This type of MI exercise is essential for the learning experience, as it utilizes both collaborative & competitive techniques, and a productive learning-environment. Exercise objectives can then be discussed among the students during a debriefing to determine if they have been met, and future exercises of this type can be evaluated for their possible effectiveness within this student-group. Changes to the exercise - location, teams, music, parameters, time frame, etc., can then be implemented for more effective learning outcomes.
doug,
this is a great exercise to try & have them discuss how it impacted them.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Team work is everything. In our corporate worlds we are exposed to these days, there is no time for a single person to know all and control all
I like the idea of playing fast and frantic music as long as it is not too loud. Team members can discuss the points of recognizing stress, relaxing and taking 10 deep breaths, thinking of urgency, think of importance, and working on the right thing for now. I believe the communication between team members with the added fast paced and frantic music will encourage them to seek out the 7 multiple intelligencies within each other in a postive and productive manner
The assignment requires students to move around; determine the correct order and follow the rules; ask questions of other students; work to achieve a goal and they have a personal investment in the team's success in order to be recognized.
I also find that other diversities do create unique classroom environments. We as instructors have to be aware of this. I have had people in my classroom from Europe, India, The Middle East, Africa and Asia. Each brings a different view to each class I teach. They have sparked different discussions and have made me aware of different things we can't learn here.
Maybe the module has been updated since this question was posted, but there were 10 intelligences listed.
Interpersonal - team works together to decide the proper order
Logical/Math - logically thinking through the stages of stress
Spatial/Visual - students picture the stressful situation to figure out a progression of managing it
Musical - music is played
Linguistic/Verbal - communicating meaning and reasoning within the team of five
Intrapersonal - each person decides for themselves prior to the team organizing
Kinesthetic - move around to interact/find
Emotional - teamwork can itself be emotional and frustrating, students would have to learn to control emotions that arise from working with others to be successful
Naturalist - N/A
Existential - N/A
I like this straight forward question much more than just providing open-ended input/comments.
Paula,
this is definitely true & as instructors we must know each of our students.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Yes, as long as there are plants in the room or windows open. Just kidding. This exercise offers something for all intelligences but might be too lively for the quiet learner.
Joseph ,
this is a great point & a big part of it is learning to appreciate the diversity that each of us brings.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Diversity is all around us. Learning to work with and around each other in class prepares our students for working and living in the world.
Have found out that the recognition by the students, that stress is an every day event has giving them the oportunity to cope better with minor stress situations, and improving their level of concentration during class.
The five steps have help them considerably.
Jaclyn,
yes, & this is a key skill for our students to learn for their future career success.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I like how it encourages students to communicate and participate with other students in which they normally wouldn't associate with. Team work games/activites are a great addition to any classroom setting.
Emily,
and this is great preparation for our students in regard to the diversity they will experience in the work environment.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Stress is definitely created in this learning exercise. A sense of urgency is created by a timeline pressure for those who would like to win. Also, the music affects those who respond more readily to an auditory response. Some individuals may be natural people persons and be able to colaborate rather seemlessly. So depending on the combination of the multiple intelligences a team has would easily sway the most successful team to be the most diverse team.
Yes, our classrooms and work environments are very diverse, and with that comes diverse learning styles, as well as the diversity of individual contributions. As educators, we should embrace this diversity and use it effectively for collaborative learning, keeping it mind that we may have to differentiate instruction to match the various learning styles of our students.
Marcia,
this is a great synopsis of this excercise.
Dr. Ryan Meers
This exercise would map to all seven of the Multiple Intelligences because the students would need to first read the assignment and think about it (intrapersonal). Then they would need to communicate with their fellow classmates (interpersonal) to find the other 4 people who complete their team (verbal/linguistic and kinesthetic). All while they listened to music which is fast paced (musical and emotional)creating a sense of fun and excitement while they complete the exercise. Putting themselves in the proper order would address the logical/mathematical,as well as, visual/spatial aspect of the process. The instructor, during the debriefing activities could bring into focus the existential by allowing the students to reflect on their experiences, positive and negative, in completing this exercise,and tying the whole activity to the learning objectives for the exercise. Hopefully, there would be a rosemary plant on the instructor's desk to bring nature into play and increase the students' alertness.
Kimberly,
and they are increasingly reflective of the professional work environment so this helps our students be even more prepared.
Dr. Ryan Meers
