Multiple Intelligences

Gardner's (1983) theory of multiple intelligences states that people have a tendency and preference to learn in different ways and that everyone is intelligence in different ways. This is crucial for teachers to understand because it highlights the needs for differentiated learning and because it is essential that we recognize that all students can be intelligence, even if they struggle academically. The following image represents eight intelligences included in Garnder's theory, which are as follows: verbal/linguistic, logical/mathematical, naturalist, bodily/kinesthetic, musical/rhythmic, inter-personal/social, intra-personal/introspective, visual/spatial.

chudecka_dorota (n.d.). What is multiple intelligences (Online Image).
Retrieved from https://www.google.ca/search?q=multiple+intelligences&source=lnms&tbm=
isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiYoqiHwbrZAhUNiIMKHUzXAB4Q_AUICigB&biw
=1242&bih=569#imgrc=4YqBIoAZZt-HbM:

In class, we discussed the different subjects that relate closely with each other intelligences (pictured below). Within our discussions, we concluded that drama best relates to bodily/kinesthetic and verbal/linguistic, although it is also important to realize that a successfully differentiated class would involve each of the eight intelligences

Elements of Choral Work

This week, when discussing curriculum, we discussed the elements of choral work. The Ontario Arts Curriculum (2009) defines choral work as "The reading or reciting of a text by a group. Preparation for a performance may involve interpretation of the text; experimentation with language, rhythm, volume, pace, and different numbers of voices; and rehearsal" (p. 166). The elements of choral work, that we discussed in class are pitch, volume, pace, and timbre. Pitch refers to the highness or lowness of the speakers' voices, whether it is high or deep/low. Volume refers to how loud or soft the speakers' voices are. Pace refers to the speed of which the speakers speak. Lastly, timbre refers to the quality of sound, which can refer to the texture of the speakers' voices or it can also refer to the amount of voices that are being heard at once. The following chart shares some examples of each of the elements of choral work.

ELEMENTS OF CHORAL WORK	Examples
Pitch	High	Neutral	Low
Volume	Loud	Medium	Quiet
Pace	Fast	Medium	Slow
Timbre	Booming	Soft	Squealy

Drama & Science Lesson Plan

For my drama presentation, my group and I focused on incorporating drama into a science lesson. We focused our series of lessons on the digestive system (which is a grade 5 strand of science per the Ontario Science Curriculum). I believe that in the teaching community, sharing is caring, thus I wanted to share our lesson ideas here on my blog for others to incorporate into their classrooms if they so choose. For our lesson, we used the strategies of connection web, guided visualization, choral reading, machine, and news reporter. To learn more about those strategies and how you can incorporate them into the science curriculum, feel free to explore the following document.

Drama-Based Instruction

When doing research for our drama presentation, my group came across this site, which I think is a very valuable resource. Drama-based instruction is a site that offers a multitude of teaching strategies for incorporating drama into your ever day classroom, including lesson plans, video examples, and clear descriptions of a variety of drama strategies. I found this site useful because it helped my group understand the drama strategies that we chose to use for our demonstration, but I think it will also be useful beyond that because there is such an extensive list of strategies. The site describes 150+ strategies and the teaching-strategies section is separated into four sub-sections: activating dialogue strategies, image work strategies, role work strategies, and theatre games. You can even find strategies based on your class size, available space, and other context-specific requirements. In addition to the list of strategies, there is also 150+ lesson plans that incorporate drama into other subjects. This site is extremely easy to navigate and it is incredibly helpful, thus if you are a teacher looking for some inspiration for how you can use drama in your classroom, I highly suggest pursuing through this site.

Drama and Science

Godkin, Celia (1993). Ladybug Garden (Picture Book). 

