Unit II - Chapter 3.1

SLO 3.1 - Develop engaging instruction that utilizes learning styles, scaffolding, and higher-order thinking. 

• • Reading: Wong, p.223-245 (Unit D Third Characteristic—Lesson Mastery)

As a class, we are transitioning from the Opening Day Project and moving toward managing Curriculum and Instructional Planning (the more common day-to-day actions that we take to influence learning in the classroom).  

Let's remember where we have just come from...and a foundational point: no classroom management, no learning!

Just think about our first 8 Modules...

• Teachers IMPACTS learning - We understand who we are and what role we play in educating the youth, right?

• Desire IMPACTS learning - We understand what it means to learn something and the amount of time, commitment , and motivation it takes to accomplish this, right?

• The learning environment IMPACTS learning - We understand that you need to create the physical environment of your classroom so that it is conducive to learning, comfort, culture, and experiences, right?

• Organization and structure IMPACT learning - We realize that we will be working within a larger school and organization with a distinct culture and set of values, right?

• Our values IMPACT learning - We recognize that who we are and the values that we find to be important will greatly influence our classroom and students, right?

• Our authority IMPACTS learning - We recognize that we will be the authority “in charge” of 20-30 children for 180 school days and how to command it, right?

• Procedures IMPACT learning - In order for effective teaching to take place good, sound, explained, rehearsed and reinforced procedures need to be developed, right?

• Instructional planning IMPACTS learning - We know that to be effective we need to diversify our learning experiences and be sure to build authentic motivation and engagement, right?

Let me begin by encouraging you to become an effective teacher!  While we know that environmental factors do have a significant correlation with student achievement, the next most powerful factor that we can control in a student's life is THE TEACHER.

It is probably no exaggeration to say that classroom management has been a primary concern of teachers ever since there have been teachers in classrooms. However, the systematic study of effective classroom management is a relatively recent phenomenon. 

Arguably, the first high-profile, large-scale, systematic study of classroom management was done by Jacob Kounin (1970). He analyzed videotapes of 49 first and second-grade classrooms and coded the behavior of students and teachers. Kounin's findings identified several critical dimensions of effective classroom management. Those dimensions (among others) are:

1. “withitness,”  (the capacity to perceive the needs of your students with accuracy and care, you can find more optional enrichment by selecting this link) 

2. smoothness and momentum during lesson presentations, 

3. letting students know what behavior is expected of them at any given point in time, and 

4. variety and challenge in the seatwork assigned to students. 

“Withitness” involves a keen awareness of disruptive behavior or potentially disruptive behavior and immediate attention to that behavior; of the four dimensions, it is the one that most consistently separates the excellent classroom managers from the average or below-average classroom managers.

Classroom management surfaced as one of the critical aspects of effective teaching. Probably the most important point to bear in mind is that almost all surveys of teacher effectiveness report that classroom management skills are of primary importance in determining teaching success, whether it is measured by student learning or by ratings. Thus, management skills are crucial and fundamental. One of the more significant conclusions was that early attention to classroom management at the beginning of the school year is a critical ingredient of a well-run classroom. Effective classroom managers tended to employ different types of strategies with different types of students, whereas ineffective managers tended to use the same strategies regardless of the type of student or the situation. 

School Engagement Is More Than Just Talk (*optional enrichment)

by TIM HODGE  

It's rare for an educator to make it through an entire day without hearing the word "engagement." We want our students, teachers, parents and the entire school community to be engaged. But what does that really mean? What comes to mind when you think about an engaged school community? What difference does engagement make? And what can we actually do to build and sustain a culture of engagement (*optional enrichment)?

Gallup's research team has been studying engagement for decades, having completed tens of millions of surveys and having conducted thousands of individual client research projects and several meta-analyses. All of this data may seem overwhelming, but in reality, it has led to several relatively simple actions that can be taken to improve engagement at your school.

To put it simply, engagement is a measurement of how involved, enthusiastic and committed one is to an organization. Whether you're a student, a teacher or a parent, this simple definition holds true. What is your psychological relationship with the school?

