To be effective, you really need to know or ask the students you are teaching, "What way helps you learn best? Seeing a task done - See one, Do one, Teach one, or do you just need to know what the end goal is?"
Not long ago I helped in a problem in an OR, we had to give a medication to a patient and we had to make a way to give it through an anesthesia circuit, but the only route of administration was through the lungs. I knew what the end goal was, and I put together a device to administer the medication through an anesthesia circuit. I've helped with Anesthesia for years, so I have the experience to know how to put all this together.
I think one of the things absent in some of the teaching is requiring the student to use critical thinking to be able to solve an abstract problem. The ability to look at the problem from the beginning point to the end product and the pros and cons of the process. And, more importantly, there is not just one way to complete a process as long as the outcome is acceptable. I think there is a lot of rigidity, and we need to look at alternative ways of solving the same problems.
Aaron,
Yes it is. If students do not see the value of the content then there will be no value to the course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have found that "value" is truly the key to any success in the classroom.
Ted,
I know you are going to appreciate the results you get with this approach. The more variety you can offer your students in the learning process the more opportunities they have use their different intelligences to acquire and apply the content. This results in higher student satisfaction and success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I will bring the different methods that apply to multiple intelligences to my teaching. This will allow me to deliver the material to my students in manners that will help them grasp the information more fully.
Jane,
Learners like change of pace and variety. By offering both you will be able to keep students engaged for longer periods of time and the result will be enhanced learning opportunities. A win win for everyone.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I already try to teach in a variety of ways. I lecture and then assign different types of class projects, such as drawing, clay projects, group work and discussion.
It is important to understand multiple intelligences and focus on the ways students learn. I often provide several methods of instruction to attempt to teach individuals with different learning styles and to help students with different types of intelligence. This also prevents class from being boring because no two days are alike.
Tim,
Good work. I like the model you are following because you are really targeting your students in a way that enables them to use their processing skills to internalize the content that is being shared.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Teaching style that effectively utilizes techniques to reach each students learning style requires a lot of planning and energy to teach. I've used visual, projects, video, demonstrations, lecture, small group interaction in one hour and a half class. I've rotated through each method two to three times in and changed the method about every 5 - 8 min. With this technique learners tend to stay focused. Further, I'll give pop quizes to evaluate how effective the strategy is for the group.
teaching to multiple intelligences require a full knowlegde of the different types or levels of intelligence. We all learn differently and this brings many challenges to those who teach.
It helps me to better serve the student. I find most are hands on learners but every once in a while I have that more difficult student which often has been due to a language barrier.
Irwin,
Thank you for your analysis and insight. You are right on with your recommendation because in the world of education we deal with some many learners with diverse backgrounds. The more variety we offer in our delivery the greater the chances we will be able to get them engaged and focused on acquiring the required content.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Jeanine,
Thank you for sharing this example with us. Your comments help to illustrate the value behind having this information and then offering instruction in different ways and targeting the different learning preferences of students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
The questions that have been raised are valid ones, and ones that I feel may confuse many educators. Within any given cohort of students, multiple intelligences or learning styles exist. A number of tools have been developed to identify different learning styles amongst students, such as the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment, or the ASSIST. It has been my experience that educators take the results of these assessments at face value and ascribe learning labels to students. Once these labels are assigned, the intent is to create a variety of learning environments which will satisfy the individual learning needs of each participant. The problem with this approach is two-fold: most of these tools are meant for students (not faculty) to gain a deeper understanding of their preferred learning styles, and the construct validity of the assessments I have mentioned are poor at best.
This leads us back to the question, "How will my understanding of multiple intelligences affect my teaching methodology?" I think I can answer in only one way: it won't drastically affect my methodology, as it is unrealistic for any one instructor to truly understand the variety of multiple intelligences amongst a group of students. Consider a class of 50 students, all of whom have taken the Myers Briggs Type Indicator assessment. Even with the presented data, can a faculty member honestly begin to accomodate 50 students with 50 different learning preferences? I don't believe this is realistic. What the instructor must do is incorporate a number of theoretically sound approaches in order to teach effectively. I would propose that this should be done regardless of whether one is teaching a class of 50 or a class of 1.
I've taught material to classes in which I've helped them ID their "intelligence" and learning style and then helped them create and apply different methods of study to help them learn and retain information. We've done everything from creating a dance and associating terms with the different movements for the kinesthetic learners to creating songs and melodies for auditory and mind maps for visual learners. It really added a nice dimension to the classroom.
Paul,
You have a very good understanding of how the different intelligences influence how individuals process information. Your instructional planning has you providing at critical times the right type of example or information to enhance the learning of each student. Well done.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Karl,
I wish you success as you expand your delivery format and appeal to the different intelligences through which your students process information. Everyone involved, both students and yourself are going to benefit from these efforts.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Richard,
Thank you for these comments because you have shared a very comprehensive approach to instructional planning. By following your formula students will be able to work within their learning preferences while being engaged and focused on the content being offered.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I teach massage therapy so I have a very kinesthetically driven group. We also have a fair amount of interpersonal intelligence folks. This makes it tough on the few logical/math people in class because they want concrete facts and we have a tendency to drift into the nebulas. I have learned over the years to have some type of concrete example or to be able to use a metaphor anchored in the real world for the logic/math students.
Overall knowing the multiple intelligences help me structure my lesson plans in order to accommodate the different types of learners in my courses. It also helps me understand the personality types in my classes and help students decide if they are in the right program to begin with.
