The Principles of the Multiple Intelligence Approach - Research Proposal Example

Your Full Your Multiple Intelligences of Adolescents in Selected Public Colleges in United Kingdom Introduction The general public has different concepts of intelligence than most experts do. Laypersons and the all the rage press have a propensity to emphasize cleverness, common sense, practical problem solving ability, verbal ability, as well as interest in learning. In English language, others distinguish the different levels of intellectual skill accordingly: bright, dull, smart, stupid, clever, slow, and so on. In addition, several people may think that social competence is an essential component of intelligence. Campbell and Campbell (1999) proved that to be one predictors of success for the in learning, school’s mission, culture and curriculum is to promote intellectual diversity. This is one of the principles of the multiple intelligence approach for effective teaching and learning. This approach can take many formats, and can be implemented in many different ways and at many different levels. Once multiple intelligence based activities are integrated in the educational programs, it offers students some powerful opportunities to come alive with other learners who have achieved competence in specific discipline. It can aid teachers in effortlessly, more personalized as well as diversified instructional experiences; it foster meaningful metacognitive understanding, for a broad range of diversified learning skills techniques; and gives value on students inherent levels of motivation through their natural talents; and help promote academic freedom, interactive and smooth flow of concepts in the classroom. Literature Review This chapter presents the review of related literature and other studies relevant to the present study. Selections from different books, periodicals, journals, and articles found in the internet were carefully collated to support the said study. For more than hundreds of years, human beings have been the focus of various scientific studies in order to understand how individuals’ think, how they perceive, understand, predict, and manipulate a world far larger and more complicated than itself. In about 335 B.C. Aristotle wrote, “…of all the animals, human has the biggest brain in proportion to his size.” Still, it was not until the middle of the 18th century that the brain was widely recognized as the seat of awareness. The human brain is a “super system” composed of many mutually interdependent, internally specialized subsystems. The cerebral cortex of a human brain is composed of fifty two areas per hemisphere and has a very complex architecture. The human mind’s architecture has levels of organization. In biology, higher levels of organization are not emergent, as they are in physics, but are rather evolved. Evolution exerts its version of design intelligence to add useful complexity at each level of organization (Campbell, 1994) Similarly, Diamond and Hopson (1998) also discuss that brain structures are modified by the environment. Brain constantly change its structure and function in response to external experiences. How human beings develop and learn depends critically and continually on the interplay between nature (an individual’s genetic endowment) and nurture (the nutrition, surroundings, social, and ethnic-cultures, care, stimulus, and teaching that are supplied or withheld). The roles of nature and nurture in determining intelligence and emotional resilience for that cognitive intelligence have a forceful and qualitative interaction, which unswervingly affect the way the brain is “wired” (Shore, 1997). Like brain development, several adolescents’ difficulties in varied tasks and responsibilities also progressed. They may have never failed a subject in school but are at a complete loss when figuring out a diagram for making a simple house repair. Similarly, children may experience real success in some school subjects, yet find other school tasks very difficult, frustrating, or time consuming to complete. (Bergert, 2000). In addition, Pinker (2005) considered the developmental differences between males and females. As elaborated, males are far more often than girls, engage in rough-and-tumble play, which involves aggression, physical activity, and competition. Girls spend a lot more often in cooperative play. Girls engage much more often in play parenting. There must be a sex differences in intuitive psychology, that is, how well children can read one anothers minds. For instance, several large studies show that girls are better than boys in solving the "false belief task," and in interpreting the mental states of characters in stories. (Pinker, 2005) Aside from gender, there are other interesting domains of life which has been explored or continually investigated, example is the learning styles among adolescents (Honigsfeld & Dunn, 2003), attitudes towards achievement (Royster, Harris, & Schoeps, 1999; Utsumi & Mendes, 2000), general knowledge (Lynn, Irwing, & Cammock, 2001), and intelligence (Bennet, 1996; Furnham, Clark, & Bailey, 1999; Furnham & Fong, 2000). The study results indicated that there were significant