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Multiple Intelligences & The SDAIE Approach

    (Provided by CalPac, Friday, September 16, 2016)

Each year, the United States becomes more ethnically and linguistically diverse with more than 90 percent of recent immigrants coming from non-English-speaking countries. This change requires a shift in educational strategies and urging educators to practice the Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory along with the Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE) approach in their classrooms. 

By doing so, students will be able to use their combinations of intelligences and focus on SDAIE approach as a language support for having a deeper understanding of academic subjects.

The theory of Multiple Intelligences was created by Dr. Howard Gardner in 1993.  This theory defines intelligence in terms of distinct sets of processing operations that permit individuals to engage in a wide range of culturally valued activities.  Gardner proposes eight independent intelligences. 

These intelligences are: Linguistic Intelligence (word smart), Logical-mathematical Intelligence (number/reasoning smart), Visual-Spatial Intelligence (picture smart), Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (body smart), Musical Intelligence (music smart), Interpersonal Intelligence (people smart), Intrapersonal Intelligence (self smart), and Naturalist Intelligence (nature smart).

Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE) is an approach used in multiple linguistic content classrooms to provide language support to students while they are learning academic objects. 

SDAIE is a complex set of teacher behaviors/approach that promotes the success of students who have more challenging time in school, because their language and/or culture often differ from those of the classroom.  SDAIE combines second-language acquisition principles with elements of quality teaching so students can improve listening, speaking, reading, and writing as they study an academic subject.

The theory of multiple intelligences and SDAIE  teaching approach have grabbed the attention of many educators around the country, because together, they suggest several ways in which the material might be presented to facilitate effective learning.  If teachers are aware of students having more than one intelligence, then they can customize their teaching styles using SDAIE approach to fit the needs of each individual child.  

For example, some students have of mental imagery, and are able to perceive the visual world effectively (visual-spatial intelligence), and/or some students use the gross motor activities which include using body movements (bodily-kinesthetic intelligence).  Therefore, the teacher should use the modeling techniques (SDAIE approach) for better understanding.  

Demonstrating new concepts can involve hands-on, show-and-tell explanations in which students follow a careful sequence of steps to understand a process.  By doing so, students can visually and physically manipulate objects that are directly linked with the concept being taught.  This allows them to understand the concept in a way that is more accessible and understandable than with words. 

Drama, for example, may not have been used at all in the ELL students’ previous schools.  Therefore, such students need to see various examples of drama before they are ready to fully participate.  Besides being "fun" for most students, kinesthetic activities can help young learners, especially English language learners, develop decoding skills, fluency, vocabulary, syntactic knowledge. 

Teaching language skills through drama and movement gives students a context for listening and meaningful language production, and provides opportunities for reading and writing development and involves children in reading and writing as a holistic and meaningful communication process.

There are some students who are sensitive to pitch, rhythm, and timbre, and learn more effectively through music (musical intelligence).  Therefore, teachers should incorporate musical experiences into their daily instructions and provide practical activities for classroom implementation, such as reading, writing, and singing songs for language skill development, reading fluency, and writing progress (SDAIE approach).

Let’s not forget about the important role of the assessment which gathers information about the students’ learning and evaluates their knowledge .  Classroom assessment requires an on-going process to determine if students have learned the concepts and skills that have been presented in the class.  There are two types of assessments; Formative (informal assessments), and Summative (formal assessments).  Formative Assessment is part of the instructional process.

Formative Assessment is utilized to immediately determine whether students have learned what the instructor intended.   This type of assessment is intended to help instructors identify material which needs to be clarified or re-taught or in some cases the curriculum or learning activities need to be modified.  

Summative Assessments are given periodically to determine at a particular point in time what students know and do not know. Many associate summative assessments only with standardized tests such as state assessments, but they are also used at and are an important part of district and classroom programs.

The Multiple Intelligences theory (MI) along with the Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE) approach have taken hold in the classrooms across the United States, because they help educators meet the needs of many different type of learners, and give them an opportunity to shine in classrooms in which their particular strengths can be nurtured. 

These not only excite students about learning, but also allow teachers to reinforce the same material in a variety of ways.

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