Technology and Multiple Intelligences What are the multiple intelligences? What do they have to do with technology? How can I incorporate these ideas into teaching and learning? In his 1983 book called Frames of Mind, Howard Gardner of Harvard University identified seven intelligences we all possess. Because our understanding of the brain and human behavior is constantly changing, the number of intelligences is expanding. Two to three new intelligences had been added recently. Read Concept to Classroom: Multiple Intelligences.This web project answers a series of common questions about Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences. Go to Project Zero to learn more about Howard Gardner's projects at Harvard. Originally, Gardner developed the list as a theoretical model about the psychology of the mind, rather than a practical way to address individual differences. Read The Key Learning Community: Cultivating "Multiple Intelligences" from Edutopia. Currently, Howard Gardner has identified nine intelligences. Multiple Intelligence
Asian-White IQ variance from PISA results The vexing question of average differences between groups of humans has been the subject of scrutiny for a very long time. Differences in variance or standard deviation (SD) are less well understood, but have important implications as well. This point was emphasized during the Larry Summers debacle, in which he posited that the variance in male intelligence might be larger than for women, even though the averages are similar (more very dumb and very bright men than women). Summers argued that this effect might explain the preponderance of males in science and engineering, even for a very small difference in SD. Summers NBER speech: ...If one supposes, as I think is reasonable, that if one is talking about physicists at a top twenty-five research university, one is not talking about people who are two standard deviations above the mean. ...The two populations also differ in the variability of their scores. I've never seen any data to support the smaller NE Asian SD claim.
MI Intro ONE OF THE MOST COMPELLING, yet controversial new approaches to education reform is Multiple Intelligences Theory, or MI. Conceived of by Howard Gardner of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Harvard Project Zero, MI first swept the worlds of education, cognitive science and developmental psychology in 1983 with the publication of Gardner's treatise, Frames of Mind. In the decade since Frames, the work of Dr. What is the the traditional view of intelligence? I'd like to examine other reform styles. EdWeb: Exploring Technology and School Reform, by Andy Carvin. Gene Expression: East Asian psychometric variance Asian-White IQ variance from PISA results: The NE Asians performed about .5 SD better on average (consistent with IQ test results), and exhibited similar (slightly higher) variance.Interestingly, the Finns performed quite well on the exam, posting a very high average, but their SD is slightly smaller. The usual arguments about a (slightly) "narrow bell curve" might apply to the Finns, but apparently not to the NE Asians. Read the whole post to see if you follow the logic of the inferences; I've done some digging on this before to spot check the Europeans-higher-variance meme and didn't find much to support it, and some data to disprove it (though you could explain away that data because of clumping of distinct populations, etc.). Labels: human biodiversity, IQ
Learning Styles - Learning skills from MindTools.com Understanding Learning Preferences Identifying your preferred style of learning can make gaining new knowledge and skills easier. Have you ever tried to learn something fairly simple, yet failed to grasp the key ideas? Or tried to teach people and found that some were overwhelmed or confused by something quite basic? If so, you may have experienced a clash of learning styles: your learning preferences and those of your instructor or audience may not have been aligned. Once you know your own natural learning preference, you can work on expanding the way you learn, so that you can learn in other ways, not just in your preferred style. And, by understanding learning styles, you can learn to create an environment in which everyone can learn from you, not just those who use your preferred style. The Index of Learning Styles™ According to this model (which Felder revised in 2002) there are four dimensions of learning styles. You can see these in figure 1, below. Figure 1: Index of Learning Styles
Musicthatmakesyoudumb The Model>Principles of Learning: Summary The latest gains in the field of brain research cast a new light upon the learning process, which impacts curriculum design, teacher preparation, and classroom practices (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 1999). The model we have developed to illustrate the Principles of Learning, which we consider to have a significant influence upon knowledge acquisition, skill enhancement and competence development when applied to both classroom settings and communities, has evolved from developments in the study of learning. Knowing how humans learn has helped us design the model we propose, which demonstrates the practical applications of research into educational settings. A variety of research approaches and techniques have been developed that seek to alter the old conceptions about learning and focus on learning with understanding. First and foremost, the student is Actively Involved and participates in his or her instruction.