Vast amounts of research and discovery have led to some key conclusions that add rigor and "edge" to what is sometimes dismissed as a "soft" concept. While engagement is "nice to have," it's also necessary for thriving schools. A couple of highlights:

Engaged students are 2.5 times more likely to say that they get excellent grades (*optional enrichment) and do well in school, and they are 4.5 times more likely to be hopeful about the future than their actively disengaged peers. Employee engagement has been linked to a wide range of workplace outcomes. Specific to schools, teacher engagement has a strong relationship to both absenteeism and employee turnover, and is a key driver of student engagement.

The Disturbing Trend of Declining Student Engagement

Let's take a closer look at engagement with each group, starting with students. Engaged students are excited about what's happening at their school and about what they're learning. They contribute to the learning environment and are psychologically committed to their school. Engaged students feel safe at school, have strong relationships with teachers and other students, feel recognized on a regular basis, and are learning important things that connect them to a positive future.

Gallup has conducted more than 5 million surveys (*optional enrichment) with students in grades five through 12 over the past several years. These students have come from every state and from a range of rural, suburban and urban school settings. Two key findings have received broad attention and are worth repeating here.

Almost half of students who responded to the survey are engaged with school (47%), with approximately one-fourth "not engaged" (29%) and the remainder "actively disengaged" (24%).

A closer look at the data by grade level reveals a disturbing trend. Engagement is strong at the end of elementary school, with nearly three-quarters of fifth-graders (74%) reporting high levels of engagement. But similar surveys have shown a gradual and steady decline in engagement from fifth grade through about 10th grade, with approximately half of students in middle school reporting high levels of engagement and about one-third of high school students reporting the same.

Certain elements of engagement tend to be key drivers. In the early years of the research, Gallup discovered two items that had a powerful connection to engagement. Students who were able to "strongly agree" with the statements "My school is committed to building the strengths of each student" and "I have at least one teacher who makes me excited about the future" were 30 times as likely to be engaged at school when compared with students who strongly disagreed with the same items. A key to building a culture of student engagement is to have students who partner with caring adults to develop their potential

Engaged students are 2.5 times more likely to say that they get excellent grades and do well in school, and they are 4.5 times more likely to be hopeful about the future than their actively disengaged peers.

The Potential for Engaging Our Nation's Teachers

An important driver of student engagement is the engagement of their teachers (*optional enrichment). Engaged teachers are loyal and psychologically committed to their students. Their overall experience should include a valuable relationship with a caring principal who coaches them, offers meaningful recognition on a regular basis, and helps them learn and grow throughout their career. They need to be surrounded by committed coworkers who build trusting and often deep relationships. Engaged teachers give the discretionary effort needed to ensure that their students are successful.

Across the many millions of Gallup surveys on engagement, about one-third of employees are engaged (33%), while about half are not engaged (51%) and the remaining 16% are actively disengaged. Clearly, there is potential for growing engagement in the typical workplace. So, how are we doing on engaging our nation's teachers? Unfortunately, not much better than the typical workplace. Two notable takeaways:

While elementary school teachers tend to be more engaged than their peers at the secondary level, overall teacher engagement is quite similar to that of other professions, with just over 30% reporting high levels of engagement.

A study of the individual elements of teacher engagement reveals a key finding: When asked whether their opinions count, K-12 teachers' positive responses are consistently lower than those of employees in other professions.  School leaders need to do a much better job of soliciting teacher input early in the decision-making process to ensure that teachers are heard. This approach will not only lead to higher levels of teacher engagement, but will likely also lead to better decisions.

We cannot talk about knowledge like it is boring and static. Knowledge is exciting and forever changing! We must engage our students and continue to encourage them to be CURIOUS about life, or at least theyʻre chosen professional! Knowledge exists in the real world. Knowledge is merely our ability to construct the real world using social constructions such as LANGUAGE AND NUMBERS!  We are merely representing reality and attempting to share it with others. 

1. Where does knowledge come from?

2. What am I going to teach?

3. Where are my students at in terms of academic, emotional, social, and cultural context (meaning: whatʻs going on in their lives)? 

