Neuroscience and the Theory of Multiple Intelligences Essay

As scientists continue to their research, fundamental questions about intelligence are brought to the surface.

In “A Rounded Version: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences”, Howard Gardner illustrates how there are a variety of intelligences. Gardner starts off with an example how IQ tests may predict achievement in school but may not predict achievement in life. After finding out certain parts of the brain are responsible for certain functions, such as “Broca’s Area” which is responsible for sentence production, Gardner proposes the existence of multiple intelligences. Multiple studies later led him to propose seven distinct intelligences; Musical, bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, linguistic, spatial, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Each intelligence has certain classifications. According to Gardner’s classifications, I realized my intelligences are bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, and intrapersonal.

Charles Spearman's model of intelligence and Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence theory are two of the most widely used theories of intelligence. In order to understand how similar the two theories are we must first understand their differences. These two men differed in opinion on how IQ and intelligence should be measured, and they differed in opinion on what made a person "smart". In order to examine these things they first had to understand the human brain and how it works. They had to examine the human study habits and rituals, along with the human test taking habits.

I started my education in Erie, Pennslyviana.I attend McDowell High. I would say that we were one of the richer schools were I live. I am going to talk about my first assignment Brainology. I thought it was very interesting and it thought me a lot about how some people have different mindsets.

Constructivist Learning Theory exists under the focus of cognitive learning and has substructures of the concepts of self- efficacy, self- regulation, and metacognition as it defines how adults learn (Billings & Halstead, 2012, p. 211). Billings & Halstead (2012) explains that learning is considered a transformation in a person from personal experience. It is a continued process that encompasses understanding, clarifying, and applying meanings of knowledge that is developed. The learning theory, constructivism embraces that learning is a development. A learner constructs new knowledge by building on existing information through a process

“The more typical view of learning resembles the mental equivalent of consumerism: the more knowledge we acquire, the better 'educated' we think we are. But as some of the leading researchers and practitioners in the field have observed, such education 'focuses more on memorization and static answers rather than on the art of seeking new possibilities through dynamic questioning.' Instead of teaching students 'how to ask powerful

Numerous researches and experiments have been done based on whether the human being possess one brain divided into two parts (left and right hemisphere) or whether we have two different brains working together. The psychologist Roger W. Sperry was the first on research this topic with some experiments on animals. Then, he later started working with Michael Gazzaniga. They were able to find split-brain patients. Those patients had their brain split as way of reducing or stopping uncontrollable epilepsy. Many agreed to participate in the experiments. The experiments that they held focused on finding out what kind of limitations would each brain have if they operated independently, how the 5 senses

The Understanding learner thrives in an intellectual atmosphere and has a strong drive for perfection. Rigorous texts, demanding and complex ideas, well-organized but provocative lectures stimulate Understanding learners’ brains to action. But this intellectual atmosphere needs to be balanced effectively with opportunities for them to develop their own ideas and to question, revise, and criticize the ideas of others. They may grasp a new concept with frightening speed and lucidity but may require more time to think things through and put the new learning into action. The demand for logical consistency means they have a strong need to question and test ideas. Finally, their concern with intellectual content and reasoning sometimes causes them to undervalue the need for routine work and practice resulting in boredom when teachers insist on drill and practice.

Three main theories of education exist: behavioral, constructivist, and cognitive. I find myself ideologically aligned most closely with the constructivist approach, yet for reasons to be explored later in this document, find the theory one that can only offer guidance for my actions as a teacher a portion of the time I am working with students. Constructivism means students don’t just absorb information and understand

Drawing from Piaget’s work, constructivism ‘focuses on the internal, cognitive or conceptual development of the learner’s mind. In support of this point, Biggs (1993:73) points out that constructivism emphasizes that

The stability of the mind is uncertain in the medical field. Even though researches about how the mind works has helped us developed a better understanding about the human mind and its behavior, they have failed to give us a complete and knowledgeable concrete answer to all the questions of its deep studies. The human mind is still a very abroad subject to medicine. What makes a mind stable and what triggers mental illnesses is a question that will still be unknown to the medical field for more years to come. The understanding of the mind is a quest that has started since the beginning of human civilization and it has not stopped. The mind is an organ of its own, and it develops its own unique style of evolution through time. It is a very small organ that is responsible for the function of the human body. All our functions come from there, the way we speak, think and behave. As all other organs, it also has its own illnesses that for many centuries we have tried to understand. The illness of the mind still has no cure and what science has found only contributes to the temporary solution, but not the cure of the illness. One of the most severe forms of mental illness is Schizophrenia. This illness has tormented people since the beginning of history. Schizophrenia, the illness that is still very mysterious to medicine; the symptoms, the cause, diagnosis, types of schizophrenia and the medication are not the solutions for a lasting illness.

Constructivism in the classroom usually means students are engaged in activities like experiments, or real-world problem solving to increase knowledge, followed by a reflection of how their understanding of the concept has changed (Brooks, Ed.D, n.d.). Cognitivism methods of instruction are commonly integrated with the levels found in Bloom’s Taxonomy: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation (Bloom, 1956). The instructor must understand the prerequisite knowledge possessed by the student, and the student is encouraged to use appropriate strategies to help make the learning meaningful.

The very first thing one must know about the constructivist theory of learning is the premise that learners arrive at learning situations with prior knowledge and proceed to take and active part in building new knowledge upon that prior knowledge as they experience new things and reflect on those collected experiences (Learning Theories Knowledgebase, 2012). This theory directly contradicts the behaviorist learning theory in which learners are believed to arrive at learning situations with “clean slates” of understanding. From a behaviorist’s perspective, people learn because as they respond to negative and positive stimuli in their environment (Learning Theories Knowledgebase, 2012). While that may change observable behavior

Constructivism is connected to the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky. Piaget believed that cognitive development occurred in four stages that have distinct developmental characteristics.  He theorised that all information is organised into ‘schemas’, and this refers to the manner in which a child organisesand stores information and knowledge received. As new information is received, it is either incorporated into existing schemas (assimilation) or new schemas (accommodation) are created (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010).  Vygotsky’s theories compliment those of Piaget and place a greater importance on social interaction as he considered cognitive development predominately was achievedthrough social interaction.  Vygotsky believed that learning could be accelerated with the assistance of a more advanced peer or teacher.  This concept is referred to as the zone of proximal development (ZPD) and works in conjunction with the theory of ‘scaffolding’, where a teacher provides support to student and as proficiency increases the scaffolding is decreased (Marsh, 2008). Evidence of scaffolding is seen throughout the Maths video as Ms Poole provides an outline of the lesson and the goals to allow students to establish a focus.

Teachers who have a constructivist basis for their philosophy of teaching and learning are seldom satisfied to use textbooks alone. Constructivists know that students must have motivation to search for meaning and create their own understanding of the world of ideas. When students want to know more about an idea, a topic, or an entire discipline, they put more cognitive energy into classroom investigations and discussions and study more on their own.