Gene Expression: Intercourse and Intelligence Tyler Cowen quotes from a new study testing the relationship between grades and delayed sexual activity. Last December I passed a paper along to Razib showing that high-school age adolescents with higher IQs and extremely low IQs were less likely to have had first intercourse than those with average to below average intelligence. (i.e. for males with IQs under 70, 63.3% were still virgins, for those with IQs between 70-90 only 50.2% were virgin, 58.6% were virgins with IQs between 90-110, and 70.3% with IQs over 110 were virgins) In fact, a more detailed study from 2000 is devoted strictly to this topic, and finds the same thing: Smart Teens Don't Have Sex (or Kiss Much Either). The team looked at 1000s of representative teens grades 7-12 in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and The Biosocial Factors in Adolescent Development datasets, both of which include an IQ test, and include detailed sexual experience questions ranging from hand-holding to intercourse.
AAAS - Project 2061 - Math, Science, Technology and 'Habits of Mind' By Evelyn Porreca Vuko Special to The Washington Post Tuesday, September 29, 1998; Page D04 Newton’s in the kitchen putting crayons in the blender. He’s inventing a new color. Success, he believes, hinges on adding just the right amount of bright red oil-based house paint. Teacher Says: Help Newton and other elementary-age kids develop a scientific habit of mind. "You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to think like one," says research astronomer and former astronaut George "Pinky" Nelson. The first step is to dump some old attitudes and habits, such as thinking math and science are so hard or that you can only do well if you have a certain "aptitude." "In fact, physics can be fun," he says. Gerry Wheeler says we need to stop the name-calling. Then, bite back the pat answers in favor of asking the right questions. A scientific habit of mind is further stimulated by inviting theories. He suggests a game called, "What’s Out of Place?" It also launches self-esteem to a higher orbit.
The 8 Types of Creative Intelligence The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. (Albert Einstein) Are you attempting to unleash creativity through familiar, comfortable pathways? The eight multiple intelligences described by Howard Gardner offer plenty of options for the novelty-seeker. If you stay within intelligence comfort zones, you fall into familiar ruts. Image by Dierk Schaefer 1. Discuss, exchange ideas, and build relationships David Rock suggests creating your own “dopamine-rich salons,” – events you create to “connect socially and have complex, rich positive conversations with a mix of people you know and some you don’t.” Try collaborating by working with someone who has complementary skills: if you’re a big picture person, find someone detail-oriented; if you’re spatially oriented, find someone lyrical. Invite someone from another culture to your home. 2. Attend concerts, play an instrument, hum melodies, sing with others, enjoy rhythms 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
The Center for Effective Learning - Susan Kovalik & Associates, Inc. - Educational Professionals Constructivist Theory A major theme in the theoretical framework of Bruner is that learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge. The learner selects and transforms information, constructs hypotheses, and makes decisions, relying on a cognitive structure to do so. Cognitive structure (i.e., schema, mental models) provides meaning and organization to experiences and allows the individual to "go beyond the information given". As far as instruction is concerned, the instructor should try and encourage students to discover principles by themselves. Bruner (1966) states that a theory of instruction should address four major aspects: (1) predisposition towards learning, (2) the ways in which a body of knowledge can be structured so that it can be most readily grasped by the learner, (3) the most effective sequences in which to present material, and (4) the nature and pacing of rewards and punishments. Application Example Principles References
Constructivist Teaching and Learning Models Constructivism is an approach to teaching and learning based on the premise that cognition (learning) is the result of "mental construction." In other words, students learn by fitting new information together with what they already know. Constructivists believe that learning is affected by the context in which an idea is taught as well as by students' beliefs and attitudes. Constructivist teaching is based on recent research about the human brain and what is known about how learning occurs. Caine and Caine (1991) suggest that brain-compatible teaching is based on 12 principles: "The brain is a parallel processor" (p. 80). References info@ncrel.org Copyright © North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.