As I looked back over our weeks in this course, I chose five key pieces of information that I will take forward with me into my classroom. The first developing mind was the Disciplined Mind. The one thing that I will take away from this chapter and discussion is the necessity to approach a topic in a number of ways, as Gardner suggested. This is something that is very familiar to all educators, but after diving deeper into ways that we can do this, I realize that there are technology tools to assist us and to provide these varieties of choices. As I pieced together Web 2.0 tools that I have used with activities that I do, I realized that I can find a technology resource for nearly any instructional approach. I am excited to take the ones that I already used, the ones that I have found, and the ones that were shared with me in this course back to my classroom and am excited to find ways to incorporate them in my classroom instruction and assessment.
The second mind is the Synthesizing Mind. My take-back to the classroom will be the importance of not only incorporating multiple content areas in a study, but the importance of choosing assessments that really allow students to show that they have a deeper understanding and can synthesize the information and apply it to a variety of situations. This is a struggle for me as a learning support teacher, because it is much easier to modify multiple choice, true false, and matching assessments, but I think that it is important to allow these students to have the opportunity to show their levels of understanding, as well, through assessments that require multiple steps and the synthesis of the concepts taught.
The third mind, the Creating Mind, is one that I am very excited about. I love the challenge that this week of discussions and reading created. I think that creativity is often pushed to the side in lieu of preparing for standardized assessments, but creativity is definitely something that I lived for in school. I was always into the arts and into hands-on creations and projects, so I am a strong advocate for incorporating this in the classroom. With that said, this chapter really reminded me to dig deep and to make all of the creations that take place in the classroom a beneficial learning experience and not just a fun art project at the end of a unit. Using the student’s minds to truly create something that represents their understanding and knowledge with their own flair and uniqueness is the best use of the student’s whole mind.
The Respectful and Ethical Minds are two that tie closely together. Though these are of utmost importance, they are ones that can often provide a challenge in the classroom. This is not something that a teacher can force a student to do, but it is something that is taught, modeled, and hopefully instilled in the child as they encounter others and collaborate with others. Sydney quoted Gardner in her post when she said, “Respect for others should permeate one’s life” (Gardner, p. 125). Setting clear expectations for group work in the classroom, modeling those manners and rules, and then having a classroom that promotes open discussion is the best way to create respectful minds. It is important to create that safe classroom for your students. In addition to that, it is important for students to have that collaboration time so that they can learn more about each other in the process and realize that, though they may be different and from different circles, they can work together to reach a common goal. The main thing that I hope to take back to my classroom this school year from this discussion is the use of global classrooms and connecting with others in order to expand our knowledge and learn acceptance of and collaboration with others.
All of the discussions have led to many ideas that I wish to take back to my classroom with me, but I am hoping that as I reflect on my year next summer, that I can proudly say that I reached each of these five minds and pushed myself in new ways in order to do what’s best for my students and to get the best out of my students.
Gardner, H. (2008). Five Minds for the Future. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press.