Week of 3/1

I really liked class this week, especially the learning style worksheet where Prof. Smith spoke in patois. I was cracking up, as was most of the class, but looking at the situation seriously its scary to think that for non English speakers that is how a classroom can be for them. An environment where they don't understand the language, are afraid to speak up for fear of saying the wrong thing and just an uncomfortable situation. It was a great way of expressing how serious that concept is.

Not only having English as a barrier, but having a different learning style can most definitely be a barrier for young children in classrooms. For the most part I think I do believe in Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, I do think that children (and adults) learn different ways and for a student who needs hands on experience to fully grasp things sitting and just listening in a classroom would not be an effective teaching tool and vice verso. But, on the same note I do think that almost all children would learn better, or concentrate better if they were not just sitting listening to a teacher, but rather moving around, doing things for themselves. Children learn on a daily basis just by watching or observing and then trying it for themselves. I think a great example of this is a hands on museum like the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. I went there when I was younger, maybe about 10 which was a little too old to really be involved in the museum activities but I enjoyed watching my younger cousins. They spent over an hour in the supermarket section, walking up and down an aisle putting food in their shopping cart and going to the cash register, interacting with another child who was the 'cashier' restocking shelves and everyone switched roles many times. I feel this is a perfect example of how a child models, my cousins were not taught how to shop in a supermarket but after going to the supermarket with their parents they knew what to do when they were put in a "my size" supermarket environment. Because of this natural ability to model I think most children would succeed in a classroom if they were given the opportunity to do everything and learn and try, maybe fail and try again for themselves and not just sit and listen to a teacher.

This link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WON2VnQOKaE&feature=related shows a classroom in the UK and the use of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. Although only a glimpse at one classroom facilitating this type of learning it did bring up concerns for me. If you have a classroom where you assess the students on how they learn best and then separate them into groups to do activities that are geared towards their skills this can in a sense be a form of tracking and stereotyping. A student who is given the title of a logical-mathematical intelligence who focuses on numbers and reasoning to understand everything I believe is not getting the full experience of learning a concept. I think it is important to try and find ways to reach as student and push them in their zone of proximal development, but I think you can do that by pushing them to understand a concept in a way that does give them difficulties and isn't always easy.

At the end of the youtube video some questions are raised as to whether Gardner's theory truly is a great theory and tool that must be used by educators. And I believe that it is a good theory, but one that must be used as an educational tool only in the correct way. Teaching a student in a way that they can understand and relate is important but children do have the capacity to learn and understand in many more ways than in an assessed and distinct category. I think as a theory it is great and should be studied more and more practical guidelines established with time so that hopefully with addressing different learning behavioral styles all children can reach their full potential.