Multiple Intelligences Chapter 7 Abstract and Reflection

Abstract
This chapter addresses the environment that the classroom provides for the students by appealing to each intelligence. The chapter talks about having MI activity centers or areas in the room where students of different intelligences are able to go and feel comfortable doing research, discussions, or class work. An environment that creates an atmosphere for learning helps students feel that they are part of the class and feel connected to the material. Giving the students choices as to how they will complete a task gives them the oportunity to open their minds and feel comfortable doing so.

Reflection
We feel that it is very important how a classroom can create an environment that either encourages learning or can hinder learning. A class that has an atmosphere that expresses the material in many different ways helps students to gain different perspectives on the material by appealing to the different intelligences. For example, in kindergarten there was a corner for drawing, reading, listening to books on tape, and building blocks. These areas appealed to kids with different intelligences. In a math class there could be a wall with pictures and graphs of architecture to express the concept of geometry. This would appeal to the kid in kindergarten who spent all of their time in the building blocks area. In a social studies class there could be an area dedicated to WWII where there are books from people who survived as well as books about the German military and their leader. In a health class the room could be filled with all different facets of health. There could be an outdoor wall, a physical fitness wall and a nutrition wall with recourse books to provide more information. I think by leaving a wall or an area where the students decide what they want to go there will also help the students to create their own environment and feel more connected to the classroom.