differences between males and females preferences of intelligences. Males preferred learning activities involving logical and mathematical intelligences, whereas females preferred learning activities involving intrapersonal intelligence. By using a self-developed measure of general knowledge, Lynn, Irwing and Cammock (2001) investigated the differences between 469 female and 167 male undergraduate students at the University of Ulster in their general knowledge of the following 18 domains: History of Science, Politics, Sport, History, Classical Music, Art, Literature, General Science, Geography, Cookery, Medicine, Games, Discovery and Exploration, General Science, Biology, Film, Fashion, Finance, and Popular Music. Their results showed that there were significant differences between men and women in 5 out of the 18 domains investigated in their study. Men obtained higher means than women did in Current Affairs, Physical Health and Recreation, Arts, and Science, whereas women had a higher mean in only the Family domain. Differences found between the two genders, according to the researchers, were attributed to differences in mens and womens interests.  A single essential persuasive, yet controversial latest approaches to education development are Multiple Intelligences Theory, or MI. Envisioned of by Howard Gardner of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Harvard Project Zero.  Multiple Intelligences theory, in a nutshell, is a pluralized way of understanding the intellect. Recent advances in cognitive science, developmental psychology and neuroscience suggest that each persons level of intelligence, as it has been traditionally considered, is actually made up of autonomous faculties that can work individually or in concert with other faculties (Carvin, 2001). The succeeding paragraph presents the types of multiple intelligences proposed by Gardner (1999). To perform by means of words, verbal or on paper, people who concentrate in this area are in general excellent at writing, oration and (to a slighter extent) learning from lectures, and also be inclined to have wide-ranging vocabularies and be taught without difficulty are the characteristics of Verbal-Linguistic Intelligent learner. Linguistic intelligence involves sensitivity to spoken and written language, the ability to learn languages, and the capacity to use language to accomplish certain goals. This intelligence includes the ability to effectively use language to express oneself effusively or poetically; and language as a means to remember information. Writers, poets, lawyers and speakers are among those that Howard Gardner sees as having high linguistic intelligence.    The next type of multiple intelligences is the auditory-Musical Intelligence. This deals with hearing, individuals good this tend to be better singers and encompass better pitch, besides to liking music more. Music also helps people in this category work better, and persons at this juncture will also learn better from lectures.   Musical intelligence involves skill in the performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns. It encompasses the capacity to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones, and rhythms. Musical intelligence runs in an almost structural parallel to linguistic intelligence (Gardner 1999).     Another one is the Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence, which is involve with muscular coordination, movement and doing, in this category, individuals generally are more adept at sports and dance, and work better when moving. In addition, they learn better by doing things and interacting with them physically. This intelligence entails the potential of using one’s whole body or parts of the body to solve problems. It is the ability to use mental abilities to coordinate bodily movements, which relate mental and physical abilities. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence follows, whereby, numbers, with logic and abstractions are the preferred topics of the learner. Those who favor this intelligence generally excel in mathematics and computer programming, and are often jacks of all trades by virtue of logic. Careers might include those involving science and computer programming. This intelligence consists of the capacity to analyze problems logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically. If Logical-Mathematical Intelligence is focus more on abstractions, the Visual-Spatial Intelligence is more of the body coordination. This intelligence is related to the functions of vision and spatial judgment. People in this group generally possessed of high hand-eye coordination, can interpret art well and can tessellate objects easily. Such people might work as artists, artisans and engineers. Another idea is from Interpersonal Intelligence which deals with interaction with others; people categorized here are usually extroverts, and good with people. They can be charismatic and convincing and diplomatic. They tend to learn better when people are involved. Interpersonal intelligence is concerned with the capacity to understand the intentions, motivations, and desires of other people. It allows people to work