Mackenzie Jones // Team 4
9/11/07
Dr. Grace Ward
EDU 221

Chapter Synthesis for MI Chapter 1

As a group we all basically stated that the first chapter in Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom described the actual eight intelligences that Howard Gardener is given credit to having developed. We also all agreed that the chapter identified and described what made each intelligence a “true” – or scientifically sound intelligence. The main components that made them hold up were that a) it has been proven that living “prodigies” have existed in all of these 8 areas of the brain, and that b) certain brain damaging conditions can limit cognition in one or more these areas (in isolation).

We then also talked about the fact that the first chapter discussed each intelligence to the point that we all feel comfortable with discussing them and observing children with them.

We all felt relatively good about teaching with the Multiple Intelligences theory. Some of the “plusses” we stated were that we could all categorize ourselves into these sections, so it makes us more easily accessible to our students, multiple intelligence theory allows us to reach many more kids than in traditional teaching atmospheres, and thirdly, that the research put into the MI theory shows that the field of education is still ever-evolving. Furthermore, MI theory states that some intelligences can be interwoven, which gives us as educators opportunity to make one student’s love of a certain subject carry on to our own classrooms, depending on how successfully we craft our lessons. The reading also opened up our eyes, as one of our members stated that before this reading, he had always thought of intelligence as just one thing. He now understands, however, that breaking it up into sections makes much more sense and describes humans more accurately.

Some of the downsides that some of our group saw to teaching to Multiple Intelligences were the fact that it makes our job much harder as educators (trying to form a curriculum to serve eight potentially different intelligences is a lot harder than planning for one), and that keeping students engaged, even after the plan is made, is eight times as difficult.

Overall, I got a very positive sense from our group’s reaction. We feel that there are many strengths in teaching a variety of students, and that the downsides are very easily managed when proper teaching techniques are used. I also got the impression that our group had a pretty firm foundation and understanding of the MI theory before we began the reading. I believe this contributed to not only our understandings of the material, but also our viewpoints on teaching in general.