Sunday, October 12, 2008

Intelligence Test

I must say that it was pretty entertaining taking both of these tests. It is weird to think that by asking all these questions, as bizarre as some are, they can tell you how smart you are. I found the IQ test to be not very good at all. Luckily my score was pretty good which confirms to me that I am a very smart guy! haha I can see why these tests have declined in educational use over the past 40 years. Back in the day educational systems used this test and others like it to determine how smart their students were. I am glad that times have changed because I do not think that this test can accurately tell a person how smart they are. The questions are interesting and I think I would use them in my classroom as kind of a brain teaser, or something to get my students thinking. The multiple intelligences test was much different. I think that the multiple intelligence test is far more beneficial to students. It breaks our thought patterns into 8 sections. This can allow students to understand how their brain works and what the best strategy they can use so they can best learn the material. After taking the test I saw that I was really strong with musical and interpersonal techniques. I also found I struggled a little with spatial material. The questions that are asked in the multiple intelligences test are not as intimidating for students and they would not feel scared about answering them. I will definitely use this type of test in my class because it is more relevant to understanding student's needs. It shows how the mentality of educators have evolved over the years. And I love every minute of it.

Group Differences

I really enjoyed the content for this weeks class. I think it is tremendously important that we as future teachers recognize the importance of different cultural groups and diverse ethnicity's that exist in the world and, more importantly, will be present in our classrooms. Teachers do have to understand that in different parts of the world there are different standards of behavior. This does not mean that one behavior is better than another, but we have to understand that students are not being "difficult" or "troublesome" they are acting the way they were brought up. I also liked the activity that dealt with stereotyping students. As teachers I believe that we have a responsibility to never ever use stereotyping when we are first getting to know our students. We have to get to know them because every student is unique and has their own personality. Giving them a stereotype would discredit them and their intelligence. I will strive my entire career to give all my students the respect that they deserve which includes understanding where they come from and look to see what inspires them and what discourages them so I can do my best to cater to their educational needs