MI Ch. 5&6/UbD Ch. 6&7

All four chapters discuss ways to adapt teaching styles to suit the very diverse needs of students and to integrate Multiple Intelligence theory and differentiated instruction into the classroom. They give an optimistic picture of how multiple intelligences are being incorporated into modern classrooms, saying that much of the strategies we can use to embrace multiple intelligences in the classroom are already being done by good teachers. Good teachers know how to organically adapt their methods to suit the needs of their students and how to go beyond lectures and quantitative tests. Multiple Intelligence theory talks about taking this further and translating the same material into practical, hands-on methods that allow for engaged and meaningful learning for all students regardless of what their learning style might be. MI theory and differentiated instruction are about communication between the student and the teacher, as well as between the student and the classroom content. When one method of communication does not adequately reach the student, another method must be used to ensure that all students understand the fundamentals and essential questions of the curriculum. The books specify that MI theory and differentiated instruction are about substituting ineffective methods for more beneficial ones, instead of adding on unnecessary pedagogy that does not have practical purposes. As a whole, MI theory and differentiated instruction are about teachers being flexible with their methods and being open to adapting their instruction to allow students with many different learning styles the opportunity to learn from the same curriculum.

The information in these four chapters is all very relevant to my future as a teacher. I think one of my biggest challenges as a teacher will be adapting my instruction to suit the needs of all my students, because I have a tendency to stick with methods that are comfortable to me. I also get frustrated when those methods don’t work, and blame myself and think that I failed. But because I have a natural inclination towards orderly, linear lessons that are based in language and writing skills, I will need to work hard to make things that are just the opposite sometimes. English in particular is a subject that is easy to use the same static methods for, but that is even more reason for teachers to come up with new ways of teaching it. I like what the MI book had to say about teachers inherently doing a lot of the adapting necessary to make that theory work. That makes me feel like I really do have what it takes to be an effective teacher for different learning styles, and I think that kind of optimism is exactly what the education system needs. One of the books said that, in order for MI theory and differentiated instruction to work, teachers have to see themselves as capable of adapting and modifying their lessons, and having confidence in both their abilities as teachers and the capability of their students to perform to high standards. This positive approach to diversity in the classroom is exactly what needs to happen in order for education to progress.