effectively with others. Educators, salespeople, religious and political leaders and counselors all need a well-developed interpersonal intelligence. Moreover, Intrapersonal Intelligence deals with oneself; people categorized in this area are most often introverts and have very complex philosophies. These people often end up in religion or psychology and like to be alone. One of the major areas of attack on the theory of multiple intelligences is vague and immeasurable, and hence not a proper study for psychology. As for the Naturalist Intelligence, some people have the ability to identify and classify patterns in nature. In the history, hunter-gatherers would rely on naturalist intelligence to identify what flora and fauna were edible, as well as which were not. Today, naturalist intelligence may be seen in the way people relate to their surroundings and the role each part of the surroundings play. Rationale of Methods If based on the objectives of this research, survey is an appropriate method to use, which will quantify aspects among adolescent students in selected Colleges of United Kingdom. The conduct of the survey needs to facilitate through the administration of valid and reliable questionnaires. Research Questions This study aims to find out the levels of multiple intelligences among adolescent students in selected Colleges of United Kingdom. Specifically, it will answer the following questions: 1. What is the frequency distribution of adolescent students in selected Colleges of United Kingdom according to: 1.1 Age 1.2. Gender 1.3. Year Levels 2. What is the level of multiple intelligences among adolescent students in selected Colleges of United Kingdom in terms of 2.1 Verbal – Linguistic 2.2 Logical – Mathematical 2.3 Visual – Spatial 2.4 Bodily – Kinesthetic 2.5 Auditory – Musical 2.6 Interpersonal 2.7 Intrapersonal 2.8 Naturalist 3. Is there a significant difference in the multiple intelligences among adolescent students in selected Colleges of United Kingdom when analyzed by: 3.1 Age 3.2. Gender 3.3. Year Level Hypothesis There is no significant difference in the Multiple Intelligences among adolescent students in selected Colleges of United Kingdom when grouped by age, sex, or year level. METHODOLOGY This chapter discusses the research design, research instrument, research locale, research subject, research sampling technique and research procedure; necessary to complete the entire research process. Research Design The study will adopt a descriptive research design in which according to Best (1970), it consider relationships or conditions that already exist; some prevailing practices; people’s points of view, beliefs, as well as attitudes that basically are held. In more particular aspects, the research will utilize survey method to collect raw data necessary for the study. It will be facilitated by a self-made, validated questionnaire guided by the researcher. Participants Freshmen Students who are officially enrolled in UK Public Colleges during academic year 2008-2009 will be the qualified participants of the study. The number of subjects will depend on the Academic Institutions that will grant researchers permission to conduct study. As to the sampling procedures, purposive sampling will be applied since it targets only the Freshmen Students in Selected Colleges of UK. Materials/Instruments The researcher will develop a self-made questionnaire containing questions about the variables of the study. Each variable would have five (5) questions regarding the participant’s probable type of multiple intelligences. The items for each variable will then be tested for validity and reliability. Prior to the actual administration this has to be pilot tested. Other record keeping materials may also be used. Ethical Considerations To ensure that researcher adheres to research ethics, the following steps should be observed in the gathering of data: 1. Ask permission prior to the conduct of study to the school authorities and respondents’ parents. 2. Conduct orientation for school representatives, students and their parents to discuss details about the research – purpose of study, use of data, benefits/remuneration (If there is), etc. Memorandum of Agreement and Letter of Consent will also be signed by the concerned parties. Data Analysis Mean, Weighted Mean, and t Test will be the primary statistical tools for the study. Data collation process will proceed after retrieval of questionnaire s from the respondents. Each of the responses will be checked, tallied as well as tabulated into a master data sheet. Then, data has to be analyzed using SPSS Software. Areas of Multiple Intelligence Items on Questionnaires Linguistic 2, 11, 18, 24, 29, 34, 51 Logical-mathematical 3, 9, 16, 19, 25, 35, 42 Spatial 8, 14, 17, 26, 30, 36, 43 Bodily-Kinesthetic 1, 15, 20, 23, 31, 37, 53 Musical 4, 10, 21, 27, 28, 38, 44 Intrapersonal 6, 39, 40, 41, 47, 48, 49 Interpersonal 7, 12, 22, 32, 33, 45, 54 Naturalist 5, 13, 46, 50, 52, 55, 56 Sample Questionnaire Name: (optional) Year Level: ________ Sex Group: Male Female Instruction: Please answer the following items honestly by placing a check () on the box provided that correspond to your answer. To help you in answering the questionnaire, the terms have been as follows. 