Steven Kimmi's Public Library

Part of the opposition has less to do with technology and testing than it does
changing people’s opinions of what school should be.
The move to PBL doesn’t have to happen overnight, Ross notes. “We encourage
small steps, projects that take weeks, not months.” PBL newbies can join
existing projects or team up with others.

“There’s no denying the first
time around takes time,” Ross says. “We hear this again and again from
teachers.”

01 May 09

Students Can Get Work Done in Groups | Edutopia

www.edutopia.org/ning-sacramento-group-dynamics - Preview

a combination English, economics, and government course at Sacramento New Technology High School, in Sacramento,
California
English-geography class
7 more annotations...
- proper training on how to work together
- Newman and Coit start the year off by doing a number of team-building and
  icebreaking activities.
- Each student then volunteers to take on a specific leadership role, such as
  being the group scribe (who is responsible for taking notes and paperwork), the
  marshal (who keeps the team on schedule), and the liaison (who interacts with
  the teachers on the group's behalf).
- Coit and Newman also recommend setting aside class time every day for students
  to discuss what they've accomplished and what they plan to work on the next day.
- when students form new groups -- is the ideal time for team members to establish
  agreed-on group norms for decision making and communicating with one another,
  and the consequences of violating those norms, which makes it easier for both
  the students and teacher to manage the group process if it veers off track.
- Part of the collaborative process is the ability to create a cohesive product,
  one that looks like one person made it."
- encourage the other person to tell you his story

LESSON PLAN IDEAS

Wow! This has a number of "Lesson Starters" to get your mind aournd what the MI's can look like in the different content areas

www.lth3.k12.il.us/...LessonPlanIdeas.htm - Preview

MultipleIntelligences lessons

Multiple Intelligences

Lots of info and resources for MI's.

lth3.k12.il.us/...mi.html - Preview

mi multipleintelligences

How to Address Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom | Edutopia

Resoruce fro getting started. Links to model learning contracts that address the MI's.

www.edutopia.org/igences-immersion-enota-how-to - Preview

multipleintelligences

Visit a School

"I think being able to visit a school that's doing something that's working
is the best resource," says Enota fourth-grade teacher Marty Jones. "You can
read about all the different ways to help your children connect to the different
'smarts,' but unless you can really get your hands in it, I don't think it will
work."
3 more annotations...
- One of the unique adaptations of MI at Enota is the learning contract, an
  activity chart that provides students with options for tackling weekly
  curriculum. Sometimes a teacher will ask students to complete all the
  activities; other times, students can select the projects that appeal to them.
  Students are expected to complete the work at their own pace
- "You do give up a lot of control," says teacher Denise McConnell. But in the
  experience of many Enota teachers, greater autonomy leads to greater engagement.
- Build a Team
  
  The MI classroom can be a lot more work than a lecture-based one, certainly
  when it comes to lesson planning. "I would not lie to you and say this is easy
  to do," says Audrey Thornton. "What I can tell you is that it helps if you've
  got a team that works together." Thornton's fourth-grade team meets every day,
  and sits down together once a week to plan the following one. A typical learning
  contract, she says, "requires about four hours of five bodies sitting down most
  days of the week."
  
  If that isn't possible for you, advise Enota teachers, at least don't go it
  alone: It helps enormously to have at least one colleague to bat ideas back and
  forth with from time to time.

29 Apr 09

Elementary School Kids Show Their Multiple Intelligences | Edutopia

www.edutopia.org/-intelligences-immersion-enota - Preview

If, in addition to spending time in a classroom, students have the opportunity
to participate in a wide variety of activities, including the running of a
little city, they'll exercise their multiple intelligences on many levels,
always in a meaningful way. "It's a town, rather than a school, and a family,
rather than a classroom," says Audrey Thornton.
In her art class, Julie Oliver invites students to explore music, words, and
collaboration through the use of finger paints, Legos, and clay. At stations
labeled for different intelligences, students have many ways to learn what
Oliver wants to teach.
2 more annotations...
- And in Rebecca Goebel's creative-movement class, she says, "we use our bodies
  to help us learn other things." Math, she adds, is a good example: A recent
  dance was counted in two sets of eight -- equivalent to 16 -- and limbs were
  used to form right angles and parallel lines. "This is just another outlet for
  those children who, if they can do it with their body, might understand it
  better," she says.
- If they don't have an opportunity to demonstrate their learning based on their
  interests and skill levels, "they're not going to run as fast as they could."