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INDIVIDUALITY IN THE CLASSROOM: THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT AND MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

Philosophy of Teaching Laura Noble Last Updated: February 27th, 2013

INDIVIDUALITY IN THE CLASSROOM: THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT AND MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES The way in which we choose to educate will reflect highly in our students ability to learn. As educators, we must constantly step back from our own learning styles and recognize when we need to change what is happening in our classroom, how we are teaching and most importantly, what our students are learning. Through studying multiple psychologists and their views on learning, it is evident that certain beliefs may either hinder or assist in the learning process for students. Through the research done by Lev Vygotsky and Howard Gardner about the most effective ways of both teaching and learning, creative function and multiple intelligences prove that drastic changes need to be done and we need to step away from the traditional model of teaching in order for each child to reach their potential in a classroom environment. Students learn through their interactions with their peers, educators and guardians and learn through several different variations of learning such as Vygotskys zone of proximal development and Gardners multiple intelligences. Realizing that each student has the potential for growth is the number one rule to remember as an educator and we must consistently remind ourselves that growing and learning is fluid as opposed to static: no individual learns through the exact same processes. Factors such as the lifestyle, background and culture all have a drastic effect on how a person may live their life, though whether they know these factors affect them may be up for debate. Although the impact of culture may not be recognized by everyone, the way in which a person has been raised has a great effect on how they will internalize information and also how they learn. Vygotskys theories of social learning are by far one of the most influential pieces of writing for me as an educator, and sociocultural theory is an important factor to consider when deciding both what to teach and how to teach certain materials:

INDIVIDUALITY IN THE CLASSROOM: THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT AND MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES Sociocultural Theory: Theory that emphasizes the role in development of cooperative dialogues between children and more knowledgeable members of society; children learn the culture of their community (ways of thinking and behaving) through these interactions. (Woolfolk; 2009; pg. 42.) I believe that the cultural background of each individual highly determines not only their personality and lifestyle but their learning style and the categories of multiple intelligences that they may possess or be interested in. I would love for students to embrace their culture, but not be held back by stereotypes that may come along with their lifestyle. For example, stereotypes about home income and backgrounds would not be focused on in my classes. Students would be able to forget their outside life in my class if they so wish, as my classroom will be a positive growing and learning environment (Anyon, 1980). Teachers have the chance to have a positive impact on a students self-worth and self-efficacy, and I believe that finding students strengths will greatly benefit them in both short and long term goal setting. Therefore, we as teachers have a huge impact on student learning through our involvement and daily interactions with our students in the classroom. By both communicating with each student and allowing them to communicate with each other, a narrative is formed and trust is capable of being built quickly and efficiently. As educators, it is our role to make sure that students comprehend the required material in the provided curriculum outcomes; however, we also must make sure that we are allowing each student to learn by establishing projects, performances and other assessments and that we provide examples, templates and rubrics that target all of Gardners multiple intelligences. As students work with others, no matter if it is a peer, guardian or educator, they are able to gain information. A child has the ability to internalize strategy and come back to said strategy once it is needed again (Woolfolk, 2009). This process is done through the viewing of others or

INDIVIDUALITY IN THE CLASSROOM: THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT AND MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES by individual thinking, such as trial-and-error. Vygotskys thought was that children are far more likely to learn when they received help from others who are more competent in the area which learning is focused on. For example, if a student is struggling with reading and more specifically, pronunciation, a peer/teacher/guardian could help the student with the pronunciation of words in a book that the child is already familiar with. By having someone help the child with their problem with pronunciation, they will be more likely to pick up on their mistakes and are less likely to repeat these same mistakes in a future context. When a child is unable to perform a task alone but is able to do the task when someone else is there to help is called the zone of proximal development, this zone includes all cognitive abilities, and it changes in complexity in its amount of cognitive demand as children age, (Edmunds, 2010). The zone of proximal development does require one-to-one teaching, which is not always possible; however I believe that when partnered with Gardners multiple intelligence theory, progress can be made. While a Vygotskyian theory may seem ideal, it is rare that much attention can be placed on one-to-one learning. The zone of proximal development states that one-to-one learning is an excellent opportunity for students to gain information (Woolfolk, 2009); however a one-to-one classroom is rarely a reality. Since my goal is for all students to learn in ways that they feel comfortable, it is important to add the influences of Gardners multiple intelligences to Vygotskys theories on the zone of proximal development. Gardners eight multiple intelligences include: linguistic, logical/mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily/kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalist (Dodge, 2005). The theory of multiple intelligences also allows for wonderful inclusion practices for students with exceptionalities (Huthcinson,2010). Although Gardners multiple intelligences may seem to be eight very different things, these intelligences can be crossed over between each other. For

