Literacy News

Exploring how tutors can better serve learners by taking advantage of their "multiple intelligences" was the subject of a workshop sponsored recently by the Adult Professional Development Center, a project of DC LEARNs, the coalition of literacy providers within the District of Columbia, the Adult Literacy Resource Center of the District of Columbia Public Library system, and the Office of the DC State Superintendent of Education. 

Mary Cunningham Florez, coordinator of Fairfax County Schools' Adult ESOL programs, talked about each of the eight "commonly identified" multiple intelligences" and provided suggestions to help tutors identify the strengths of their learners and to develop strategies to provide them with more effective instruction.

Florez distributed a paper citing Howard Gardner, the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Gardner has written:

"Intelligence is defined as the ability to create or solve a

problem or fashion a product that is valued in one or more

community or cultural settings. Multiple Intelligences theory

posits that there are various ways to be intelligent and 

demonstrate intelligence and that those abilities are expressed

for performances, products, and ideas."

Gardner has identified the following intelligences: verbal/linguistic; logical/mathematical; visual/spatial; musical; interpersonal; intrapersonal; naturalistic; and kinesthetic. 

A stonemason may not be able to read or write well, but he may regularly express or exhibit his intelligence and knowledge through effective use of mathematics (MI: mathematical/logical), space (MI: visual/spatial), and movement (MI: kinesthetic) to allow him to do his job in an orderly and economical manner. His naturalistic intelligence may combine with his spatial intelligence to support him in designing an effective walkway and patio in a way so his work blends in well -- rather than clashes - with the topography. His interpersonal intelligence may support him in negotiating prices effectively to obtain the stones he lays and to secure business from homeowners. When he lays the stones, he does not waste energy by making unnecessary movements that waste time and energy, but he possesses an innate understanding of how to do his work in a productive manner. He may be an accomplished member of his church's choir IMI: musical). 

That stone mason could choose to enroll in an LVA class to try to strengthen his less developed verbal/linguistic intelligence by learning the alphabet. Naturally, he would need to learn how to pronounce words phonetically and to read books. But Florez insists, "Multiple Intelligence theory is intended to inform and guide not prescribe." 

The tutor, recognizing the intelligence the stone mason demonstrates in his daily work, may decide that to facilitate learning the alphabet at first, he should use wooden blocks of letters to help the learner to learn the size, shape, and associated sounds of the different letters that comprise the alphabet. Eventually, the learner will have to stop relying on the blocks and to start recalling the letters and their sounds as he starts to write. 

Too often, writes Julie Viens in a paper, "Understanding Multiple Intelligences: The Theory Behind The Practice," that was distributed by Ms. Florez, instructors teach in a manner that makes [the[ most sense to us. Upon closer inspection, teachers are not surprised to see that they tend to teach from their own strengths. MI theory has been a useful way to analyze and expand instructional practices and media used." 

Ms. Florez believes there are many "ways you can incorporate different types of activities in a lesson to speak to the different intelligences [of learners]. The point is to have an activity that has the elements of the intelligences (such as music, movement, verbal discussion, relating the skill or content to something in the natural world) so that students have a chance to practice and demonstrate their progress with the skill or content that is comfortable for them because it links to their intelligence strengths."

She continues, So, for example, rather than just doing written fill-in-the-blank exercises in practicing past tense verbs, you might have them work with a song that uses lots of past tense verbs that speaks to their strengths in musical intelligence. If you are working on describing someone, you might compile information about members of the class based on height, hair color, and eye color, and then create graphs or charts that present a picture of their class (logical/ mathematical."

More information about the theory of multiple intelligences and a test that tutors can use to identify the strengths of their learners can be found by clicking on this link. 

The list below details how activities that correspond with different intelligences can be incorporated into a class or tutoring session. 

