MI+Chapter+9+Block+1


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Ethan Guthrie Herrell
MI Chapter 9

This chapter is about the actualization of Gardener’s vision in terms of practical reality. Gardiner, briefly, turns his attention to the demands the community might make, and what happens when the resources simply aren’t available for what the school wants, (of course, before we do that, let’s all turn our attention the 11 aircraft carriers, some 285 other ships including very expensive nuclear submarines, 3700 aircraft and arsenal of nuclear weapons that blow up the entire planet several times over that are collectively owned by the United States. With their existence acknowledged, we can then have a conversation about what’s //really// important right now).

There are three key people in Gardiner’s administration that don’t have direct parallels in most modern schools: There is a an Assessment Specialist (or more than one, depending on the size of the school), who has a battery of scientifically validated tests that measure the various intelligences, along with, one would assume, a questionnaire and a look at the student’s academic record.

Then there is the Student-curriculum Broker, who, with a record of the student’s strengths in hand, works with the student to choose courses that work to further their goals, prepare them for adulthood and their personal interests.

There is also the School-community Broker. This individual negotiates with the community for a budget for the school that balances what the community can afford and what the students need. toc

Cidney
Chapter 9 focuses on the MI school, a school in which the entire curriculum and structure of school is altered to allow for more integration of MI Theory. In an MI school, the students focus on learning traditional material in nontraditional ways. Project-based learning is the driving force of the curriculum, and students are evaluated via portfolio. During the second half of the school day, students are out in the community or apprenticeships learning about specific interests or trades.

Jordan Hale
This seems to be the futuristic chapter of the book describing what our schools are moving towards now. However, I think it may take a long time to get there. Schools are slowly starting to adapt to more flexible and individualized learning, but the second part of the school day involving community and apprenticeship as described by the book may take more time to integrate into schooling systems. I think it’s important for students to establish a connection with the community, and a great idea to focus on one specific area of interest. One thing that I can do specifically in my classroom is to integrate project-based learning and portfolio evaluations, which would help the school and my students move towards the ideals of an MI school If we educators truly want to incorporate the MI theory into the curriculum, major structural changes are needed in the schools (122). The traditional school is very narrow-minded in that they don’t reach out to all intelligences very well. Educators who know about the MI theory and are trying to use it in their classrooms are finding some roadblocks. To fix these roadblocks, Thomas Armstrong suggests an MI school. There are three components to an MI schools; an assessment specialist, a student-curriculum broker and a school-community broker. These three pieces all come together to help teachers help students achieve the most in the classroom based on their MI learning. The Key Learning community is a school in Indiana that thought to use the MI theory in developing their school. They use techniques such as school wide themes, pods, the flow room and much more. I believe that an MI school would be very beneficial to everyone involved, but it will definitely take some time and some convincing. People outside of the educational realm might not see the benefits of an MI school, but I think if educators can get enough support through research and experimental classrooms and schools, than it will definitely help the cause. We had a “Greek Week” in middle school that was focused on the Greeks (obviously). There were no “classes” per say, but rather options that students could have their choice of. This greatly encouraged my classmates and I to become more involved in what we were learning. School-wide themes are a good way to incorporate the MI school ideas with the current schools. .