Multimedia, Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences and Cooperative Learning
Hello everyone,
I hope you are all doing well!
Today's topic is about cooperative learning and the use of Multimedia in heterogeneous classes.
I think we've all found the traditional classes boring and instead of actually listening to the teacher, we would do other things such as sketching in the notebook, read something else or even use our cellphones. I remember an English teacher of my high school who spent 45 minutes of the whole class explaining and asking us to tell the previous lessons by heart. No matter how much I loved English and how good I was, it still was a nightmare to me attending that class. And yes, it was boring!
On the other hand, there were teachers who would allow us to work in groups and I still remember the excitement of the class when we were told to do so. The groups consisted of five members of different levels, let's say. Some of us weren't friends, but for the sake of the common good, we would accept each other as we were. The beauty of such work, lies in the fact that many talents were manifested. A student who was very shy turned out to be an amazing actor, another one was very talented in painting, someone else in writing, another one in solving logical problems and so on. By including pieces of ourselves, we created mosaics.
I would like to share with you a simple, but meaningful quotation “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Its importance stands in the fact that all teachers, including us as future ones, should be aware that their classes will be diverse. Not all students intend to be doctors, teachers or engineers, but everyone is peculiar and have developed their own intelligences. As we've learned from Gardner, there is not such thing as one intelligence, but there are actually nine, as you can see in the demonstration below.
According to Gardner, an individual can excel in one, two or even more intelligences, but cannot surpass all of them. What does this mean for teachers? Based on reseaches and my own observations, teachers should use such methods in the class so all the students will benefit and be encouraged to develop their intelligences. One way to do this, is using Cooperative Learning method.
But what is Cooperative Learning itself?
Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. According to David Johnson and Roger Johnson (1999), there are five basic elements that allow successful small-group learning:
As we saw in the videos, some of its benefits are: development of thinking skills; improved raced relations; increased liking for school; enhanced social skills and social relations and more participation.
Some other advantages of using Cooperative Learning, include:
I think that use of Multimedia plays a crucial role in this type of learning. Why take students away from technology, when we can use it to the best of their knowledge? Technology is an inseparable part of our lives, so let's use it. Let's show our students there's more than social media on the internet!
By suggesting them an interesting topic, we will make them curious to search on the internet for more materials. In this way, they will become more selective and critical of the information. They can also create videos, powerpoint presentations, games or use images, songs etc to present their final work.
We already know that there are different learning styles and intelligences and using multimedia would help all students acquire the material. Videos include sounds, visuals, sometimes words and a personal reflection of the material or even a simple task to be done, which help students with spatial, intrapersonal and interpersonal, musical, linguistic and bodily kinesthetic intelligence. On the other hand, using powerpoint may also include graphics, numbers, hierarchies to help or make it more attractive to students with logical-mathematical and naturalist intelligences.
That's why I personally love teaching, because you never stop learning!
To sum up, the role of the teacher is to organize a lesson that is as engaging as possible and to allow students to interact with each other. In this way, they will become more independent and prepared for life outside the school walls.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, I appreciate it!
Please feel free to share your opinion!
P.s. Don't forget to stay safe :)
I hope you are all doing well!
Today's topic is about cooperative learning and the use of Multimedia in heterogeneous classes.
I think we've all found the traditional classes boring and instead of actually listening to the teacher, we would do other things such as sketching in the notebook, read something else or even use our cellphones. I remember an English teacher of my high school who spent 45 minutes of the whole class explaining and asking us to tell the previous lessons by heart. No matter how much I loved English and how good I was, it still was a nightmare to me attending that class. And yes, it was boring!
On the other hand, there were teachers who would allow us to work in groups and I still remember the excitement of the class when we were told to do so. The groups consisted of five members of different levels, let's say. Some of us weren't friends, but for the sake of the common good, we would accept each other as we were. The beauty of such work, lies in the fact that many talents were manifested. A student who was very shy turned out to be an amazing actor, another one was very talented in painting, someone else in writing, another one in solving logical problems and so on. By including pieces of ourselves, we created mosaics.
