MI: Teaching Strategies (Chapter 6)

     The sixth chapter of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, by Thomas Armstrong, focused on some of the different techniques that could be used in the classroom to promote learning among all eight intelligences. Throughout the chapter, I could not help but relate many of the examples to my classroom experiences. 

     As a student and a teacher, I think that Socratic Questioning is an incredible tool to use in the classroom, “Instead of talking at students, the teacher participates in dialogues with them, aiming to uncover the rightness or wrongness of their beliefs” (pg. 78). From my experience, when the teacher leads the discussion and allows the students to add their own ideas the method can yield positive results. However, if the teacher forces the conversation or loses control of its trajectory the method can fall flat. Ultimately, if the teacher uses the method correctly it will allow for insightful discussions that will allow the teacher to test “their (the students') hypotheses clarity, precision, accuracy, logical coherence, or relevance” (pg. 78).

     Mood music: “Locate recorded music that creates an appropriate mood or emotional atmosphere for a particular lesson or unit” (pg. 87). Recently, I took a film history class where the professor played music, at the beginning of class, that set the tone for the movie and the ideas he wanted us to consider. When he did this, the mood of the class would shift noticeably and it would influence our discussions.

     In high school, During the Hamlet unit, my teacher had us elect two people to play Hamlet and Ophelia. We then held a domestic violence court case in which we had the two characters act out their feelings, doing so let us establish a detailed tone for those characters' relationship. This "classroom theater" (pg. 83) activity brought all of us together and allowed for us to leave our seats; the teacher could have simply had us discuss our thoughts, but this method allowed for the class to have a better chance at retaining the information. 

     Variation in activities and the classroom is a positive occurrence that will yield a better learning environment for every student.