high levels of performance.” (Pg. 15) Through this chapter I was able to learn that this is one theory of intelligences. I would have never imagined there could be anywhere from 1 to 150 intelligences that exist. This chapter has not only opened my eyes to the multiple intelligences but has also showed me that there are certain key facts about them as well, such as the fact that each intelligence has certain operations when doing an activity. I discovered that people could be intelligence specific meaning they demonstrate different levels of each intelligence in certain areas, such as having a good memory with places but not people.

This text impacted me by giving me the information needed to understand myself better. Through the reading I was able to make sense of why I am good in some areas but not in others. I have been told through the text that I possess all eight intelligences. This has challenged me to enhance the intelligences that have weak levels of performance. Through the reading I was able to understand that when I was younger I may have had intelligences that were stronger but weakened in performance over time. This is because I didn’t use those intelligences as much because I didn’t need them. Through the reading I have been challenged to better acquaint myself with the eight intelligences, so I can help my students learn better one day.

Throughout the reading, I was able to better understand MI theory, which will help me when working with my students. What I have learned will make it easier for me to understand how to help a student who are struggling to learn key information. It has opened my eyes to many different ways I can teach my students to help them better grasp the information being given. Through this I will also know ways I can possibly incorporate each intelligence type into my lessons to improve the class.

Lauren Scheidegger
__Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom__ by Thomas Armstrong is a book that delves into Howard Garner’s theory on multiple intelligences. In first chapter the theory is explained and all the intelligences are described. There are eight main intelligences that are recognized are linguistic, logical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalists. Everyone has all intelligences, although some have a few intelligences that are far more developed than their other intelligences. There are numerous causes for an individual’s strengths and weaknesses in each of the eight intelligences. Some of the causes include brain damage, the existence of savants, and what were/are culturally valued tasks and knowledge. It is said that the intelligences work together in intricate ways and that there are multiple ways to show success in each of the intelligences. Garner also has dabbled with the possibility of other intelligences. He had thought about creating a ninth intelligence that would be “the existential”. Also spirituality, moral sensibility, humor, and culinary ability were also possibilities for other intelligences. Learning about the eight multiple intelligences helped me learn how I might create other lessons to suite all students. Then finding that the eight intelligences probably don’t encompass all intelligences was a bit intimidating at first. How would could I create lesson plans to fit all students if I don’t even know how they might learn? And then the simple answer of “well I would get to know them” hit me. Just as all educational texts suggest I plan to accommodate all my students by learning about them.

Patrick Hurley
Gardner came up with eight intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematic, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist. These eight intelligences represent the many different ways people learn. Brain damage can effect certain types of intelligences while leaving others untouched. Some people are extremely gifted in one type of intelligence while lacking in the others. Some intelligences can be considered evolutionary depending on where you are from. Gardner believes that the use of symbols is one of the best indicators of intelligences. Each person possesses all eight intelligences; some are just more prominent than others. Over time each of the different intelligences become more developed. The intelligences often work together in complex ways, like playing certain games where you have to run, kick, and catch. These different types of intelligences will all pop up in the classroom at some point during my teaching career. I will have to be able to teach students with all of these different intelligences. Me being a kinesthetic and interpersonal learner I find it better to work and groups and to always have a little movement or something different to do. I will find it easy to incorporate these into a classroom because it is what I am used to, but I may find certain intelligences hard to incorporate because I simple don’t have much experience with them.

Rachel Joiner
After reading this chapter, I have a much better understanding of what each intelligence of Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory consists of. By reading about each one in depth, I have a better understanding of how best I can serve my students. Now that I have a deeper look into the many intelligences, I can work lessons to fit various intelligences, which can help my students. I can also use this information to gain insight into my student’s learning abilities and see where they fit into the intelligences. I learned from reading this chapter, that there are people who are brain damaged and perform highly in some of the intelligences, but not others. I also learned that there are people who are savants or prodigies. These savants have extremely high abilities in one area of the intelligences such as painting or music. They usually perform lower in the other intelligences. This can influence my within my classroom, because if I encounter a student like this I can realize what is occurring, and work specifically with that student in a way that works best for them. The book mentions that Gardner suggests that almost everyone has the ability to develop several intelligences outside of the few they excel at. I found this interesting and helpful to my classroom, because I can work with students in a variety of ways that can appeal to various intelligences. By doing this, I can work with students to develop more of their intelligences. One thing that I thought was useful was when the book mentions that a person who is highly developed in spatial intelligence may not show that capacity in every aspect of their life. I thought this was great, because if you have a student who seems to be struggling, it might be the way the information is presented and not the student. With this knowledge, I can relook at the way I am teaching and accommodate to help my students.