4. How do I make sure that my learning objectives are meaningful and produce high-order thinking?

5. How do we make sure we are engaging students in multiple types of learning experiences? 

6. How do we plan an engaging unit?

BE AND STAY CURIOUS, ALWAYS LEARNING. YOU ARE THE TEACHER! Here are some suggestions. (*optional enrichment)

That said, you will face some challenges in your day-to-day quest to make learning and knowledge interesting. 

If you can say, I am going to teach addition and subtraction by fives in math, we are going to plant a seed in a milk carton for science, vowel/consonant/vowel (VCV) in 3 letter words for English, we are going to build a poster board about the impact of natural disasters on communities for social studies, then you are prepared, but what are you going to teach tomorrow?!?!?!

This is called a curriculum. This is what you are going to teach every day. This is a very important word in a teacher’s life, and unless you are very fortunate and have been given one, you will have to make one up on your own.  Just a thought....

So how do I come up with a curriculum one might ask? Well...in many cases schools will provide you with curriculum materials.  In Hawai‘i, for the most part, English and Math operates with a standardized and "scripted" curriculum.  For English, this is Wonders in K-5 and Springboard in 6-12. 

But for conceptual starters, you have to know what is being taught in the school and in your classroom. For elementary teachers, you are responsible for all areas of the curriculum. Middle school teachers are often required to be versed in interdisciplinary subjects, such as English and Social Studies, or Math and Science. High school teachers generally focus on one particular subject area, Math, English, or science and may be responsible for specializing in more than one area within a particular subject, such as Algebra and Calculus, or Creative writing and Business writing. Any which way you look at it, teachers are responsible for having a wide base of knowledge in many of the general content areas. 

Think about it. There are all kinds of things you can teach under the major areas:

What could you teach in Language Arts? poetry, writing (creative, professional, technical, reflection) reading, journal, speech, vocabulary, note-taking, grammar, book reports, vocabulary, adjectives, etc.

What could you teach in Math? measurement, operations (+,-,/,*), word problems, geometry, shapes, grouping, algebra, decimals, skip counting, times tables, etc.

What could you teach in Science? seasons, beaches, puppies, weather, rocks, mountains, plants, animals, humans, anatomy, astronomy, planets, ecosystems, psychology, oceans, food chain, etc.

YOU GET THE POINT! YOU CAN TEACH ABOUT ANYTHING!

This may seem a little overwhelming. In reality, this is a good thing. You can teach about anything you want to. You might want to teach about something you know very well, or you may want to teach about something you just found out about or discovered. This is one of the best things about being a teacher. You get to introduce the world to your students. ALL KNOWLEDGE COMES FROM THE REAL WORLD!!!!!! You can’t teach about something that doesn’t exist right? So no worries, find something that exists in your world and then find a way to teach about it. Ok, so you know what you are going to teach, now comes the hard part…

Select from the links below to learn more about HIDOE standards for learning in each core subject.

English Language Arts — Hawai‘i Common Core

• Read the standards (*optional enrichment)

Mathematics — Hawai‘i Common Core

• Read the standards (*optional enrichment)

Science — Next Generation Science Standards (full implementation by SY 2019-20)

• Read the standards (*optional enrichment)

Computer Science — CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards (full implementation by 2022)

• Read the standards (*optional enrichment)

Social Studies — Hawai‘i Core Standards for Social Studies (HCSSS), approved for adoption by the Board of Education in October 2018. Three-year implementation begins with the 2019-20 school year:

• Elementary: Grade K, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5

• Secondary: Grade 6 World History, Grade 8 United States History, History of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Modern History of Hawai‘i, Pacific Island Studies, Participation in a Democracy, United States History and Government, World History and Culture

You can break down question 2 into two major parts:

• How do learners learn effectively?

• How do I keep student interest and motivation?  (TAKE A LOOK AT SOME BASICS STRATEGIES; optional enrichment)

Think about asking students to do something interesting and thought provoking. Most people are interested in do things and learning. Very few students just want to sit there and stare at the wall. 

This research says that the activities we hope to engage our students in come in levels of cognitive challenge and engagement. What you need to know is that it is generally from low to middle to high.  The higher you go, the more thinking it requires of students.  The more thinking, the more complex the task, the more difficult the planning, but the more learning occurs. 