INDIVIDUALITY IN THE CLASSROOM: THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT AND MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES example, someone who is extremely musically included may also be intrapersonal and linguistic. I believe that Vygotsky and Gardners theories can be intertwined because the idea of learning culturally (Vygotsky) and using the specific intelligences one has learned from your culture will allows each student to create something new and exciting that can be used in a classroom. This way, each student is comfortable with what they are producing and everyone in the class can become an expert in their own personal intelligence(s). This idea of mixing Vygotsky and Gardner theory was present during my first teaching internship, when I was teaching grade eight Language Arts with a cross study in Social Studies. In this class, each student was learning how to read text and find out key points of information relating to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Once the unit was finished, students were to create (in small groups or independently) a project or performance about one of the rights in the Charter. I modeled this activity by writing a poem about equal rights for men and women. My students were extremely receptive to my poem, but seemed confused at the lack of information or formality I had given them about this specific project, so I created a list of projects that would work for this unit. The project list that I created intended to hit all intelligences, such as logical (formal essay), musical (write/perform a song for the class), bodily/kinesthetic (miming activity), etc. Students were also encouraged to create their own project. Many of the children to have the freedom to create whatever activity they felt they had the most interest in and no two projects were exactly alike. It was rewarding to see that my list of projects encouraged students to not only choose from my sources, but create their own projects to present to the class. By allowing students to have the independence that I am striving for in my middle/high school English and Language Arts classes, they will all be able to be the supportive peer who can

INDIVIDUALITY IN THE CLASSROOM: THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT AND MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES help their classmates. Not only will this allow for student leadership but it will promote selfefficacy and motivation in the classroom. For example, if one student is extremely bodily/kinesthetic and musically intelligent, they may create an interpretive dance to show the class how they felt about their independent novel study. If later on in the term another student wishes to model that dance activity, they now know that Student A would be their role model and help them strive to hit their target of bodily/kinesthetic and/or musical based intelligence. Children do become eager to pick up the information they see and teachers need to keep in mind that children are creative beings who have the capability to produce and acknowledge things we may have never thought of ourselves (Bruner, 1996). The presence of scaffolding is dire for students to be able to succeed in a classroom environment. The interaction that is caused by including scaffolding allows for students to interact with both the educator and their peers. Allowing for student responses makes sure that each individual voice is heard in the classroom, and while it may be hard at times to have each voice literally heard, it is important to include frequent formative feedback assessments in the classroom to see if students comprehend the material. Often, students are thought of as being one particular intelligence. If a teacher already has a preconceived notion about what a child may be like, it will be hard for that teacher to drop their original thought (Bruner, 1996). We have to make sure that we are maintaining a classroom where all multiple intelligences are being used as often as possible. We also need to remind ourselves that the most common intelligences are sometimes not the answer for each lesson we teach. For example, I have an extremely difficult time being placed in the logical-mathematical intelligence realm. People may assume that because I am on my second university degree that I do well with testing and being under a lot of pressure, but it is actually quite the opposite.

INDIVIDUALITY IN THE CLASSROOM: THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT AND MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES Throughout my entire educational experience, I have rarely done well on tests relating to any sort of studying material, even when it is in the subjects I tend to excel at. For example, when I was in the eleventh grade, my 112 English class was being tested on the characters and historical context of the epic, Beowulf. Not only did I detest this poem (nor was I ever asked my opinion on it) but the test caused my overall grade to drop significantly. I became extremely anxious to go to class because of my English teachers reaction to that specific mark, and no longer wanted to associate myself with the subject of English. In the same year, I also had my Functions and Relations teacher become upset with me because I required extensive amounts of extra help in order to achieve a mark that I was comfortable with. In both of these instances, my educators did not suggest any other ways that I could possibly understand the material. Although these instances were negative at the time, I have grown from them and now understand that they have had positive influences on me as an educator. I now understand why you need to constantly be aware of Gardners multiple intelligences and that students often need a variety of activities to suit the learning styles in which they possess. We are not placed in a classroom to judge students. Their background, culture and experiences should lead class discussions and should be embraced in the classroom environment. My goal as an educator is to make sure that students are always comfortable with themselves and that they should never be embarrassed to ask for help, no matter if the help is from me or from their peers. My wish is that my classrooms are driven by creativity and that all intelligences are seen as equal, no one is better than the other. I truly believe that a well-rounded education should involve student growth each day and that their motivation to learn is acquired through projectbased learning and self-set goals. By combining the efforts of Vygotskys zone of proximal

INDIVIDUALITY IN THE CLASSROOM: THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT AND MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES development and Gardners multiple intelligence theories, I want to empower each child be an independent thinker, learner and respected human being.

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INDIVIDUALITY IN THE CLASSROOM: THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT AND MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES References Anyon, J.(1980). Social class and the hidden curriculum of work. Journal of Education,162(1). Bruner, J. (1996). The culture of education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Dodge, J. (2005). Differentiation in action. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc. Edmunds, A. L., & Edmunds, G. (2010). Educational psychology: applications in Canadian classrooms. Don Mills. Ont.: Oxford University Press. Hutchinson, N. L. (2010). Inclusion of exceptional learners in Canadian schools: a practical handbook for teachers (Third ed.). Toronto: Prentice Hall. Woolfolk, A.E., Winne, P. H., Perry, N.E. & Shapka, J. (2009) (4th Can. Ed.). Educational Psychology. New York: Pearson.