Monday, November 18, 2013

Multiple Intelligence in Language Learning


Dr. Howard Gardner, a psychologist and professor of neuroscience from Harvard University, developed the Multiple Intelligence Theory (MIT) in 1983, which postulates that every person has a unique combination, or profile, of eight (which later became nine in 1999) intelligences.  According to the theory, although we all have nine of these intelligences, each person has his or her own configuration, similar to fingerprints (PBS 2013).  Gardner’s theory was revolutionary and challenged the traditional perception of intelligence, measured by IQ tests, and was deemed as far too limited.  MIT challenged the emphasis of our school and our culture on logical-mathematical and linguistic intelligences, and put the various intelligences in neutral values, with none superior over another (Morgan & Fonseca 2004).  Nowadays, many teachers and schools have adopted MIT into practice and are redesigning the way they teach (Armstrong 2013).  MIT’s account for a broader range of potential for an individual list the following intelligences (Armstrong 2013; PBS 2013):

1.              Linguistic intelligence- "word smart"; the ability to express oneself and understand others through words.
2.              Logical/Mathematical intelligence- "number/reasoning smart"; ability to understand the underlying principles in some kinds of causal system and can manipulate numbers, quantities, and operations.
3.              Spatial intelligence- "picture smart"; ability to interpret the spatial world in one’s mind; greatly connected with art, sciences, and engineering.
4.              Bodily/Kinesthetic intelligence- "body smart"; the capacity to use the whole body or parts of the body in order to produce something and solve problems.
5.              Musical/Rhythmic intelligence- "music smart"; ability to think in music, recognize patterns, and manipulate them.
6.              Interpersonal intelligence- "people smart"; ability to connect with other people and understand them.
7.              Intrapersonal intelligence- "self smart"; ability to understand oneself, personal capabilities and interests.
8.              Naturalist intelligence- “nature smart”; ability to categorize animals, plants, and other features of the natural world.
9.              Existential intelligence- ability to pose and ponder questions concerning life, death, and ultimate realities.

In language learning
MIT addresses the reality that any classroom has a very diverse set of learners.  MIT takes into consideration the different modalities of learning based on the intelligence profiles of each student.  In learning languages, J. Arnold Morgan and Ma Carmen Fonseca (2004) assert, “language is not seen as limited to a ‘linguistics’ perspective, but encompasses all aspects of communication.”  Through the MIT framework, learners are given the opportunity to develop language through a variety of learning strategies, as well as developing their individual intelligences.  Furthermore, teachers are given a wide array of “tools” that they can use based on with which they think their students can learn best.  MIT is strategy-based, brain friendly, multi-sensorial and provides learners comprehensible input by connecting new information with their own learning styles (Torresan 2010).  Some strategies that teachers can use for their students include creating mnemonic devices, graphic organizers, collaborative learning activities, games, TPR and creating nonlinguistic representations such as video clips or pictures.

In adherence to the CREATE model, one will see the relevance of MIT in language learning.

Collaboration: The focus of language learning in the educational system implies that the labor industry will have workers who are literate and competent in communication.  As much as we would like policymakers to play the big part in implementing MIT and language learning into the educational system, it really roots to the collaboration of the school and the classroom teacher.  For example, the strides of John F. Kennedy High School in their SAT-10 scores in literacy can be attributed to the school’s collaboration and adopting into their classes different brain-based strategies.
Relevance: MIT in language learning is research-based and backed by concepts of neurosciences and psychology. 
Evidence: Teachers can track improvement or language development through common assessments and language assessments.  Teachers can record the data and share it with the school.  The administrator can continue to share the data and strategies with others in the community, stakeholders, or other schools.
Alignment: MIT includes many strategies that are very useful to teaching topics aligned with the district content standards.
Transparency: Data can be shared with stakeholders and policymakers.
Empowerment: Because MIT focuses on individual learner needs, rather than having students learn in traditional ways where the focus is heavily on certain intelligence over others, language learning becomes more student-centered.  Consideration for learners’ strength will be empowering to them.

References:
Armstrong, T. (2013). Multiple intelligence. American institute for learning and human development. Retrieved from http://www.institute4learning.com/multiple_intelligences.php.
Morgan, J. A. & Fonseca, C. (2004). Multiple intelligence theory and foreign language learning: a brain-based perspective. International journal of English studies, vol. 4(1). Retrieved from http://rabida.uhu.es/dspace/bitstream/handle/10272/5320/Multiple_intelligence_theory_and_foreign.pdf?sequence=2.
Torresan, P. E. (2010). The theory of multiple intelligences and language teaching. Retrieved from http://lear.unive.it/bitstream/10278/2303/1/Nr.%206%20versione%20inglese.pdf.
PBS.org. (2013). Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory.  Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/education/ed_mi_overview.html


Image:

Sunday, September 29, 2013

A Teacher's Dream Come True: Quick Key



100+ tests to grade in a matter of minutes?  This sounds like every teacher's dream!

