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Multiple Intelligences Action Research

Method


American schools have traditionally favored those students who excel in the linguistic and analytical arenas because these skills are highly valued in our culture. Unfortunately, this traditional approach leaves certain students behind to stumble blindly through an educational system that ignores their unique abilities. This action research study seeks to show that instructional activities that incorporate the multiple intelligences can improve students' attitudes toward learning and students' academic achievement in English class.

by Michele R. Acosta

Multiple Intelligences Based Instruction: Part 4

During the six week unit, the researcher employed the following multiple intelligences activities designed to improve students' attitudes and academic achievement...

After completing the "To Build a Fire" lesson, the class began The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. As an introduction, students were assigned a 1920s mini-research project (see Appendix L). They were given the opportunity to work alone, in pairs, or in groups of three or four. Each student was required to select his or her own topic to research. If students chose to work with classmates, their individual research was to be integrated into one presentation. As preparation for their projects, students brainstormed methods for demonstrating knowledge. The form of the final product was left to the students' discretion. As a result, students could use the combinations of intelligences with which they were most comfortable.
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For example, three students created a video, the first segment of which took the form of a modern day Miss America Pageant in which the commentator reported on the first pageant's history. Their second segment was an interview format in which one student portrayed Barbara Walters interviewing a flapper who told viewers about her lifestyle. These students used their verbal-linguistic intelligence for writing and speaking their dialogue, their spatial intelligence for organizing their video tape, and their interpersonal skills to work together successfully. They also used their logical-mathematical intelligence to organize their research into a presentation.

Another student wrote and presented a first-person narrative of Amelia Earhart's life. Her presentation was accompanied by a freehand drawing of a world map on which Earhart's fatal flight was charted. This student used her verbal-linguistic intelligence to write and speak her narrative and her spatial intelligence to draw the map. She also used her logical-mathematical intelligence to organize her research into a presentation.

Two students wrote a newsletter about sports in the 1920s. They concentrated specifically on Babe Ruth and on the 1919 World Series which was fixed. These boys used their verbal-linguistic intelligence to write their articles, their spatial intelligence to format their newsletter, and their interpersonal intelligence to cooperate. They also used their logical-mathematical intelligence to organize their research into a newsletter.

Two other students wrote and presented a 20-minute dialogue between Bonnie and Clyde. They wore costumes for effect. By selecting this method of presentation, they not only presented the historical and biographical information about the exploits of Bonnie and Clyde, but also managed to examine Bonnie & Clyde's emotional and psychological state. In order to accomplish this, these students needed to draw on their intrapersonal intelligence. These students used their verbal-linguistic intelligence to write and speak their dialogue, their interpersonal intelligence to collaborate together, and their logical-mathematical intelligence to arrange their research into a coherent dialogue.

Three other students found a Benny Goodman radio sketch and acted it out vocally. They also wrote a commercial about fads of the 1920s which was inserted into their sketch. In order to truly communicate the "radio" element of their topic, these students made an audio cassette of their presentation and played it for the class. These girls used their verbal-linguistic intelligence to verbally "act out" their radio sketch, their interpersonal skills to work together, and their logical-mathematical intelligence to organize their research into a presentation.

Another student taught the Charleston to the class using her bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, while yet another student used his musical intelligence to present the Blues. These are just a few of the many fantastic presentations which allowed students to present their research in an interesting and creative manner that also allowed them to use a variety of intelligences with which they were most comfortable.
The author is a writer, a former English teacher, and the mother of three boys. She spends her time writing and teaching others to write. Visit articles.TheWritingTutor.biz for more articles or TheWritingTutor.biz for other writing and educational resources for young authors, teachers, and parents. Visit writing_editing_service.TheWritingTutor.biz for a description of writing and editing services provided by the author.

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