My first year teaching, during the 2006-2007 school year, I taught in a self- contained Kindergarten-3rd grade classroom at public school for students with Emotional Disorders. I had 6 male students, all of whom had an Emotional Disorder as their primary diagnosis, but also who had challenges such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED), Specific Learning Disabilities (LD), and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).
The challenges that each student faced were numerous and few of them had ever flourished as learners prior. It was an on-going and daunting task for many of them to make it through a class period without some sort of crisis, let alone be actively engaged in learning. My task for the year, my complex problem so-to speak, was to help them become engaged and active learners.
One of the biggest challenges to them learning, in any subject, was to try to understand the unique educational needs of each student and to build on their individual and group strengths.
One way that I worked to meet the needs of each individual, was utilizing Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. Howard Gardner has identified 9 basic intelligences, Verbal-Linguistic, Logical/Mathematical, Visual/Spatial, Bodily/Kinesthetic, Musical/Rhythmic, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Naturalist, Existentialist. Gardner’s basic assertion is that every person has 1 or 2 intelligences that are most compatible to them, and that ALL students benefit from learning in a variety of ways.
Thinking back on it, I attempted a myriad of ways to incorporate Multiple Intelligences in that classroom, many on a 1:1 bases. Below is a list of each intelligence and an example of the use of each intelligence. In order to protect the confidentiality of each student, no names will be appear in the examples below.
Verbal-Linguistic: Truth be told, many of my students struggled with effective verbal communication. However, an activity that I found to be especially effective was to allow them to describe a sensory experience in words. For example, each week I would bring in a food they’d probably never eaten before, and would let them taste it. Each week, they would have to describe the food, in detail, taking turns sharing with the group their observations.
Logical/Mathematical: One of my most challenging students, a 2nd grade boy, was extremely logical, and extremely literal. It was a challenge throughout the year to in “stay in step” and then “one step ahead’ of his logic. An activity that took time to develop, but really resonated with him, was to allow him to map out his day, each day. Even though the structure of the school day rarely changed, it was important for him to start his day, thinking about what would happen next. Some days, he came to school “on board” and ready to learn. On other days, he would do anything and everything in his power, to derail the schedule. However, the opportunity was extended to him each day, in an appeal to his strong abilities in logic, to make a plan for each day and to follow through with it to the best of his ability.
Visual/Spatial: In order to keep things fair, and to appeal to the need of all of my students to be able to know what was happening when, the daily schedule was posted at the very front of the classroom, as well as the “line-up list”. (The “line-up list” was a rotating list, color-coded and rotated each day, in order to order in line when transitioning from place to place.) Each teacher, kept a copy of the schedule and each “line-up list” on an index card as well as a copy of each on a lanyard around their necks.
Bodily/Kinesthetic: With a classroom full of 6 boys, it seemed movement never stopped! As an assistive learning technique, the school employed the use of “Brain Gym”, which is a series of hands-on sensory activities used to help stimulate both sides of the brain. Using the simple moves learned in “Brain Gym”, we’d often review vocabulary or math facts.
Also, I allowed my students to move around as needed, as long as they were in control of their body and not harming themselves or others. This movement took many shapes and forms, but it allowed them to get some energy out throughout the day.
Musical/Rhythmic: Absolutely ANY time I could bring in music, make up a song, or put the radio on, my students were more engaged. We often created catchy, silly, rhythmic songs about math concepts or a new idea in science.
Intrapersonal: This was the area of intelligence that each of my students struggled with the most, as many times knowing themselves, meant understanding the anger and frustration that they often felt. An important component of any crisis situation, and there were many, was then discussing actions, reactions, and plans for the future. It was my on-going and most challenging task, to help students understand themselves and their actions and to challenge them to make positive, constructive decisions.
Interpersonal: This was the second-largest area of challenge for my students. Literally one-minute they could be friends with a classmate and then next they could be threatening physical harm. Numerous on-going conversations about actions and consequences of group dynamic were discussed, as well as a myriad of opportunities to work together, even if it was during free time, just to begin to establish healthy, positive friendships/relationships.
Naturalist: The school I taught at is located in a socio-economically depressed neighborhood and many students spent much of their life indoors. Thus, as many nice days as possible, we’d head out to the small side yard to investigate. Sometimes I would allow take a specific experiment or project outside to complete, other times, I simply wanted them to investigate and observe the world around them.
Existentialist: I had one extremely introspective and “deep thinking” student 3rd grade student, who would routinely engage with me in conversation about his actions and consequences, especially when he’d had a time of crisis. These conversations were always meaningful and provided a solid framework for “restarting” his day and getting “back on track”.
By no means, did each and every objective of Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences get met every day and/or in all situations, but remembering the different modalities in which my individual students learned and interacted, served as a positive reminder and model.
Links
In thinking about my experience using Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, I found that an array of resources exist. Below are links to a series of options that merely “scratch the surface”.
1) Dr. Gardner’s Personal Website
http://www.howardgardner.com/
2) Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Survey
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/what.cfm
This is an excellent, basic survey for students to complete in order to find the intelligences that are their strength.
(Also, as an aside, this main website, Birmingham Grid for Learning (www.bgfl.org), looks to be an excellent all-encompassing educational resource.)
3) Papers Published by Dr. Gardner
Frequently Asked Questions Article
Multiple Intelligences After 20 Years Article
Multimedia and Multiple Intelligences Article
4) New books
In recent years, Dr. Gardner has published new books, which I also think look fascinating.
Multiple Intelligences Around The World
http://www.pzpublications.com/413.html
Five Minds for the Future
http://www.howardgardner.com/books/books.html#FM
5) Additional Projects and Information
Project Zero http://pzweb.harvard.edu/index.cfm
Per its website, “Project Zero's mission is to understand and enhance learning, thinking, and creativity in the arts, as well as humanistic and scientific disciplines, at the individual and institutional levels.”
The Good Work Project http://www.goodworkproject.org/
Per its website, “The GoodWork® Project is a large scale effort to identify individuals and institutions that exemplify good work—work that is excellent in quality, socially responsible, and meaningful to its practitioners—and to determine how best to increase the incidence of good work in our society.”
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