I agree Eric. That's the way I've always thought about these things--as
metaphors for the kinds of individual differences that exist.

Just vary the approaches and activities and use as many of the senses as
you can. It seems to me that's the common-sense way to understand it (no
pun intended).

-----Original Message-----
From: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of
ejonline at comcast.net
Sent: Monday, February 11, 2008 3:11 PM
To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List;
professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov
Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 1945] Re: Debunking Multiple
intelligences

I can see both sides of this discussion. 

One of the problems that I have seen with both MI and learning style
work is that sometimes it is presented as something other than a
possibly helpful heuristic. That is, it is presented like we *know* that
the brain or thinking works in *this* way for the person in question
because it does so in some objective way (as if we could read a
schematic). This leads to thinking a person thinks in one way, or worse,
that whole cultures and ethnicities think in one way (e.g., work in
Australia that tried to identify what kind of "intelligences"
Aboriginals have). 

Like anything else that tries to figure out the mystery of the mind,
these are models and metaphors. In fact, 
over the decades we have cycled through a variety of models and
metaphors for cognition, typically in reaction to advances in technology
(so first our brains were computing, then they were conceived of as
being more like hypertext, next up - a social networking update on
connectionism). 

I think some of this work on MI and learning styles is compelling and
helpful, but as a heuristic. You don't have to survey a room and try to
come up with a fixed-label for the way that people think to keep in mind
that you should vary your presentation style and that classwork should
touch on multiple modalities. 

Erik Jacobson





 

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Wendy Quinones" <wbquinones at comcast.net>

> Tom and all,

> 

> I am the developer and facilitator of the Multiple Intelligences and 

> Differentiated Instruction course under discussion here.  I

acknowledge Tom's 

> point about the dearth of empirical evidence about the efficacy of

using MI. 

> But isn't that true of virtually everything in adult education?  We

are 

> starved for the very resources that would make such studies available;

until 

> our government funds more adult literacy research, we can base very

little 

> on empirical research.

> 

> 

> 

> With respect, Tom, I wonder if you aren't thinking a little too

narrowly 

> about what the research actually tells us about multiple

intelligences. 

> There has been a great deal of research done on MI, and a great deal 

> continues to be done. (Please note that I am not discussing learning

styles, 

> nor are they addressed in my course.  Confusion between these two

concepts 

> is common.)  For some past studies (Project SUMIT, Multiple

Intelligences 

> Schools), as well as ongoing work in various aspects of MI, you can

check 

> out the Project Zero website http://www.pz.harvard.edu/index.cfm at

the 

> Harvard Graduate School of Education, where Howard Gardner developed

his 

> theory of multiple intelligences.  This began as a psychological

theory 

> based on exhaustive study of neurological and brain research; it was

we 

> educators who jumped on it for pedagogical purposes.

> 

> 

> 

> Granted, most MI research has been done with K-12 in mind, but that's

true 

> of much of the research we use in adult education.  I was, however, 

> privileged to be one of the teacher-researchers in the Adult Multiple 

> Intelligences study, which dealt exclusively with using MI in adult 

> classrooms, both ABE and ESOL.  The project, which lasted for 3-4

years, was 

> a collaboration between Project Zero and the New England Literacy

Resource 

> Center/World Education under the auspices of NCSALL, then located at

the 

> Harvard Graduate School of Education.  Much of the material we

produced is 

> available on the web through NCSALL 

>

http://www.googlesyndicatedsearch.com/u/NCSALL?q=multiple+intelligences+
and+adul

> t+literacy&sa=NCSALL+Site+Search

> 

> including an issue of Focus On Basics devoted to the project: 

> http://www.ncsall.net/?id=161

> 

> 

> 

> You might also consider research that isn't even directed at MI, but

which 

> points to precisely the intelligences that Gardner posits.  For

example, 

> research has shown repeatedly that what have been called multi-modal 

> approaches are virtually a necessity in reaching native-English

speakers 

> with learning disabilities.  The Wilson method uses tapping, which

would 

> draw on both the bodily-kinesthetic and musical intelligences.  Other 

> proven, research-based methods use writing in air, flour, or sand,

which are 

> certainly bodily-kinesthetic activities.

> 

> 

> 

> The NIFL publication "Applying Research in Reading Instruction for

Adults" 

> (http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/adult.html ) 

> advocates a number of research-based strategies that draw similarly on

the 

> intelligences:  activating prior knowledge (intrapersonal),

cooperative and 

> group learning (interpersonal), think-alouds for comprehension (again,



> intrapersonal), graphic organizers (spatial), and so on.

> 

> 

> 

> My course is intended to give teachers a solid grounding in MI theory

so 

> that they can intentionally, systematically, and creatively use these 

> strategies and others that they may devise themselves, to improve

practice. 

> Studies, my own included, have shown increased retention, engagement,

and 

> learning gains attributable at least in part to the use of MI.

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

> >  Colleagues: I have followed discussions on several NIFL-sponsored 

> > discussion

> >  lists recently in which people have advocated teaching to learning

styles 

> > or

> >  to multiple intelligences. This is strange to me given that the

federal

> >  government has argued for the use of evidence-based, scientifically

> >  validated approaches to adult literacy education (see the What

Works

> >  Clearinghouse sponsored by the U.S Department of Education). But by

even

> >  loose standards of evidence, there is no credible evidence to

support

> >  teaching to a person's learning style, preferred learning modality

(i.e.,

> >  visual, auditory, kinesthetic), multiple intelligences, right

brain-left

> >  brain preference, or other very malformed ideas. Indeed, there are

a wide

> >  variety of so-called learning styles (impusive vs reflective;

introverted

> >  vs extroverted; field dependent vs field dependent and on and

on)and no

> >  research on how a teacher can take all of them into account

everyday and

> >  over weeks and months. It is not even certain that a learning style

stays

> >  the same from the beginning of a course to the end of the course.

While I

> >  understand the desire of the NIFL to promote useful discussions

among 

> > adult

> >  literacy educators, with only a minimum of censorship, it strikes

me as

> >  counter productive to advocate for evidence-based, scientifically 

> > validated

> >  teaching while also permitting the advertisement of commercial

workshops

> >  that are based on poorly formed concepts and devoid of empirical

evidence

> >  for the efficacy of such ideas and the practices based on them. Tom



> > Sticht

> >  ----------------------------------------------------

> >  National Institute for Literacy

> >  Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list

> >  professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov

> >

> >  To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 

> > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment

> >

> >  Email delivered to amuro5 at epcc.edu

> >

> >  Professional Development section of the Adult Literacy Education

Wiki

> > 

> >

http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Adult_Literacy_Professional_Devel
opment

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > 

> ----------------------------------------------------

> National Institute for Literacy

> Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list

> professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov

>  

> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 

> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment

> 

> Email delivered to ejonline at comcast.net 

>  

> Professional Development section of the Adult Literacy Education Wiki 

>

http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Adult_Literacy_Professional_Devel
opment

----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list
professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov
 
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment

Email delivered to smcshane at famlit.org 
 
Professional Development section of the Adult Literacy Education Wiki 
http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Adult_Literacy_Professional_Devel
opment