Research on Multiple Intelligences: By: Patricia Dueber & Parastoo Kheirkhah

1. Research on Multiple Intelligences: By: Patricia Dueber & Parastoo Kheirkhah For; Trends & Issues in Education 517 Professor: G. Rowell

2. IntroductionThis presentation includes:a brief history of Multiple Intelligences (MI), What is meant by MI, an opportunity to reflect on our own MI profile Then, the final part of the presentation involves consideration of pros and cons of how to apply MI in education as Teaching Styles

3. A Brief History of MI • The first IQ (Intelligence Quotient) test was developed about 1900. • a single measure of intelligence widely accepted in education and psychology. • In the 1960s and 1970s, cognitive theories in psychology and education, highlighted the internal workings of each person’s mind, rather than the external workings of teachers and education materials. • cognitivists focus on MI emphasizes diversity in learning styles

4. Howard Gardner’s MI • In the 1980s, Howard Gardner, a proponent of cognitivist perspectives, developed MI theory based on eight criteria for deciding what constitutes an intelligence:

5. What MI Theory Says • MI is a highly debated/controversial and optimistic intelligence theory. • intelligence is not a unitary construct, • there are many ways to be smart. • everyone is smart in different ways. • Gardner claims that intelligence is not fixed, and that we can all, even adults, become smarter.

6. Briefly, MI can be summarized in the following rhyme: • The more ways we teach, the more people we reach • And, the more ways we reach each • And, the more deeply what we teach will reach • In other words, by teaching the what, why and how in a variety of ways, we are more likely to connect with more people, and each person is likely to better grasp and remember the ideas presented.

7. Exactly what constitutes an intelligence: • ‘intelligence’ is not a synonym for ‘skill’ or ‘ability’. • Intelligences about preferences, how people enjoy doing things, • what their favorite modes of learning are. • intelligences seldom work alone; almost any task involves two or more intelligences.

8. An MI Survey Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence • verbal-linguistic-sensitivity to the sounds, rhythms, and meanings of words; sensitivity to the different functions of language • Do you enjoy putting thoughts on paper or in the computer? • Do you enjoy playing with words, such as rhymes, puns and word games? • Do you enjoy reading books and • magazines?

9. Logical/Mathematical Intelligence • to discern logical or numerical patterns and to handle long chains of reasoning • Do you enjoy chess, checkers, or other strategy games? • Do you ask questions about how things work? • Do you feel more comfortable when something has been measured or quantified in some way?

10. Interpersonal Intelligence • capacities to discern and respond appropriately to the moods, temperaments, motivations, and desires of other people • Do you enjoy teaching others? • Do you enjoy doing things as part of a group? • Are you good at seeing the points of view of others?

11. Intrapersonal Intelligence • knowledge of one's own feelings, strengths, weaknesses, desires, and the ability to draw upon this knowledge to guide behavior • Would you be described as someone who is well-organized and in control of yourself? • Do you often set goals and reach them? • Do you feel good about who you are?

12. Naturalist Intelligence • the potential for discriminating among plants, animals, rocks, and the world around us, as used in understanding nature, making distinctions, identifying flora and fauna • Are you good at recognizing patterns, similarities, differences, anomalies? • Do you enjoy spending time with nature, including animals • Do you have keen sensory skills - sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch - and notice things that others often miss?

13. Musical/Rhythmic Intelligence • to produce and appreciate rhythm, pitch, and timbre, and appreciation of the forms of musical expressiveness • Can you play a musical instrument? • Do you enjoy listening to music? • Do you sometimes do things in a rhythmic way?

14. Visual/Spatial Intelligence • capacity to perceive the visual-spatial world accurately and to modify or manipulate one's initial perceptions • Do you like maps, charts and diagrams better than words? • Do you have a good sense of direction? • Do you often doodle and draw?