The verbs you use to design you learning activities will have great impact on whether you are asking you students to do a simple or more complex task. Simple tasks leading to more complex ones is the way to get the most out of your students!

Use actions words and activities that challenge them to think! One example mentioned in First Days of School is... Bloom's Taxonomy. It is generally described below from lowest cognitive to highest cognitive demand. 

BOTTOM LINE: WE WANT OUR STUDENTS TO ENGAGE IN MEANINGFUL LEARNING ACTIVITIES!

We want our instruction and curriculum to be:

1. Actionable and measurable (Students do it, and we can see that they have done it.)

2. Scaffolded (given them the foundations first)

3. Challenging  (Easiest thing first, but make sure to challenge them.)

4. Clear (Give enough detail that you know what students will be doing.)

5. Meaningful & Contextualized (Make it relevant to studentsʻ lives)

6. Diverse and Inclusive (Make sure to incorporate different styles of learning.)

One great way to help your students access the curriculum is to work with them to clarify learning objectives and content. This process is called co-construction, and it allows students to authentically process learning objectives and expectations alongside their instructor. you can read more about "How Students and Teachers Can Develop Clear Expectations for Learning" (*optional enrichment)

Check out this example of learning that is actionable, scaffolded, clear, and challenging. 

The learning objectives move from low order thinking skills, which get our students going to much harder ones that take more time and complex thinking! For example, If I was doing a lesson on "Healthy Eating", I might organize learning objectives into...  

• LIST all the foods you ate today. 

• ORGANIZE the list into two categories.  

• RESEARCH the nutritional facts of the two food groups. 

• ANALYZE these facts and do a quick write on a story they are trying to communicate to us

• EVALUATE which foods are best for you and why, and EXPLAIN how you will adjust your current diet to include more of these. 

Marzano's Taxonomy is at the foundation of these scaffolded and challenging learning objectives. 

In this case, it's good to use Marzano's Taxonomy (*optional enrichment) to identify what actions your students will take that will help you measure how well they've internalized a lesson. What will that look like? What specific things will you see your students doing that show success?

What Do You Want Students to do? (SWBAT or Students Will Be Able To)...

• • • (Lower Cognitive Challenge) arrange, check, cite, choose, define, describe, duplicate, find, group, hold, identify, label, list, locate, match, memorize, name, omit, order, pick, quote, read, recall, recite, recognize, relate, repeat, reproduce, reset, review, say, select, show, sort, spell, state, tell, touch, underline, write

      • You're expecting learners to - Remember an idea phenomenon or a fact in somewhat the same form in which he/she learned it.

    • (Middle Cognitive Challenge) arrange, calculate, classify, comprehend, construct, convert, define, describe, discuss, estimate, explain, express, identify, illustrate, indicate, infer, interpret, locate, paraphrase, predict, recognize, report, restate,  summarize

      • You're expecting learners to - Communicate an idea or thing in a new or different form &/or see the relationship among things &/or qualify ideas in relation to one's own experiences &/or project the effects of things.

    • (Middle Cognitive Challenge) analyze, appraise, arrange, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, correlate, criticize, deduce, diagram, differentiate, discriminate, dissect, distinguish, examine, experiment, investigate, point out, prioritize, question, research, sequence, survey, test

      • You're expecting learners to - Break things down into their component parts & uncover the unique characteristics of a "thing."

    • (Higher Cognitive Challenge) adapt, arrange, assemble, build, collaborate, collect, combine, compile, compose, construct, create, derive, design, develop, express, formulate, generalize, generate, hypothesize, incorporate, integrate, invent, make, manage, modify, organize, perform, plan, prepare, produce, program, propose, report, revise, set up, write 

      • You're expecting learners to - Think creatively (divergently) & take things and pattern them in a new way

    • (Higher Cognitive Challenge) appraise, argue, assess, attach, award, choose, classify, compare, conclude, criticize, critique, decide, defend, determine, estimate, evaluate, infer, judge, justify, predict, prioritize, rank, rate, recommend, select, support, validate, value

      • You're expecting learners to - Make judgments about "things" based on either external or internal conditions or criteria & Make or create new or original "things."

