My Perspective of Multiple Intelligences

I think everyone agree that multiple Intelligences are very famous in educational field. I have heard about multiple intelligences when I was a participant in new Sampoerna School of Education (SSE) students’ orientation. At that time, I and the other new students were given some questions to find out what the strongest intelligence we have. Knowing my strongest intelligence can help me recognizing more about myself and what way should do to learn well. Before the orientation I have heard a little bit about verbal, logical-mathematics, music and spatial intelligence from my psychology teacher in senior high school.

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The unique thing about multiple intelligences I got when I did exhibition as Educational Psychology assignment from some lecturers. After I tell them all about multiple intelligences I knew they told me that those intelligences are related each other. One lecturer told me briefly a research about multiple intelligences. There were some students who have high capability in solving mathematic problem. Thus, when they were given some mathematics problems in narrative form, most of them could not solve those. The researchers assumed that is because of their linguistic abilities were rarely exposed. Then, after the students were given exercises related to linguistic ability they can solve those.

At another instance, I think an architect will have difficulties in designing a building if she/he only has high spatial intelligence. An architect perhaps needs logical mathematics intelligence also in measuring the dimension by operating certain mathematics formula. So, I think when someone masters in one field perhaps they are high more than one intelligence.

For me, learning about multiple intelligences makes me wiser. Talking about someone’s intelligences mean talking about how recognize him/her too. I believe that we should use some perspective when we want to judge someone ability because human is complex in every way including in intelligences. So that is why as a teacher to be I have to consider the diversity of my students to be. I have to provide some activities which can cover all of their intelligences.

To help me and my friends knowing the appropriate activity for teaching, Ms. Vera in LTM course meeting divide class into eight groups based on the strongest intelligence we have. Then each group created at least four activities related to their intelligences that can help them to learn well. We agreed that it is good to know what activity will be suitable for certain intelligence from those who are high in that intelligence.

Actually this meeting has inspired me. When I create online learning or teach in class I want to test their multiple intelligences first. It is only a simple test to make sure how the real diversity of their intelligences. I hope it will help me to arrange the appropriate learning activities for my class.

you can find out your strongest intelligence by fill this test..

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MALL and Language Learning

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Have you ever been raided by your teacher because you brought hand phone, mp3, or PDA? If your answer is yes, how did you feel? Have you ever been confused why those technologies are not permitted to be brought to school? Have you ever thought that every technology including your hand phone can be good teaching aids?

Before I got some interesting material in TLL course about CALL (Computer Assist Language Learning) and MALL (Mobile Assist Language Learning), I thought some technologies especially hand phone can interfere the learning and teaching process. So that is why I agreed the rule in school which is mention about technology prohibition during teaching and learning process in class. Thus, after I followed TLL class 6 times, my mind was changed. Like in my previous TLL posting that teacher nowadays should not isolate digital native students from technology.

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In this class we discussed about how to use hand phone, mp3, iPod, and PDA (the MALL features) in language learning. Who was know? All friends of mine were really creative. Yeah, of course I and my friend in this campus should be creative, because we are the next generation of teacher. Because we are language teacher candidate, so at that time we shared our opinion in utilizing those technologies to increase students English skill completely like reading, writing, listening and speaking.

I hope all educational universities in Indonesia have the same idea with us about using technology in teaching and learning activity, or have higher ideas from us perhaps. I mean if the Indonesian teachers have a better quality in the future I think Indonesian school will be better also.

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The Meaningful Learning and Teaching Process

On the third meeting I learned about models of instruction. Ms Ine explained that there are four models of instruction. There are lecture-discussion model, direct instruction model, guided discovery model, and collaborative learning model. At first, I felt confused whether models of instruction and teaching methods are same or not. Then Ms Ine said that both of two terminologies are quite similar.

 Then, one question appeared in my mind, “are both of two terminologies really same?”. I feel confused because what I learned with Ms Ine about models of instruction and what I learned when I was on senior high school about “metode – metode mengajar” in Ilmu mendidik course are different in some ways. From the number of methods, there were more than four methods which were explained by my previous teacher. I remember that there were lecturing method, discussion method, demonstration method, drill method, group work method, experimental method, socio drama method, and so on. Then I assumed that perhaps the models of instruction are the general one and teaching methods are the specific one.