15. Bodily/Kinaesthetic • bodily-kinesthetic- abilities to control one's body movements and to handle objects skillfully • Are you good at some sports? • Do you like working with your hands? • Do you enjoy being on the go - running, moving around, walking – instead of sitting or standing still

16. Successful MI Implementation • Elementary school in north central Indiana, is a K-5 elementary school with 520 students. Part of a suburban school district, the school population is almost entirely Caucasian and is economically quite diverse; it includes residents of an upper-middle-class sub division, residents of the county's largest mobile home park, and farming families. • Mettetal, G., et. al., Attitudes toward a multiple intelligences curriculum. The Journal of Educational Research (Washington, D.C.) v. 91 no. 2 (November/December 1997) p. 115-22

17. Implementation • Implemented “heterogeneously grouped self-contained classes”, with the same students • “enrichment clusters” an activity room was provided to all students • A scheduling plan called flow time grouped all the children’s outside activities, “such as library, music, activity room and gym, into two half-day sessions” per a week, which left large time blocks for uninterrupted class time on other days.

18. Methodology (continued): • The traditional enrichment classes which were previously only offered to the gifted/advance students were now made available to all children of all ages with one common interest for one hour sessions on various creative subjects such as “folk dancing and story-telling”.

19. Articles on Successful MI implementations • MI curriculum Classes were observed and parents were surveyed. Students, teachers, parents, and administrators were interviewed. • Resulting data: (a) students, teachers, and parents were very positive about the concept of MI • (b) they were positive about school-wide implementation, including flow time, activity room, and enrichment clusters • (c) classroom implementation of MI concepts was uneven across classrooms. • a follow up year, data from standardized testing showed the importance of the MI had continuing effects over time

20. CONCERNS • the parent’s lack of a complete understanding of the MI theory and curriculum. • during the 1st year uneven results; significant differences among teachers in the ways they implemented the MI theory, • some teachers felt overwhelmed by the task of designing and evaluations. • the teachers and administrators were concerned re- the impact of the school reform on traditional standardized achievement tests, the possibility of the score decline and the decline in the validity of such tests

21. Learning Styles • Teachers have been told that to get maximum results their instruction should match the learning style/s of their students. • Four noted psychologists: Dr. Harold Pashler, Dr. Mark McDaniel, Dr. Doug Rohrer and Dr. Robert Bjork worked together to research this hypothesis. Their work: Learning Styles, Concepts and Evidence was recently published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest

22. Research on Learning Styles • Leader of the team, Dr. Harold E. Pashler, Professor of Psychology at the University of California-San Diego, said they: • were startled to find that there is so much research published on learning styles • said little of the research used proper experimental designs • almost none have randomly assigned students onto one classroom type or another • the few that used adequate research design failed to prove the hypothesis

23. Learning Styles Controversies • Example of Pashler’s research method: • Experimenters classify students into two learning style groups, then randomly assign students to 1 of 2 classrooms: • Classroom 1 Students study molecules using laboratory lessons. • Classroom 2 Students study molecules using texts. • In classroom 1 a test is given • Kinesthetic learners enjoyed their learning experience, and earned an average score of 95 • Verbal learners enjoyed their experience less and earned an average score of 80

24. Controversies (continued): • That may seem like strong evidence for the learning styles hypothesis. Not so fast, Dr. Pasher says… • Look at Classroom 2 using texts: • Verbal learners enjoyed their experience more but ALL students scored an average of 70. • The verbal learners are actually better off learning this material in a laboratory, even though they enjoy it less.

25. The CHRONICLE (continued); Matching Hypothesis • Pashler doesn’t dispute the existence of learning styles, • rather asserts no-one has ever proved any particular MI instructional styles work better • Mr. Pashler in regards to his experiment states that almost every well-designed study of this type evinces that one instructional style works for both groups.

26. Other Articles: The CHRONICLE • 4 psychologists argue the tenets of instruction having to match learning styles • Lack of scientific evidence of the “matching idea” • Programs for customizing education completely lack experimental evidence • Researcher’s lack of full investigation of the scholarly literature comes across as either “biased or largely ignorant of the fdield”.

27. Conclusion • Our research showed the large-scale school-wide implementation of MI curricula can be effective for young students • Although it involves a great measure of effort to engage teachers, administrators, students, and participant-observers –i.e. researchers

28. Conclusion (continued): • According to these researchers there is an absence of evidence for effectiveness of “matching idea”, or that teachers should tailor instruction to student’s particular learning styles using MI in form of “matching idea”. Although it may be effective in some cases. • Most argue the practical & ethical problems of sorting students into labeled groups. • Suggestion: Students choose a major that fits their learning styles. Their advice is teachers should lead classes through full “learning cycles” w/o regard to each student’s learning style. • Future better studies may prove more effective