Supporting students to be self-directed learners in classrooms is currently more important than it has ever been in the past. The rapidly changing nature of society, the demands of the "new economy" and the contemporary understanding of life long learning have combined to highlight the need for students to be increasingly independent learners.…

Many educational theorists in recent decades have argued for the plurality of forms of knowledge, both in the mind and in the curriculum. Two popular ways of conceptualizing this plurality have claimed that individual students either differ in their "learning styles" or possess "multiple intelligences". Both theories have encountered numerous…

Everyone has heard about online courses, and how they are good for students because they offer schedule flexibility or opportunities to take courses that a school would not normally provide. After all, students can take and complete these courses anytime, anywhere. As their popularity grows, several states have added online learning to their…

We investigated Gardner's "Theory of Multiple Intelligences" in a sample of 200 adults. For each of the hypothesized eight "intelligence" domains--Linguistic, Logical/Mathematical, Spatial, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Musical, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Naturalistic--we selected two tests based on Gardner's description of its content. Factor analysis…

This paper critically reviews various learning preferences and human intelligence theories and models with a particular focus on the implications for online learning. It highlights a few key models, Gardner's multiple intelligences, Fleming and Mills' VARK model, Honey and Mumford's Learning Styles, and Kolb's Experiential Learning Model, and…

The use of drama to teach social skills to public middle school students labeled at-risk is powerfully effective. Drama is a universal form of human expression found in cultures all over the world and throughout history. For students at-risk of poor educational outcomes, drama is effective for teaching social, emotional, and physical development.…

The concept of two cultures recognized by Charles Percy Snow may have implications beyond a lack of understanding and respect between two conflicting worlds of intellectuals. This widening chasm in the United States affects the education of our public school students. Technology and economics, intelligence testing, the "No Child Left Behind…

As a teacher educator in a large public university, the author's methods courses are frequently comprised of both pre- and in-service teachers who are, or will be, working with culturally, linguistically, and cognitively diverse (CLCD) early language learners. It is incumbent upon the author to equip them with skills, strategies, and a sound…

This paper describes five major conceptualizations of intelligence as: (1) a general ability; (2) a pair of abilities; (3) a limited set of multiple intelligences; (4) a complete set of multiple intelligences; and (5) a set of interacting cognitive and noncognitive factors that determine cognitive performance. Theories of multiple intelligence…

Howard Gardner (1993) identified seven areas of intelligence: verbal/linguistic, logical/mathematical, visual/spatial, musical, bodily/kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. At the elementary school level, he emphasized using an evaluation specialist, a curriculum developer, and a school-community worker to coordinate and harmonize…

This paper examines linkages between educational philosophy and classroom activities and presents 10 guidelines for early childhood teachers and administrators to effectively strengthen these linkages. The 10 guidelines are: (1) each child has a capacity to respond to what the teacher brings to the classroom; (2) educators need to open the world…

Top-down and bottom-up theories have long dominated the field of reading. Recently, interactive models have been proposed by some researchers. One model, the interactive-compensatory model, hypothesizes that a deficiency in one processing area is compensated for by a relative strength in another area. The concept of multiple intelligences is one…

Creative dance improvisation involves both the movement of the body with awareness and the awakening of the creative spirit. The basic elements of creative dance improvisation--force, time, and space--are examined with a view toward how this approach to dance can be a means for growth in the general education of anyone throughout their lives.…

This book provides regular classroom and special education teachers with alternative, individualized methods of teaching math computation skills. Learning activities are designed to appeal to auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learning modalities. Six mathematics topics addressed include modeling addition and subtraction, basic facts for addition…

This guide enables teachers to select current children's books incorporating one or more of the 10 thematic strands of social studies (culture; time, continuity, and change; people, places and environments; individual development and identity; individuals, groups, and institutions; power, authority, and governance; production, distribution, and…