Yhe instructor must structure his presentation to attempt to meet the needs of all of the students and their varing multiplr jntelligences.
The courses I teach are very hands on. I also use video and lecture. Having multiple resources helps reach both different learning styles and multiple intelligences.
How will your understanding of multiple intelligences affect your teaching methodology? In what ways could you use your knowledge of how individuals process information when planning for your instructional delivery?
I understand multiple intelligences as a useful theory. To translate this theory into practice I continually work at varying my teaching methodology.To put it another way, it is best to present a varied learning environment. Some specific examples of ways I could use this knowledge are by adding discussion to lecture, adding handouts to lecture, or using handouts, visuals, lecture and discussion all at once. Also, include some quiet time for reading or studying, some group work, some activities and hands-on lessons. It is also important to encourage students to vary their own learning environment by giving homework, library assignments, field trips, or any other suggestion that falls outside of the classroom.
Many of the replys seem to wonder off topic into the cultureal areas of learning. I'd like to get back to the posted questions. Understanding multiple intellegences should affect all instructors methodology. Multiple approaches to delivery result in better learning, thus satisfied customers (students) better retention and output. By understanding how students in your group learn, an instructor is better able to provide presentations that address needs of more different learning styles. Integrating approaches that align with each students needs, not just the majority, provide better outcomes. Using the knowledge of different processing areas, an instructor can develop more, inniovative and varied deliveries.
We teach from a standardized lesson plan. This means that we are required to teach required course content. However, our deliver method should change depending on the learners. We should be aware of the different intelligence areas. we may need to use them in different combinations to each our learners. Every learner is different which makes each class unique.
Hi Craig,
Right you are about being a more effective instructor by learning all you can about the learning preferences of your students. A by product of this is that you get to be creative in your instructional planning and this helps to keep your teaching more interesting for both your students and yourself.
Gary
If I can recognise the ways different individuals learn, I can teach with those learning styles in mind and become a more effective instructor.
I will try to prepare my lessons so that each of the different intelligences can gain something from my lesson.
My understanding of multiple intelligences will assist in my teaching methodolgy by alerting me to the various ways students take in and absorb course content. It will help me to vary content presentation by offering (among other instructional methods) my own annotated Power Point discussions rather than straight lectures and then later obtaining feedback through student activities and projects that directly relate to and build upon the assigned material.
By understanding the variability of "muliple intelligences" it will help me to develop my courses using multiple delivery methods. This will allow individuals with different learning styles to understand the information. Understanding multiple intelligences will also help me to identify a student's learning preference and therefore allow me to teach in a manner that will help him/her to be successful.
Hi Melissa,
The more we can learn about students and their learning preferences the more accurately we can zero in with our instructional strategies. Keep up your efforts to tailor you instruction to their needs.
Gary
Understanding multiple intelligences is only useful for teachers if we apply the information in the way we present course content. I try a variety of instructional methods (e.g. videos, class discussions, group and individual assignments) to help ensure I'm addressing the different ways in which my students learn best. I can certainly appreciate the value in finding out the preferred learning styles present within a given class so that I can tailor the methods I use to reach that particular group of students.
When implementing different instructional techniques, it is wise to remember our training in multiple intelligences and how most people will process information. We need to work with our students to understand their learning path and how they access the information they have already learned.
It is easy for an instructor to deliver information in the form that they best absorb it. I now better understand how important it is to recognize the needs of my students and to vary content delivery for them.
Hi David,
Thank you for your insight and comments about how you are using multiple intelligences in your instructional planning. Thank you also for the recommendation for the "Head First" book series. They are great as you mention and I know will be of much help to other instructors that use them. We are always looking for additional resources that we can use to improve our instructional delivery.
Gary
As an IT instructor at a career college, I've found that moving into coding as a form of kines. learning after briefly presenting Visual PPT slides and Auditory Lecture, then returning to the concepts after the coding, has been an effective way of getting three major learning styles in a lecture. Opening a lecture to discussion and questions about the points and having students assist each other also helps the interpersonal students. I've only recently, though, discovered the power of Rhythmic intelligence with the use of acronyms and rhymes that add "music" to the lessons. The "Head First" series of books are great at integrating these different learning styles, and I recommend them, if that's allowed in this forum. They helped me quite a bit with this sort of material.
I have already responded to this request.
I always try to deliver my class in different ways in the hopes that each student understands the content being taught.
Hi Patricia,
Right you are. You are using a variety of approaches so the students can work in their preferences as well as learn how to be comfortable in the other areas. Each student can use his/her intelligences as they work through the projects.
Gary
It seems to me that teaching to multiple intelligences calls for visual,verbal, and tactile approaches. In a fashion marketing course, I think using use powerpoint slides to show fashion illustrations, asking students to write copy describing the advertised items and aimed at a certain target market, and then having the students orally justify their reasoning would utilize a variety of intelligences.
