Multiple Intellegences in the Classroom — Ch. 10: MI Theory and Assessment

This chapter begins explaining that it simply wouldn't make any sense to teach a curriculum through all eight intelligences and then give a test rooted only in only one intelligence. But this is so often what happens. With all good intent a teacher teaches through various ways and it's great, but when it comes time to test they'll often learn toward linguistic or logical-mathematical skills.

But are tests really that great anyway? It seems that things such as portfolios are a better gauge of how a student is doing overall. Ways to document student performances include: Anecdotal records, work samples, audio files, video, photographs, student journals, student-kept charts, sociograms, informal assessments, informal use of standardized tests, student interviews, criterion-referenced assessments, checklists and calendar records. Collecting these things ensures authentic assessment instead of the standardized testing which seems to focus largely on what a student cannot do instead of what they can.

Some projects may seem geared more specifically to one kind of intelligence, but with just a few words (build a, write a, write a song about, etc.) a project can have a completely new context and reach kids it was unable to reach previously. This returns to the idea of "changing the verb" which is something I hope to implement in my future tests and projects, so that they're not constantly being asked to only "explain". As long as students are all achieving a similar understanding of a subject and reaching the goals set out for them, the path they use to get there can be as different as they like.

MI Portfolios are a great way to show all that a student has done, and can be set up in most any way which best fits the situation. That said, the "Five C's of Portfolio Development" should be present. These include: Celebration, Cognition, Communication, Cooperation, and Competency. To quote page 147, "Ultimately, MI theory provides an assessment framework within which students can have their rich and complex lives acknowledged, celebrated, and nurtured."