I would like to share with you a simple, but meaningful quotation “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Its importance stands in the fact that all teachers, including us as future ones, should be aware that their classes will be diverse. Not all students intend to be doctors, teachers or engineers, but everyone is peculiar and have developed their own intelligences. As we've learned from Gardner, there is not such thing as one intelligence, but there are actually nine, as you can see in the demonstration below.
According to Gardner, an individual can excel in one, two or even more intelligences, but cannot surpass all of them. What does this mean for teachers? Based on reseaches and my own observations, teachers should use such methods in the class so all the students will benefit and be encouraged to develop their intelligences. One way to do this, is using Cooperative Learning method.
But what is Cooperative Learning itself?
Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. According to David Johnson and Roger Johnson (1999), there are five basic elements that allow successful small-group learning:
- Positive interdependence: Students feel responsible for their own and the group's effort.
- Face-to-face interaction: Students encourage and support one another; the environment encourages discussion and eye contact.
- Individual and group accountability: Each student is responsible for doing their part; the group is accountable for meeting its goal.
- Group behaviors: Group members gain direct instruction in the interpersonal, social, and collaborative skills needed to work with others occurs.
- Group processing: Group members analyze their own and the group's ability to work together.
Which are the benefits of Cooperative Learning?
As we saw in the videos, some of its benefits are: development of thinking skills; improved raced relations; increased liking for school; enhanced social skills and social relations and more participation.
Some other advantages of using Cooperative Learning, include:
- Students who explain to one another strengthen their own learning. By explaining the material once more, the students acquire it better, realizing their strong or weak points. They also learn while interacting, "benefiting" from each-other's intelligences. I remember I loved working with my friends who were geniuses in physics and chemistry as it was the only way I could understand both of them.
- Students develop responsibility for each other, by working hard to achieve their common goal.
- Building self esteem in students, as long as they are independent in carrying out the task and then in presenting it, taking into account and accepting criticism. This leads them to being more empathic.
- Building more positive relationships between students, as long as they learn from each-other. Also they learn to cherish differences and help each-other.
- It develops communication skills, preparing students for the real life.
I think that use of Multimedia plays a crucial role in this type of learning. Why take students away from technology, when we can use it to the best of their knowledge? Technology is an inseparable part of our lives, so let's use it. Let's show our students there's more than social media on the internet!
By suggesting them an interesting topic, we will make them curious to search on the internet for more materials. In this way, they will become more selective and critical of the information. They can also create videos, powerpoint presentations, games or use images, songs etc to present their final work.
We already know that there are different learning styles and intelligences and using multimedia would help all students acquire the material. Videos include sounds, visuals, sometimes words and a personal reflection of the material or even a simple task to be done, which help students with spatial, intrapersonal and interpersonal, musical, linguistic and bodily kinesthetic intelligence. On the other hand, using powerpoint may also include graphics, numbers, hierarchies to help or make it more attractive to students with logical-mathematical and naturalist intelligences.
That's why I personally love teaching, because you never stop learning!
To sum up, the role of the teacher is to organize a lesson that is as engaging as possible and to allow students to interact with each other. In this way, they will become more independent and prepared for life outside the school walls.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, I appreciate it!
Please feel free to share your opinion!
P.s. Don't forget to stay safe :)
Hi Elda! Your post is really interesting. I share the same idea that multimedia is crucial to learning and involving technology in class is very worth it. Keep it going with your good work. 😊
ReplyDeleteHi Elena! Regarding to multimedia, I really hope that we'll see it implemented in Albanian schools as soon as possible. It really motivates students and makes them acquire the lesson faster. Thank you so much :)
DeleteYour post is really interesting and l enjoyed reading it . What l found really interesting is the fact that you have mention your personal experience during the time you were at school. Good job!☺️
ReplyDeleteHi Sid! I think that the best way we can improve ourselves is by taking our experiences as examples and learn from them. Thank you so much! :)
DeleteI think that your post is very interesting, especially that the examples are taken from experiences. Good job!
ReplyDelete