Chapter 13

Abstract:
This chapter is about multiple intelligences theory and how it provides an ideal context for making sense out of students cognitive skills. The areas emphasized in this chapter are memory, problem solving, and blooms level of cognitive ability. The first area spoken about is memory. For a long time teachers believed in the notion that some students had good memory and some had bad. However, now it is believed that no student has a “bad memory” it is only directly related to their strength in an area of intelligence. An example of this would be spelling. Students who are poor at spelling may be able to learn it easier if we relate it things like musical intelligence by singing the words. For the spatial learners, spelling words can be visualized on an “internal blackboard”.
The second area was problem solving. Recent studies have shown that U. S students are falling behind when it comes to higher order cognitive processes. Because of this, educators are looking for ways that will help students think more effectively when confronted with academic problems. The book suggested visualization of their ideas. “They can learn to sketch metaphorical images that relate to problems they are working on.” A few other strategies listed self talk for linguistics, mind- mapping for spatial intelligence, and kinesthetic imagery for the bodily intelligences. The last part of this chapter is about how the MI theory relates to the Blooms Levels of Cognitive Complexity. Blooms 6 levels ensures that instruction stimulates and helps develop the students higher order thinking processes. (Knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation.) These 6 facets of learning allow for us to evaluate how deeply students minds “have been stirred by a MI curriculum.”

Reflection:
I think we can all relate to a time when we were in school, in particular a certain subject, where we just couldn’t remember the material that we were suppose to be learning. Most of us might have thought it was because were stupid, but what if we could have learned that material in a different way, one that is more favorable to your learning style? This chapter talks how no one can really have a “bad memory” but their memory may be directly related to their stronger intelligence. If we can teach students something like spelling in more than one technique, to hit intelligences outside the linguistic, students are more likely to acquire that skill efficiently.
The last piece of this chapter we found important was the Blooms level of cognitive complexity. We developed our six lesson plans around these six facets, and it really does show how deep students can get into the material. So not only does it help educators create more effective lesson plans, it also checks for how much the students are grasping from the material.