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So, which is the model of instruction appropriate to be used?. Ms Ine answered this question. I agree with her that it depends on what learning objective we want to achieve indeed. Why does it depend on learning objective? I tried to answer it like this, when we make a lesson plan we have to determine the learning objective first. Then, we arrange the activities that can facilitate students and teachers to achieve that learning objective. So, how can we determine the model of instructional for our learning and teaching process if we do not know what the learning objective that we want to achieve, right?. Succeeding in achieving learning objective is what I call as the meaningful learning and teaching process.

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My Name Is My Parents’ Pray

Since childhood I am very proud having my name. A long name which sounds unordinary is very cool I think. Thus I do not know why when I grew up become an adolescent, I realize that my nickname sounds more pleasant than my full name. Although my nickname is very ordinary, short, and not cool at all I still tend to introduce myself using my nickname. That is because when someone calls me by my full name, I feel not really close with him/her. Thus, when he/she call me using my nickname, I feel he/she has been closer with me. I think I feel like that because in the past when my mother was angry she often called me by my full name. Can you imagine how terrify my mom when she was angry and called me by my full name? hehe.

My full name is from Arabic language. My parents created my name using some words from Al Quran. For example, you can find my first name in Al Quran Surat Al A’raf : 26. My first name means dress or jewelry from heaven which is used by angles or elf. My middle name means chastity. Then, my last name means brilliant or clear. My friends joked like this, “your full name means a dress which is net and clear. So, you are like a detergent, haha”. Whatever they said cannot make me upset having this name. My mother said that my first name in Al Qur’an means not a real dress. The word dress is a metaphore for piety (taqwa) which is like protector of our religious. As we know, piety is like a fearful feeling to Allah until we keep ourselves not doing any disgraceful thing. In other words, it can protect ourselves from temptations of Satan. With this piety, my parents hope that I will have a pure soul and become a brilliant person.

That is a really good pray for me, but it is so hard to be realized. No body have no sin I think. It is so hard to keep myself not doing disgraceful thing at all. Sometimes, I pull a long face (feel frustated) because I have many sin and cannot attain my parents’ pray. Until I read my little brother book, he wrote “it is a normal thing when we make a mistake, but we should not make a same mistake”. I really like this words. This words made me realize that I cannot have no sin, but I can try to increase my kindness and always pray to Allah about everything I did, I do and I will do.

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The Main Point In Learning

At september 29^th 2011, my TLL lecture asked us to do debate. First group, which is my group acted as school boards who want to build a language lab in school. Besides that, the other group which is my opposite acted as a language teachers who assumed that school doesn’t need a language lab. They propose to install internet access. Debate went on attractive enough for me. Actually during the debate I was still confused what is the superiority of language lab which doesn’t exist in Internet. That’s because I never had language lab in school.

Yes, both of language lab or internet access can make language learning be more meaningful and comprehensible, but still depend on the teacher. Let’s look at the real example :

I wanna add Chomsky’s thought on 1986. He said that learning language is not about constructing a habit formation of language. Thus, based on TLL handbook, language learning more underscore in constructing innate cognitive knowledge which is gotten from comprehensible and meaningful interaction. I really-really agree with Chomsky’s thought, but first I felt upset while reading that thought. Chomsky’s perspective has been existed from 1986 but why nowadays learning language in Indonesia still underscore on habit formation. If I reflect to my friends’ school and my school, I conclude that some/many schools in Indonesia still use grammar translation method or audiolingual method. As we know, both of two method are about habit formation. Whereas, there have been created many technologies (like many programs in internet) to help teacher make comprehensible and meaningful interaction. Yeah, I think that’s because of many Indonesian teachers don’t know or can’t use those kind of technologies.

We have to remember that teacher is the main point in learning, not the technology. Then, because nowadays we are in digital era and will teach digital native students in the future, so ICT skill is important to be had by every teacher. If the teacher can teach well and also can operate the technology appropriately with learning, that can make learning and teaching process better.So, that’s why as a language teacher candidate I learn about language itself, language learning methods, and technology in language learning. All of them is integrated to create me become the next generation of teacher.

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