This week, we learned about and participated in strategies for combining drama and science. This week was my presentation day and I shared some specifics about my presentation on a different post. One of the activities that we did in class, that I found extremely useful, was the "Insect Garden" activity. This activity incorporated the strategies of choral reading and soundscapes. For choral reading, each group was given a different insect and a paragraph that correlates with our insect. Then, as we read "Lady Bug Garden", we would each read our paragraph using the elements of choral reading to create a dramatic reading of our paragraph. In addition, we also incorporated soundscapes, where we made insect sounds to supplement the story. This was a unique and interactive way to learn about different insects and the story really provided a great perspective on how all insects have a role to play in the ecosystem. As a university, I learned a lot with this activity and I had a lot of fun participating in it, thus I am sure that students would enjoy it as well.

Dwyer's Learning Theory

This week was our first session of drama and we discussed Dwyer's (1996)  Learning Theory. This theory highlights how, on average, students remember a different percentage of information when they engage with that information in different ways. It states that students remember 10% of what they hear, 20% of what they see, 30% of what they read, 50% of what they write, 70% of what they say/discuss, 80% of what they do, and 90% of what they teach. This theory highlights the importance of differentiating our teaching and learning experiences so that students have the opportunity to engage with information in different ways and it promotes the importance of rich learning experiences, where students have opportunities to discuss, actively participate, and teach, in order to activate a higher percentage of their memory.

The Learning Pyramic [Online Image]. Retrieved from
https://www.lifehack.org/399140/how-to-remember-90-of-everything-you-learn

Elements of Tableaux

Regarding curriculum this week, we discussed the elements of tableaux, which are character, space, gestures, and level. In the Ontario Arts curriculum (2009), tableaux is defined as "A group of silent, motionless figures used to represent a scene, theme, or abstract idea (e.g., peace, joy), or an important moment in a narrative. Tableaux may be presented as stand-alone images to communicate one specific message or may be used to achieve particular effects in a longer drama work" (p. 172). In class, we separated into groups to define the features of tableaux and provide examples of each. The following chart describes various examples of each element. Character refers to the character being portrayed in the tableaux: their personality, feelings, thoughts, perspective, voice, and role. Space refers to the space your body takes up during tableaux, which can include the space above, around, between, in front, and behind you. Gestures refers to how you form your body in a tableaux to portray a theme, scene, or meaning and it refers to your use of body, hands, and face. Lastly, levels refers to the vertical space that is being used: whether you place yourself in a low, medium, or high position.

Elements of Tableaux	Examples
Character	Perspective	Voice	Feelings
Space	Above	In front	Behind
Gestures	Hands	Facial Expressions	Body
Level	High	Medium	Low

Drama and Math

This week, we participated in a few activities that incorporated drama and math. One activity from this week that I particularly enjoyed was the "living shapes" activity, where we used our bodies to form different shapes and then also had to show movements like rotations, reflections, and slides with our bodies. This was a great way to learn about different shapes in a way that was interactive and cooperative and it really requires students to think more deeply about what each movement word means and how they can represent it with their bodies. I can see students really enjoying this activity because it allows them to move around and be active, which they may not often get the chance to do in a subject like math, especially for students who are kinesthetic learners.

Position Mapping

Position Mapping is a simple activity where students position themselves in proximity to a chair (or other item) in correspondence with how comfortable they feel with a certain topic and then additionally, students create a tableaux to represent how they feel about that concept. In our class, we did this activity relating to how we feel about teaching drama. It was very interesting to see the variety of feelings and confidence levels present in our class. Some people (like myself) were close to the chair and excited, whereas others were almost out the door. I think an activity like this could be extremely beneficial as a diagnostic activity for any subject because it provides a quick visual of where your students stand before even beginning a lesson/unit. It could also be interesting to do this activity both before and after a lesson/unit to see how students' positions change. When participating in this activity, I really appreciated how we were asked whether we were comfortable to share and that we were given a heads up before being asked to share. I think this is incredibly important because we want our students to feel safe and comfortable in our class, so given them the right to pass if they are uncomfortable with something is essential.

[January 23, 2018] Position Mapping [Photograph]