Multiple intelligence theory and student evaluation within internship

EDU 6160 bPortfolio Post 8                            Ian Lewis                                 November 27, 2016

Multiple intelligence theory and student evaluation within internship

The Response to Intervention (RTI) framework for instruction-based assessment discussed by Shermis and Di Vesta (2011, p. 399-404) is an individualized process for student assessment and intervention. It relies heavily upon the idea of zone of proximal development (Vygotskyy, 1978), which drew upon Piaget’s theories of child cognitive development and developmental stages, in that it emphasizes the individual level of student need and how the teacher provides instruction, while considering differentiation in order to meet standards for quality instruction. However, as the discussion of student essay assessments shows (Shermis and Si Vesta, 2011, p. 477-478), teaching to a basic framework, does not necessarily equate to passing more rigorous assessment, which suggests that good teachers need to teach beyond standards. Aspects of the RTI framework can be seen at NVI, and have been applied within my internship. Differentiation in both ELA and social studies is part of everyday instruction. 

In both ELA and social studies, various students would fall into the Tier 2 and Tier 3 of the RTI framework (Shermis and Di Vesta, 2011, p. 401), needing either systematic/remedial instruction or small group/individualized instruction. Some of these students are ELL and some receive special education services with 504 plans. Special attention is taken with planning and with implementation of instruction in order to meet the needs of all students based on their developmental level (linguistically, cognitively, socially, etc.).

Examples of differentiation in ELA are varied. Scaffolded summary paragraphs instead of writing a complete paragraph are used. Individual and small group support is provided especially when writing paragraphs, and soon essays. When answering questions, certain parts may be eliminated or reduced (or added) for students/classes. Providing supplemental material or copies of notes can be useful. Reducing multiple choice options and restructuring short answer prompts are ways to differentiate assessment. If the assessment asks students to use the text to cite specific examples in the story “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” where suspense builds as a result of Rikki speaking with another character, this could easily be modified to ask a student to provide a single example. Similar strategies are used in social studies as well. Such differentiation all ties back to an understanding of multiple theories of intelligence and their application with our student population.

In order to go beyond the basic standards, as noted with the student essay tests anecdote (Shermis and Di Vesta, 2011, p. 477-478), we also seek to incorporate various effective practices for helping students exceed standards. As noted above, we are soon teaching/writing essays in 7^th grade ELA, and just as the basic paragraph structure was taught, we have also taught a basic essay structure. However, each paragraph (with basic structure emphasized) practice activity built upon an additional, different element (e.g. citing multiple/different types of sources, providing background information before an introduction, expanding sentences to increase sentence fluency, etc.) that will hopefully contribute to taking students beyond basic. When students write their essays, the rubric uses a scaled score of 1-4 (based on 32 points for various essay elements), where 3 is meets standards, and 4 is exceeds. Strict adherence to a writing formula may allow students to meet a standard (and some may also still be approaching, 2). Integrating strategies such as varying sentence structure and fluency so that imagery and detail go beyond the basic script and add flowing, vibrant voice to writing, however, begins to exceed standards. Across the whole essay writing process, as with writing paragraphs, special attention will be directed to students with special needs to ensure they receive the necessary instruction and resources in order to be successful.

Reference List:

Shermis, Mark D. and Di Vesta, Francis J. (2011). Classroom Assessment in Action. Rowman and Lanham: Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Vygotsky, (1978). Interaction Between Learning and Development. Gauvain and Cole (Eds.) Readings on the Development of Children. New York: Scientific America Books. P 34-40.