Ch 2: MI Theory and Personal Development

Armstrong emphasized in this chapter that it does not matter the type of school you teach in, but the type of students you teach. Each individual is unique and formatting an MI profile is easy, like our first day of classes where we were interactive and discovered whether we were a “puppy,” a “clipboard,” a “beach ball,” or a “microscope.” It is crucial that the teacher knows who they are teaching for, what they like and what they dislike. Knowing your students allows you to adapt your lesson plans to their needs. An MI comes from genetic factors (who your parents are or what they are), experiences (what you’ve done and what you’ve seen: what made you who you are), and cultural (where you were born, how you were raised, economic status, race, etc). When a teacher knows who you are, they then know how to teach you adequately. MI’s are also formed by crystallizing and paralyzing experiences as labeled by David Feldman. A crystallizing experience includes those “turning points” in the development of a person’s talents and abilities. For example, making a sports team would crystallize your bodily-kinesthetic MI. A paralyzing experience, on the other hand, is an experience that “shuts down” intelligence. For example, failing a math test may make you think you have no logical/mathematical intelligence. As a teacher, I want to improve all my students by finding out what “shuts them down” and working past the struggle to show that they possess the ability to accomplish anything. Before I do that, I will have to know their strengths and weaknesses, which a MI test will come in handy (maybe the first day of class) as a fun “getting-to-know-you activity.”