REMEMBER: Being lower on the Marzano's Taxonomy  (*optional enrichment) is not a bad thing. We all need to roll over, craw, toddle, and walk before we can run! 

What's important is understanding how lower-level activities (e.g. arranging events in chronological order) can eventually help students reach higher-level cognitive activities (e.g. determine cause and effect). This will help you plan lessons that properly support student growth.

Text - Marzano's Taxonomy (*optional enrichment)

Text - Marzano's Taxonomy for Processing Knowledge (*optional enrichment)

GET TO KNOW YOUR STUDENTS AND WHAT INTERESTS THEM ABOUT THE WORLD THEY LIVE IN. THIS IS THE FOUNDATION OF CONTEXTUALIZATION AND ENGAGEMENT. 

Here are a few ways to increase student satisfaction through the intrinsic motivational methods of autonomy, master and purpose. 

Autonomy – provide learners with autonomy over some (or all) of the four main aspects of school work:

• When they do it (time) – Consider focusing more on the output (result) rather than a time/schedule. This allows students to have flexibility over when they complete tasks, while also giving them a chance to work on their prioritization and self-direction skills.

• How they do it (technique) – Don’t dictate how learners should complete their tasks. Provide initial guidance and then allow them to tackle the project in the way they see fit rather than having to follow a strict procedure. You can also provide CHOICE: provide multiple ways in which learners can show that they have achieved a goal or mastery or a skill/concept. 

• Whom they do it with (team) –Allow learners to work in their own teams.

• What they do (task) - Allow learners to have regular ‘creative’ days where they can work on any project/problem they wish – there is empirical evidence which shows that many new ideas are often generated during this ‘creative free time’.

Mastery – allow learners to become better at something that matters to them:

• Provide “Goldilocks tasks” – Pink uses the term “Goldilocks tasks” to describe those tasks which are neither overly difficult nor overly simple – these tasks allow learners to extend themselves and develop their skills further. The risk of providing tasks that fall short of learners' capabilities is boredom, and the risk of providing tasks that exceed their capabilities is anxiety.

• Create an environment where mastery is possible – to foster an environment of learning and development, four essentials are required – autonomy, clear goals, immediate feedback and Goldilocks tasks.

Purpose – take steps to fulfill employees’ natural desire to contribute to a cause greater and more enduring than themselves:

• Communicate the purpose – make sure learners know and understand the course purpose and goals. Learners, who understand the purpose and vision of the instructor and the course, and how their individual roles as students contribute to this purpose, are more likely to be satisfied in their coursework.

• Emphasize on purpose maximization - Course and individual goals should focus on purpose. 

• Use purpose-oriented words – talk about the class as a united team by using words such as “us” and “we”, this will inspire learners to talk about the course in the same way and feel a part of the greater cause.

Check out an article about this work... LEARNING AS VIRTUE (*optional enrichment)

What strategies can I use to create engaging instruction? Keep it simple, and check out this blog (*optional enrichment) in which kids share what motivates them or this piece (*optional enrichment) that shares some simple engagement strategies that all classrooms can use for student participation! It needs to be relevant! Think about what the students are DOING in this classroom. 

Check out this teacher and classroom-focused article on getting students' attention (*optional enrichment).

Students often struggle to pay attention, but when they are given a task they view as challenging or hard, they are even more likely to give up before truly trying. If you notice a student that is regularly losing focus during challenging tasks, here are some strategies that might help increase that attention span and improve the overall outcome of tasks.

• Start with something unique but connected - Enthusiastically starting class with a positive activity (one that creates a bridge between the student's previous experience and the class) can pay off.  A student may have been sleeping, eating, or fighting with a sibling just a few seconds before logging on and needs to disengage from home life. An engaging beginning is more likely to draw their attention and can even trigger a dopamine release, which is the neurotransmitter associated with joy. Something as simple as starting each day with facial yoga for elementary students or with a trivia question ("Which furry animal produces a venom, glows under black light, and has a duck beak?" or "What's the biggest object ever created in gold?") or National Geographic "Weird but True" video (*optional enrichment) can lighten up everyone's mood and initiate focus.

