Students’ Perception On Multiple Intelligence-Inspired General Education Class

This paper aims to examine students’ learning experience in Multiple Intelligence (MI)-inspired general education class. Howard Gardner’s MI theory supports the diversity of students’ strengths in school and empowers students to learn. It becomes a lens or perspective in the classroom that teachers can use to identify students’ intelligence profiles and provide different learning experiences. Intelligence is pluralistic, and any discipline, idea, skill or concept of significance should be taught in multiple ways. Some students learn better through stories and others learn better through artwork, visual images, hands-on activities or group work. Gardner identifies seven entry points for students that reflect multiple teaching strategies: narrational, logical, quantitative, foundational (or existential), aesthetic, experiential and collaborative. The interview data reflecting the students’ learning experiences as they relate to pedagogical MI dimensions were examined through students’ interactions in practice in addition to the students’ written self-reflections on group projects. Furthermore, case study data revealed that the incorporation of MI theory into Integrated Thematic Instruction (ITI) was a pedagogical initiative to support the goals of general education and strengthen learning opportunities for community college students with multiple intelligence.