It is easy for me to use hands on training in my lab. As some other have mentioned, cooking lending itself to hands on work much better than lecture. So, I try to do demos and assist students in their production to get the skills across.
You can offer instruction using three of the intelligence formats and then switch them so the students will have the benefit of each format. How would you know which one to focus on or choose first?
I think the understanding of multiple intelligence plays a big role in the delivery method of your information. In turn, this will also give you a good idea of how your students process the information that you are delivering. Planning the delivery method of your class should blanket all intelligence.
Hi Kent,
Not off the subject at all in terms of comments about learning styles. I agree with the new research and in fact for the past few years I have been using learning preferences. To me there is a big difference between learning styles and learning preferences. I look forward to looking at the video. Thanks for sharing it with me.
Also I have been researching the assessment of multiple intelligences for the past twenty years and have developed an assessment (Talent Key). This research has led me to my thought shift from styles to preferences because of how individuals process information. www.MICubed.com
After all these years I have concluded we know very little about the brain and how individuals process new information.
Gary
Dr Meers,
When it comes to multiple intelligences, I would agree that it is important to hit on the big three. I don't mean to get off topic here, but I was wondering if you have seen any research that learning styles don't exist. There is a professor Daniel Willingham that has written articles on this subject and even posted a video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIv9rz2NTUk
As with intelligences, I'd say the best way to teach to learning styles is to provide a lesson that speaks to at least three styles at once.
Kent
The class is teach is all bout teamwork and creating new groups is made more challenging by the fact that there are many different kinds of people. By understanding how they learn, I can group them together in ways that help them learn and grow-beyond the cooking skills they learn. This knowledge helps me deliver information in multiple formats to help all of the students learn.
I teach many foreign students who come from a diversity of backgrounds. Hence, teaching to multiple intelligences, which has somewhat to do with their different cultures, have given me an interesting challenge to reach each and every one of them by challenging the students by constant praise for learning.
The best way to really understand multiple intellgiences is to use them in the learning environment. During a quick 5 minute white board discussion I write out all of the learning intelligences and I have students circle the ones they feel they learn best. Then when we break for labs I have them really focus on which intelligence they utilized. From there I begin to understand ways of teaching them utilizing these techniques.
Hi Bruno,
This helps the students to get settled into the course while you are getting to know them. This creates a solid foundation for a good course to follow.
Gary
Teaching adults is a challenge we all face because we will come across all levels of intelligence and experience so the key is balance. Being able to plan your lectures so that the students can become active learners and not just spectators. If the work is active and even tactile, then they can all relate or participate in the subject matter. If the lessons are just one way from me to them, then they will quickly become bored or distracted. I read in one of your other responses that you teach from 4-10pm and have to deal with physically tired students. I am the opposite, I teach from 6-10am and have to deal with those that are barely awake. If I dont factor in some sort of adaptive ways of presenting the material then I have lost them and neither I nor they will be successful.
I have always had a general understanding that there are multiple types of intelligence. Just because someone does not understand a certain subject or concept does not make them less intelligent than another. This section is very heplful to me in understanding how to better identify the multiple types of intelligence and learning strategies in students. Having this better understanding should help with my daily lessons and in my class presentations and lab exercises.
Understanding multiple intelligences will affect my methodology by making me pay attention to weather or not I am using multiple teaching styles within each day’s lesson. Some parts must be visual, some auditory, so on and so forth.
I can use this knowledge by making sure that I break up the day’s lesson in block using different delivery methods. Limiting the amount of time spent on one segment will keep the students’ interest, but will also give range to the ability of every learning style in the room to retain information.
I take the first week to know my students and see what will be the best method to use to send the information across.
Hi Kimberly,
Good way to involve your students while showing them that you value their opinions and input.
Gary
I try to use various methods when teaching. I will ask my students at the beginning of each course which techniques works best for them and try to apply all.
I have to bear in mind the different intelligences of students when explaining different concepts in my class. I have to explain the same topic in different ways such as drawing something in the board, using analogies, humor, etc. I also ask the student to explain their understanding of the topic in their own words to see how they are processing it. I also try to use a lot of pictures and visuals in my powerpoint presentation for the visual learners. Also, in the lab portion of my class, I encourage the students to play and touch the equipment as much as they can.
Hi Ariana,
Good strategies. Students as you know like variety and you are offering it through the different learning opportunities that occur while the students are in class. This keeps their interest up and engagement high.
Gary
In a career college setting we have the advantage that students no only have daily lecture but they also lab assignments, group work, computer simulators, and critical thinking assignments that can fit into any of the learning sytles. The variety in classwork is already part of our curriculum and students love that they don't have to sit and listen to me talk for four hours. Nobody has thatkinf of attention span.
Hi Rebecca,
For visuals I am assuming you are using the commonly used forms such as videos, PPs, etc. In addition, I have found that I assign my students to bring into class visual examples of course content. In other words, I am striving for application of course content through visual referencing. This seems to really help with retention of content because the students are drawing mental pictures of the content in relation to visual images they have seem, recorded and brought into class that represent the content.
Hope this helps. I will be glad to discuss this further with you if you have any questions.
Gary
Hi Maureen,
You are on the right track. You can offer instruction using three of the intelligence formats and then rotate them so the students will have a variety of experiences through which they can process content. With the short time frame I am thinking this will enhance student knowledge acquirement while appealing to their intelligences.
Gary