• Include Physical Activity - Students who struggle with attention often do better if they are given brief breaks for active or social play. Taking a break to bounce on an exercise ball, breaking up learning into chunks, and outdoor playtimes, or providing a quick stretching or jumping jacks break in the classroom, can all help the attention-challenged student stay focused. Starting with a few minutes of active or social play before a challenging task can also help a student stay more engaged.

• Have "Attention Breaks" - Teach the child or children what "paying attention" means and how it looks. Practice attentive behavior in non-threatening, non-crucial times during the school day. Then, at periodic intervals, have practice attention breaks. Using a timer or an app on the phone, have a signal go off during the work period, and have the child mark whether he/she was paying attention. This can help train a student's brain to understand what attention looks like, and how often he/she is tempted to disengage.

• Adjust Time Frames - If you find that, no matter what you do, the kids just can't seem to stay on task, it may be time to break content into smaller time intervals. Remember, students can concentrate on one task for two to five minutes per year old. For example, if you have a classroom of 6 year-olds, expect 12 year-olds to 30 minutes of attention for your students.

If you need to adjust time frames for all or some of your students, do so. Using timers, have the student who is struggling with attention show his/her work after a short period of time. This breaks up the task and allows the child to keep working without feeling completely overwhelmed. Consider calling the child to your desk for these checks. This provides the physical movement that the child needs in order to stay engaged and also gives you the opportunity to monitor his/her progress.

Also, be cautious about lengthy lectures with kids with short attention spans. These children need to be kept involved with the material, so ask for responses regularly on the subject matter you are discussing. Even a simple question, asking for a raise of hands, can be what is necessary to keep students on task.

• Remove Visual Distractions - When a student is struggling with a difficult task, clutter in the classroom or on the desk can make it impossible to keep his/her brain where it needs to be. Remove unnecessary clutter and visual experiences from the workspace. This gives the student fewer excuses for not focusing on the task at hand.

• Play Memory Games - Memory isn't really a muscle, but it can help improve focus. Memory games help hone that focus for students in a fun way so that they are able to concentrate when something challenging is presented. Have regular times in the normal school day where the class plays memory games, or work with the attention-challenged students outside of normal class time to play concentration games. Add memory games to classroom electronics to encourage this type of play during free time.

Memory games do not have to be complicated. For the younger grades, a simple game of red-light-green-light, I-Spy or Simon Says forces a student to concentrate. Memory matching cards or the game Concentration can also be used to increase attention.

• Rate (and Change) Tasks - If you notice a student is constantly avoiding work or seems overly distracted, ask that child to rate the level of challenge found in the activity on a scale of 1 to 10. If the student indicates the activity is an eight or higher, ask what could be done to make the task a two or three. Sometimes, you will get excellent insight into what you can do to help the student decrease his/her level of frustration.

• Break Tasks Into Pieces - If these strategies don't work, look at the task itself. Can you break it into smaller chunks? Have the student focus long enough to perform part of the task, then take a break, coming back to the project to finish. Students with attention struggles may actually perform the requested task faster with this strategy than if they simply tried to finish it all in one sitting.

Some students are going to struggle with attention more than others. As a teacher, you can take measures to help improve concentration for your students. All it takes is a little extra thought and work on your part to bring significant change for your students.

The idea behind multiple forms of intelligence is widely used in education though, as the researcher who shared them, Howard Gardner, noted, they are often misused. Gardner himself argues (*optional enrichment) that “multiple intelligences should not, in and of itself, be an educational goal.”

Instead of the false idea that we have one primary form of intelligence (e.g. "I'm a visual learner"), we want to use these concepts as multiple oppportunities for different kinds of learning. 

The learning opportunities are as follows:

Visual-Spatial - think in terms of physical space, as do architects and sailors. Very aware of their environments. They like to draw, do jigsaw puzzles, read maps, daydream. They can be taught through drawings, verbal and physical imagery. Tools include models, graphics, charts, photographs, drawings, 3-D modeling, video, videoconferencing, television, multimedia, texts with pictures/charts/graphs. For example,  a high school English teacher uses film to teach Common Core skills!

