Thomas Armstrong Phd Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom Peer Reviewed
Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom
By Thomas Armstrong
(ASCD, 2018 – Larn more than)
Reviewed by Michelle Voelker
Whether Albert Einstein actually wrote this, the point is well taken: "Everybody is a genius. But if you guess a fish by its power to climb a tree, information technology will live its whole life believing that information technology is stupid."
While many educators could conjure in their mind the image of a student who might embody this quote – a pupil who thinks they are not good at schoolhouse – many teachers struggle to know exactly how to assistance every kid see their own genius. In the fourth edition of his volume Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, Dr. Thomas Armstrong wants to help you stop struggling.
The goal of Armstrong's volume is elementary: provide ready-to-use lessons and activities for developing and highlighting the multiple intelligences of students in our classrooms. Armstrong builds on the much-discussed theories of Howard Gardner, a developmental psychologist and Professor of Cognition and Teaching in the Harvard Graduate School of Educational activity. (More than on the controversies below.)
Translating theory into practise
The theory is that in that location are eight basic intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. Armstrong takes those bookish terms and adapts them to be more than practical for the classroom, respectively becoming:
- word smart
- number/logic smart
- motion picture smart
- body smart
- music smart
- people smart
- self smart, and
- nature smart.
If yous're like me, as yous read that listing you could call up of a student (or two) who embodied each of those intelligence types. Throughout this book, a reader will find countless ideas for incorporating the unlike intelligence types into everyday learning.
This book is less than 250 pages long, merely it's total of ideas on means to help students who not only show a propensity for certain intelligence types, but to as well assist nurture every intelligence type within each student. The book is nothing if not thorough. The chapters lay out the underlying theory, ways to introduce the concept to students, ideas to develop curriculum using Multiple Intelligence (MI) Theory, teaching strategies, classroom environments, assessment, special education, and personalization, amongst other things. Finally, there is a chapter that addresses criticisms of the theory and does a fair job of refuting the negative pushback.
Educators looking for applied ways to plan lessons using MI will discover only that in chapters 5 and 6. Armstrong writes: "Essentially, MI theory offers a ways of building daily lesson plans, weekly units, yearlong themes, and other programs in such a way that all students tin have their strongest intelligences addressed at to the lowest degree part of the time," (pg. 62).
He proceeds to walk the reader through a planning experience and provides a guide as well as a list of techniques for teachers to consider when writing plans.
Identifying and building students' strengths
Something I think any educator would appreciate nigh this book is the ease with which any of these activities could be used in the classroom once students are enlightened of their ain multiple intelligences. Moving forward, if we are to focus on the strengths of our students, this book is a resource worth its weight in gold for all that it offers in that arena. After a cocky-inventory, students will exist able to see where their strengths are, and where they can build more skills.
Teachers can then use this information to create curriculum and other activities that volition play to the strengths of their students. For case, offered in this book is a sample lesson on how to teach the difference between the four most common punctuation marks, using all 8 intelligence types (pg. 66). There are lists and tables dedicated solely to teaching strategies that use various intelligence types.
There are chapters dedicated to the classroom surroundings and its role in multiple intelligences, likewise as classroom management ideas. Something that seems very valuable to the skeptical educator is the chapter on assessment. Many of u.s.a. face the necessary evil that is standardized testing, merely this chapter makes the case for things like portfolios which allow a teacher to assess student learning through a more than realistic lens. The theory of multiple intelligences might lend itself especially well to project based learning.
Just right for faculty PD book clubs
This title is a great choice for whatever faculty volume social club focused on professional development. Every bit we keep to ready students for college and careers in the 21st century, skills like those institute inside these pages will exist essential to for kids to larn. The author does a smashing job of explaining why it is of import to non only kickoff with the strengths of each individual student but also avoid pigeonholing students or leading them to think that a particular intelligence is their just intelligence. Instead, Armstrong argues, expose students to all intelligence types and help them develop them in balance.
Once y'all accept read this book through one fourth dimension, you can go on to go dorsum through and observe the exact resource, strategy, activity, or assessment tool you need. At that place are so many ideas in these pages that information technology is impossible not to go back and skim each chapter once more. The information is worth the effort!
Responses to criticisms of MI theory
Skeptical educators may find their concerns put to rest toward the end of the book when criticisms of Gardner's theories are addressed. Armstrong proposes that near of the published criticisms are from individuals not actively working in classrooms or teaching, but from journalists and academics (specifically cognitive psychologists). Indeed, many educators have praised the theory as a great contribution to American education (pg. 196).
Everything a instructor needs to get started with implementing the theory of multiple intelligences is offered within the volume. Easy changes tin exist made to any classroom or instructor'southward education the mean solar day after reading Armstrong's work. So, if you're like me and always trying to acquire more near helping all your students, option up a copy, read information technology through, and go help kids be the best versions of themselves.
Michelle Voelker is a 7th form English language and Earth History teacher at an urban school in Sacramento, CA. This by summer she was a swain with Surface area iii Writing Project, a co-operative of the National Writing Project, in their Summer Institute and is now a instructor leader, providing workshops on writing in the history classroom. Earlier becoming a teacher, Michelle was an AmeriCorps member for a program that provided reading intervention on Title I elementary campuses. Since so, she has worked to brand sure that every kid has access to literacy and becomes a lifelong reader.
Source: https://www.middleweb.com/40131/strategies-for-building-on-student-strengths/