Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom

My two strongest multiple intelligences are intrapersonal and rhythmic intelligences. The core characteristics of the intrapersonal intelligence are affective awareness, ethical awareness, self-regulation, and metacognition. I identify with self-regulation the most out of this list of characteristics. Self-regulation is monitoring your own thought, actions, and emotions. I am constantly monitoring all of these aspects in my life. The main characteristics of the rhythmic intelligence are oral orientation, patterning, resonance, and audiation. The core characteristic that I identify with the most from the rhythmic characteristics is patterning. Patterning is when you try to find patterns in everything around you. This is very true for the way I look at the world.
Intrapersonal students have a great understanding of themselves. They know what they are good at and show confidence in it. They make reasonable goals and make appropriate choices to accomplish the goals. Students with a strong rhythmic intelligence use the elements of music throughout their life. They like to move to a rhythm and appreciate the cadence of language. They respond well to sound, and pick up on foreign language easily.
It is important for teachers to support all their different learners. To support intrapersonal learners in my classroom, I will allow students time to reflect on their learning. Typically, math teachers go from one topic immediately to the next. By allowing my students time to look back over their learning experience, I will scaffold developed understanding for my intrapersonal students. To support my rhythmic learners, I will emphasis the patterns in numbers. Often times teachers skill and drill mathematics without pointing out the beauty of the patterns within math.
There are a variety of different technologies that are helpful for instructing rhythmic and intrapersonal students. Most of the technologies for rhythmic students are related to sound. Examples include speakers, CD players, tape player, headphones, etc. These technologies interest rhythmic learners because these students have such an auditory focus. The technologies that stimulate intrapersonal learners are technologies that assist in reflection. Some examples include diaries, journals, surveys, self-assessments, etc. These technologies stimulate intrapersonal students because of their self-reflective and metacognition tendencies.
By paying attention to the multiple intelligences of my students, learning should be greatly increased in my classroom. I will focus my teaching around the way my students view the world. Since I will consider the way my students perceive things, I will present math to my students in a way that they can easily understand.

Information used in this page is from http://surfaquarium.com/MI/profiles/index.htm