5 – Strongly Agree - Definitely me 4 – Agree - A lot like me 3 – Undecided - Somewhat like me 2 – Disagree - A little like me 1 – Strongly Disagree - Not me at all I/ I can: 5 4 3 2 1 1. Run, swim, and exercise without getting tired. 2. Enjoy listening to other people talking. 3. Enjoy math class. 4. Listen to music a lot. 5. Become fascinated with one particular thing from nature and want to learn about it thoroughly. 6. Remember my dreams. 7. Understand how my friends are feeling by looking at their faces. 8. Find my way around a new place easily. 9. Like to work with computers and calculators. 10. Hum or sing a lot. 11. Get annoyed with people who use improper English (for example, He dont know he answer) 12. Have two or more close friends. 13. Like to watch natural phenomena like the moon and the tides and hear explanations about them. 14. Like to take things apart and then try to figure out how to put them back together. 15. Learn to play new sports easily and quickly. 16. Enjoy logic puzzles or brainteasers. 17. Prefer to draw pictures rather than tell stories. 18. Like to learn new words. 19. Easily add numbers in your head. 20. Use a lot of hand gestures and body movement when talking to friends. 21. Cheer yourself up with songs when you are sad. 22. Give advice to friends who have problems. 23. Find activities like riding a bicycle, skating, or walking on a balance beam easy. 24. Give good directions to others so that they understand the first time. 25. Enjoy doing science experiments. 26. Read maps, charts, or diagrams more easily than text. 27. Tell you when music sounds off-key. 28. Enjoy playing a musical instrument. 29. Like to tell stories. 30. Daydream more than your peers. 31. Learn to play new sports easily and quickly. 32. Have a good sense of empathy or concern for others. 33. Like to work and play with other people. 34. Enjoy reading books. 35. Ask a lot of questions about how things work. 36. Build interesting three-dimensional constructions (like LEGO buildings) 37. Like to touch something you have just seen. 38. Have a good singing voice. 39. Have a realistic sense of your strengths and weaknesses. 40. Often need a quiet place to work or just be alone. 41. Like to make collections of things that have special meaning to you. 42. Enjoy chess, checkers, or other strategy games. 43. Doodle a lot on notebooks. 44. Remember the melodies of songs. 45. Seem to be street-smart. 46. Want to become a geologist, biologist, or some other type of scientist. 47. Display a sense of independence or strong will. 48. Have an interest or hobby that you dont talk much about. 49. Accurately express how youre feeling. 50. Enjoy collecting bugs, flowers, or rocks. 51. Have a good memory for names, dates, and trivia. 52. Like to closely examine what you find in nature. 53. Move, tap, or fidget while seated for a long time in one spot. 54. Seem to be a natural leader on teams. 55. Keep detailed records of your observations of nature. 56. Feel distressed about environmental problems. REFERENCES Campbell, B. “The multiple intelligences handbook. Stanwood”, WA:   Campbell and Assoc. 1994 Campbell, B., Campbell, L. and Dickinson. “Teaching and learning thought multiple intelligences.” Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. 1999. Ceci, Stephen J., & Buck, M. “Jeopardy in the classroom: A scientific analysis of children’s testimony”. Washington D.C. : American Psychological Association. 2003 Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. “ Research Methods in Education”, 5th edition. Taylor & Francis Group RoutledgeFalmer 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE and 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001. 2003. Diamond M. & Hopson J. “Enriching heredity : The impact of environment on the anatomy of the brain.” New York : Free Press. 1998. Eysenck, Hans J. “ Personality, genetics and behavior.” New York : Praezer. 1998. Gardner, H. “Frames of mind: the theory of multiple intelligences.” New   York: Basic Books. 1983. Gardner, H. “Multiple intelligences: the theory in practice - a reader.”    New York: Basic Books. 1993. Gardner, Howard. “Intelligence reframed: multiple intelligences for the 21st century.” New York: Basic Books. 1999. Honigsfeld, A., & Dünn, R. “High school male and female learning-style similarities and differences in diverse nations.” Journal of Educational Research, 96(4), 1-12. 2003. Lazear, D. “Seven ways of teaching: the artistry of teaching with    multiple intelligences.” Palatine, IL: Skylight Publishing. 1991. Lazear, D. “Seven pathways of learning: teaching students and parents   about multiple intelligences.” Tucson, AZ: Zephyr Press. 1994. Lazear, D. “Multiple intelligences approaches to assessment: solvingthe conundrum.” Tucson, AZ: Zephyr Press. 1994. Lynn, R., Irwing, P., & Cammock, T. “Sex differences in general knowledge.” Intelligence, 30(1), 27-39. 2001. Sternberg, Robert J. “The concept of intelligence and its role in lifelong learning and success.” Americal psychologist, 52. 1997. Wilson, L. “Every child, whole child.” Tucson, AZ: Zephyr Press. 1995. Read More