Write a letter

Read a passage or story

Alphabetize words or names

Solve a puzzle

Create a flow chart

Perform mathematical calculations

Take photographs

Illustrate a story

Paint a mural

Create a rap

Listen to the music of a historical period

Create a song

Discussion groups

Group story writing

Create a class cookbook

Keep a personal journal

Develop personal timelines

Devote time for silent, independent reading 

   

Chart the local weather conditions over time

Plant a garden or grow a plant

Collect and observe rocks or plants

Field trips

Create crafts related to a period

Prepare/cook food from a recipe

That was the message delivered by Marcia Harrington, manager of the Adult Literacy Resource Center at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, at a workshop on visual literacy sponsored by the Adult Education Professional Development Center, a collaboration among DC LEARNs, a coalition of literacy organizations serving Washington, DC, the DC Public Library and OSSE (Office of the State Superintendent of Education). 

Ms. Harrington made the point that many learners, even those who are seeking to improve their basic literacy skills, are interested in obtaining a GED. "When I've talked with GED teachers, they were very surprised at the number of graphics on the GED test," she maintains.  

Ms. Harrington's own examination of GED Practice Tests discovered that a majority of the questions on the Science test involve graphics such as tables, charts, and topographical maps. Nearly one-third of the questions on the Social Studies test involve graphics, including the interpretation of pictures and cartoons that demand historical knowledge. The GED math tests also include a number of graphs and charts. 

Not every learner may be interested in the GED but even knowing how to read a Metro subway map, a weather map, or a process chart detailing the assembly and use of a new kitchen coffee maker can be useful. Lower level students may find exercises on determining directions on maps to be very useful.

"There are so many visuals in our cultural environment. Try to use graphics in which there is a relationship to a student's life, particularly if he or she is a beginning level learner," advises Ms. Harrington.  Remember the learner needs to know the vocabulary that explains what is being portrayed. Skills such as reading a road map may need to be taught and retaught before a student achieves comfortable familiarity with interpreting a map. 

Ms. Harrington distributed "The Seven Steps to Reading a Graphic" that can help LVA tutors to more effectively teach their learners about reading and interpreting graphics. 

Tutors should press their students to: 1.) identify the format and why it is being used as opposed to other formats; 2.) study the title to learn the main purpose of the graphic; 3.) interpret the text and labels of the graphic to determine its components; 4.) ascertain whether the components of the graphic are identified by specific symbols, patterns, or colors and to determine what any abbreviations stand for; 5.) determine what is being measured or, in cases of cartoons, photographs, or process charts, being portrayed; 6.) answer several questions about the graphic; and 7.) review the total graphic to see if the first impressions still correspond with the conclusions after intensive study.

 

Just under 30% of fourth-grade students were deemed proficient in reading by the NAEP twenty-one years ago. Now, 34% are considered to be proficient. Math proficiency increased noticeably among fourth graders during the same period.

Given the increasing understanding by informed citizens and policymakers that academic achievement is needed to ensure parents will be able to support their families by holding jobs that pay decent wages, the results suggest a grim future for too many children.

Why do children still lag behind in reading?

Not only is reading instruction considered to be uneven in quality in the schools, but the article notes the link between how well parents read and its impact on their children. 

It matters if parents read to their young children. Also, it is important that children read on a consistent basis outside of school.

Dillon quotes Sharon Darling, founder of the National Center for Family Literacy, who expresses disappointment in the lack of progress made by fourth graders in reading over the past two decades. But Ms. Darling is not surprised.  "Children spend five times as much time outside the classroom as they do in school, and our country has 30 million parents or caregivers who are not good readers themselves, so they pass illiteracy down to their children." 

LVA instructors and tutors impress upon parents who are adult learners the importance of having their children read to, and they urge parents who are improving their own reading to read to their little boys and girls. Families should visit public libraries together and on a regular basis.

 If children have reading problems, adult learners who are parents should move quickly to make sure their children receive extra instruction. 

The NAEP's results are disheartening. And many LVA learners know from experience that there is a severe price to pay in this demanding job market for being poor readers. 

The NAEP's results for reading should be a wake up call to parents and public officials that we need to do more to improve literacy. And doing that starts with making sure more adults are better readers.