Mike
The theory on Mi intelligences is not only important when considering the learning capabilities of your students. It is also important when considering your own strengths and weaknesses as a teacher. A teacher with strong linguistic intelligence may gravitate more towards lecture or discussion, but they should also learn to tap into uses for their other intelligences because they may be weaker than their strongest suits, but they are not absent by any means. This is one strategy that I plan to utilize in my classroom because I know that my strengths are not necessarily the same as my student's strengths. I need to adapt my teaching to encourage them to learn. If I end up having problems incorporating a certain intelligence into my lesson plan I could easily look to a colleague for assistance in this area. If I need help with spacial intelligence I could easily find somebody else to look to for ideas in that area. My personal intelligences can also be developed, so my weaknesses can be strengthened over time. This will not only end up being very beneficial to me as a teacher, but it will also help my students who will have a well rounded educator to present material to them in a bunch of different ways. Students with different strengths than mine will be able to get because of my own attention to those specializations. By developing my own skills in logic linguistic, spacial, kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist intelligences I will be able to help my students by teaching them utilizing lesson plans incorporating all of those intelligences. Even if I'm not the best in some areas, using them in the classroom will prove very beneficial to my students.

Emily McGee
Thomas Armstrong believes we, “ Must gain an experiential understanding of the theory and have personalized its content to become committed to using it with students (20).” In other words, we must define our own intelligences while becoming fluent in the others in order to successfully use tools and strategies to integrate all learning styles into the curriculum. Armstrong explains that every person has the potential to use any of the eight intelligences but their ability to reach full potential depends on biological endowment, personal life history, and cultural and historical background. He also explains that there are activators, referred to as crystallizing experiences, that activate the development of a person’s talents and abilities, as well as deactivators, known as paralyzing experiences that provoke feelings of shame and negativity that prevent intelligences from growing.

It is important to understand that by using the MI model in self-reflection as a teacher, one can find strengths in the classroom as well areas that need improvement, which is very important in the flexible, differentiated classroom. I think it is very important in my classroom to offer a safe environment, an area to make and fix mistakes, where students don’t have to worry about me evoking shame or doubt in them. I believe strongly that paralyzing experiences are much stronger than crystallizing experiences and should be avoided strictly in school. I hope to continue to develop my less proficient intelligences and heighten my well-developed intelligences to higher levels of competence. By doing so I hope to become more well-rounded in all intelligences to be able to better accommodate all the students who walk through my doors and their varying needs.

T.J. Hebert
I completely agree with Howard Gardner that there are several types of intelligences. I have never taken an IQ test, but it seems as though it is very narrow and not a great measure of ones overall knowledge and intelligence. The Multiple Intelligence theory truly encompasses nearly all of a person’s potential skills, competence, or intelligence. I think the best part of his theory is how he includes people that have had brain injuries as well as people with disorders such as autism. The reference to “Rain Man” is great; it is an outstanding movie and is a great example of an extremely intelligent man. It just so happens that this man is only intelligent in mathematics and not much else due to autism. It does not mean that someone that experienced and injury or has decreased function in one area is not intelligent; to Gardner they are still intelligent but just in certain areas. The hope is to be evenly intelligent across all eight areas. According to the Multiple Intelligence test I am a naturalist with logical/mathematical close behind, which I feel is very accurate for me. I am clearly much stronger in some areas than others but what I like about this test is that it allowed me to realize week areas and strong areas. Now I can work on those week areas to become better rounded. Becoming well rounded will be of great benefit in a classroom, it will allow me to teach in a more balanced way for the variety of intelligences I will have in my class. It can also help me recognize the different intelligences and help me adapt my teaching to better suit everyone or a particular individual.

Alyssa Amari