Bodily-kinesthetic - use the body effectively, like a dancer or a surgeon. Keen sense of body awareness. They like movement, making things, touching. They communicate well through body language and be taught through physical activity, hands-on learning, acting out, role playing. Tools include equipment and real objects.

Musical - show sensitivity to rhythm and sound. They love music, but they are also sensitive to sounds in their environments. They may study better with music in the background. They can be taught by turning lessons into lyrics, speaking rhythmically, tapping out time. Tools include musical instruments, music, radio, stereo, CD, multimedia.

Interpersonal - understanding, interacting with others. These students learn through interaction. They have many friends, empathy for others, street smarts. They can be taught through group activities, seminars, dialogues. Tools include the telephone, audio conferencing, time and attention from the instructor, video conferencing, writing, computer conferencing, E-mail.

Intrapersonal - understanding one's own interests, goals. These learners tend to shy away from others. They're in tune with their inner feelings; they have wisdom, intuition, and motivation, as well as a strong will, confidence and opinions. They can be taught through independent study and introspection. Tools include books, creative materials, diaries, privacy and time. They are the most independent of the learners.

Linguistic - using words effectively. These learners have highly developed auditory skills and often think in words. They like reading, playing word games, making up poetry or stories. They can be taught by encouraging them to say and see words, read books together. Tools include computers, games, multimedia, books, recorders, and lecture.

Logical-Mathematical - reasoning, calculating. Think conceptually, abstractly and are able to see and explore patterns and relationships. They like to experiment, solve puzzles, ask cosmic questions. They can be taught through logic games, investigations, mysteries. They need to learn and form concepts before they can deal with details.

I add the following:

Expert - Learning from someone who has many years of experience and knowledge about a topic.

Technology - Using technology to enhance learning opportunities

Natural World - Learn from being outside or in the actual environment of the topic being studied.

At first, it may seem impossible to teach to all learning styles. However, as we move into using a mix of media or multimedia, it becomes easier. As we understand learning styles, it becomes apparent why multimedia appeals to learners and why a mix of media is more effective. It satisfies the many types of learning preferences that one person may embody or that a class embodies. A review of the literature shows that a variety of decisions must be made when choosing media that is appropriate to learning style.

SOME DOS AND DON’TS (*optional enrichment)

So what should teachers do? Here are a few evidence-based dos and don’ts for applying multiple intelligences theory in your classroom.

Do:

• Give students multiple ways to access information: Not only will your lessons be more engaging, but students will be more likely to remember information that’s presented in different ways.

• Individualize your lessons: It still makes sense to differentiate your instruction, even if students don’t have a single dominant learning style. Avoid a one-size-fits-all method of teaching, and think about students’ needs and interests.

• Incorporate the arts into your lessons: Schools often focus on linguistic and logical intelligence, but we can nurture student growth by letting them express themselves in different ways. As Gardner explains, “My theory of multiple intelligences provides a basis for education in the arts. According to this theory, all of us as human beings possess a number of intellectual potentials.”

Don’t (*optional enrichment):

• Label students with a particular type of intelligence: By pigeonholing students, we deny them opportunities to learn at a deeper, richer level. Labels—such as “book smart” or “visual learner”—can be harmful when they discourage students from exploring other ways of thinking and learning, or from developing their weaker skills.

• Confuse multiple intelligences with learning styles: A popular misconception is that learning styles is a useful classroom application of multiple intelligences theory. “This notion is incoherent,” argues Gardner. We read and process spatial information with our eyes, but reading and processing require different types of intelligence. It doesn’t matter what sense we use to pick up information—what matters is how our brain processes that information. “Drop the term styles. It will confuse others, and it won't help either you or your students,” Gardner suggests.

• Try to match a lesson to a student’s perceived learning style: Although students may have a preference for how material is presented, there’s little evidence that matching materials to a preference will enhance learning. In matching, an assumption is made that there’s a single best way to learn, which may ultimately prevent students and teachers from using strategies that work. “When one has a thorough understanding of a topic, one can typically think of it in several ways,” Gardner explains.

*Adapted from Edutopia.

• Supplemental video - Stand and Deliver (*optional enrichment)

• Student Motivation is Key Article (*optional enrichment)