Creator Walter O. Duncan is a real life teacher who saw the need (grading papers takes A LOT of time) and came up with a solution fit for the 21st Century: QuickKey.

Check out their presentation on this site: http://www.power2teach.com/

QuickKey is a smartphone app that makes grading papers a breeze.  You can correct your students' papers using these 2 very important tools: a smartphone and a Quick Ticket, bubble sheets specifically for the app that you can download from their website.

 Directions of how to use:

1.  Download the app into your phone.
2.  Sign up for an account at http://www.quickkeyapp.com/ with your email address and password on your computer.
3.  Set up your student information and classes.  (This is easier to do with your pc, but possible with your phone.)
4.  Add a quiz.
5.  Add a class to the quiz.
6.  Begin scanning.

If you have more questions, check out their tutorial that you can only access when you are signed in to your account.  From personal experience, trying to figure all this out was a bit difficult because their sites did not make these information quickly accessible.  So, I've done half of the work for y'all :)

PROS:

  • After you've done the initial set-up, grading papers does become a breeze- you can check papers as quickly as you can turn the pages of your students' work.
  • Great for formative assessments.
  • Helps you to quickly see and evaluate which questions your students did not do very well on.

CONS:
  • The app cannot scan papers with too much erasure, which makes grading take even longer because then you'd have to manually input your students' answers.  
  • Does not count extra credit points or short-answer questions.
  • As far as I know, it does not yet export grades into my grade book; I'd have to manually input those also.  But please, correct me if I'm wrong :)
So far, my biggest problem with the program is inputting grades when the Quick Ticket has too much erasure.  My students do not perfectly answer their questions and make a thousand of mistakes and erase, erase, erase the other bubbles.  Then the Quick Key scanner wouldn't be able to read the Ticket anymore.  Also, if the scanner reads the Quick Ticket incorrectly, it takes a while to go back and correct the grading mistake.  After several of those times, it seriously becomes a headache.  

BUT!

It's a new technology that will continue to make improvements and it's great to give it a chance because it is promising.  So, while it's still free of charge, why not take advantage of it and download it into your smartphone?  Ain't no harm in trying it out!  :) 

Images




Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Wanna Blog? Options Right Here

Are you interested in giving your crazy ideas, cool finds, and awesome photos a home in the ridiculously infinite World Wide Web?

I have a few blog sites that may be of interest.  I have tested them; let me just say that all offer so many themes that it's almost impossible to choose.  Even the free ones are so beautiful that it almost seems senseless to purchase the paid themes.  Aside from the themes, each one has its own function and appeal.

I have not yet explored these blog sites to their fullest potentials but if you're interested in any of them, that can be your time to enjoy exploring. :)

1.tumblr- very popular for its micro-blogging.  So if you have some snippets, memes, and inspirational photos to share, this may be the place for you.  Just a warning though: reblogging is such a common practice here that the originators of the ideas get lost in the over-share.  
2. WordPress- similar to Google's Blogger in many ways.  I really like the classy and professional looks of WordPress themes, better than Blogger's!  However, the customization options seem to be very limited, unless you're willing to pay up $$$.  But if you're only interested in putting up some texts and photos, Word Press is really not a bad choice.  I, on the other hand, adore personalizing my blogs and would much rather have all those extra options.


3. Weebly- the imagination seems to be the limit when it comes to customization with Weebly.  It is a free site for websites and blogs.  The new interface may seem quite intimidating at first because of the number of buttons to navigate around but if you are hyper-creative, you may enjoy the options that you have in front of you.  You can completely personalize your page to your taste and add motions, tabs, and pages.  It's up to you.

4. Blogger- the most comfortable site for me.  Google has now made it possible to integrate your Blogger blog with their Google+ features.  This is supposed to expand your exposure on the web and increase your audience if you will blog for pay through ads.  I personally haven't really kept my blogs up-to-date with that.  Anyway, I think Blogger is very easy to use and to personalize, although its interface is quite slow and editing is glitchy.   



There are so many free blog sites out there still waiting to be explored!  But if you simply want to get started or to commit and grow old with your blog, these are some of your good options. :)


Images:


Friday, September 6, 2013