The first step, of course, is determining what these strengths are! I am particularly fond of Howard Gardner's work on multiple intelligences. His theory states that intelligence cannot be watered down to one number, (such as an IQ score), but instead varies over a variety of domains. These domains include linguistic, logical-mathematic, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial-visual, interpersonal, intrapersonal intelligence. Other categories of intelligence that may be included within his theory pending further research are naturalistic, spiritual/existential, and moral intelligence (Gardner, 1999). There is no one way to be intelligent. There are many wonderful learning style assessments available on-line and free of charge. The website http://www.businessballs.com/ has a wonderful multiple intelligences self-assessment that can help you determine your intelligence profile. For more in depth information about these theories, I recommend the following books by Howard Gardner.
To gain additional information about your strengths as a learner, I also recommend learning about David Kolb's experiential learning theory. Kolb's experiential learning theory will help you to identify your preferred style of learning and can be administered at school guidance offices, and learning and career centers. A free online self-assessment based on Kolb's work is available at http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/kolblearningstyle.html. Please note that this is not the actual assessment and has not been researched to verify that it provides accurate results.
Research has shown that not all approaches to studying are equal. A person may spend many hours studying for a test, but it is the way the person chooses to study that will likely determine their of level success. My recommended study technique is the SQ4R approach. In this approach, the student starts by Surveying, or skimming, the information they are trying to learn. While they are surveying the text, they will then form Questions based on the topic headings so that helps them to read with a purpose. The next step is to Read the text and look for the answers to their questions. After reading a small segment of the text, the person will pause and Recite or rehearse the information that they have just read. In addition, it is important that they Relate the information to personal experiences or prior knowledge. After the text has been read, the final step is to Review the chapter and check their memory of the material read (Coon, 2006). Having a pre-determined approach to reading can greatly help improve the efficiency of you studying. Good luck!
References
Coon, D. (2006). Psychology: A modular approach to mind and behavior (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
Gardner, Howard (1999). Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century. New York: Basic Books.
2 comments:
I was really interested in the Kolb's model as I have always struggled with pin pointing what type of learner I am. Sometimes I flip flop learning styles when approaching new tasks.
Upon clicking onto the link in the blog I was more interested in reading about Dr. Benziger and understanding brain types. I found it interesting that according to Dr Benziger our best friends mirror our brain types, but we find mating partners who complement our own brain-the old saying "opposites attract" must have some truth to it. Could that be why some girls accept their friends but try and change their boyfriends? All this time it is that darn brain's fault.....looking forward to learning more about the "hard wiring" as I study early childhood ed. and take this class.
Great comment and insights! Kolb's work is sometimes connected with a personality assessment called the Myers-Briggs, which we will be talking about when we start looking at personality. One interesting fact about Myers-Briggs is that people often will find that they behave in a way that is opposite to their type when under stress. Like the Myers-Briggs, Kolb is assessing our preferences so it is common for people to utilize skills that are different than their type when they find themselves in different situations. This might explain why you find yourself "flip-flopping".
Thanks so much for bringing Dr. Benziger's work to my attention! We'll be talking about the brain in more depth next week, and this will provide a nice transition between learning styles and biopsychology. I usually do a left brain/right brain activity, but something related to this theory might be even better! Also, I think you are on to something with your theory about how this relates to our desire to change our partners!
Post a Comment