Assignment Two, Taxonomy

The definition of taxonomy is: 1. the science or technique of classification. 2. a classification into ordered categories: a proposed taxonomy of educational objectives. 3. Biology - the science dealing with the description, identification, naming, and classification of organisms (dictionary.com).

College instructors and K-12 educators use a framework called Bloom’s Taxonomy in their teaching.  This framework came about in 1956 published by Benjamin Bloom, Max Englehart, Edward Furst, Walter Hill, and David Krathwohl.  This framework consisted of six major categories: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation.  The first, Knowledge, was necessary in order to put the other five, which deal with skills and abilities, into practice (Vanderbilt University).

A great description of Bloom’s Taxonomy is that it “is a multi-tiered model of classifying thinking according to six cognitive levels of complexity” (Forehand).  It’s also been referred to as a stairway for students to climb.  They start with the lower three levels and “climb to a higher level of thought” (Forehand).  This movement through the levels has proven helpful with students from kindergarten through graduation.

In 2001, a group of psychologists, theorists, and researchers revised Bloom’s Taxonomy to contain a broader classification, not to be used just for educational purposes.  With this new taxonomy, verbs are used to describe categories rather than nouns.  These categories require you to Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create.

Remembering stands for whether or not the student can recall the information given them.  Understanding wants to know if the student can then explain the ideas remembered.  When the student can use the information in a “new way”, it is being shown that they are applying it.  When the student can “distinguish between the different parts” is means they are analyzing.   Evaluating comes into play when the student can justify their analysis.  If the student can create a new point of view, they are completing the last level of the taxonomy which is creating (Overbaugh, Schultz).

Bloom stated that “There is more than one type of learning” (Bloom, 1956).  The three categories in Bloom’s findings are: Cognitive, which deals with mental skills, Affective, which deals with emotion and growth in feelings, and Psychomotor, which deals with physical and manual skills.

A good reason to use Bloom’s Taxonomy is “objectives”.  Both the teachers and the students need to know the reason for the interchange.  This helps the teachers know how to plan and design their instruction.  When instructors use the taxonomy, they “can create a detailed blueprint of a student-centered learning environment that fosters critical thinking and the process of knowledge construction” (Bloom, 1984).

The categories and classifications can get a bit confusing but I do see their worth.  It all does boil down to the “objectives”.  If a person knows why they need to know something, it’s much easier to grasp an idea and carry through with each category of the taxonomy.  If it is pictured as a ladder, it’s a bit easier to understand.  You can’t skip a rung, you have to be steady on the first one and then climb upward one rung at a time until you successfully reach the top.

Bloom, B.S., et al. (Eds.)(1984). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Book 1: Cognitive Domain. White Plains, NY: Longman.

"Bloom’s Taxonomy." Center for Teaching | Vanderbilt University. Web. 28 Sept. 2011. <http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/pedagogical/blooms-taxonomy>.

Forehand, M. (2005). Bloom's taxonomy: Original and revised.. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved Sept. 28, 2011, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

Houghton, R.S.. (2004. March 17). Communities Resolving Our Problems (C.R.O.P.): the basic idea: Bloom's Taxonomy - Overview. Retrieved March 12, 2005 from http://www.ceap.wcu.edu/Houghton/Learner/think/bloomsTaxonomy.html

Overbaugh, Richard C., and Lynn Schultz. "Bloom's Taxonomy." Old Dominion University. Web. 28 Sept. 2011. <http://www.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm>.

Assignment Two, Andragogy

Andragogy, which “is a set of assumptions about how adults learn”, was originally used by Alexander Kapp in 1833 and then more recently by Malcolm Knowles (Fidishun).  Malcolm Knowles, in 1967, “emphasizes that adults are self-directed and expect to take responsibility for decisions” (Culatta 2011).  Adult learning needs to be structured to follow these important points.

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There are five assumptions that Knowles makes about the adult learner.  They are as follows:

1.      Self-concept, which refers to when a person becomes an adult and starts to perceive himself as being self-directing.

2.      Experience means that adults learn better through experiential ways like discussion and problem solving

3.      Readiness to learn happens when an adult sees the need to learn in order to handle everyday problems and tasks

4.      Orientation to learning means that when we become adults we are more apt to want to learn something immediately so as to solve problems

5.      Motivation to learn describes how adults have incentives to want to learn such as job upgrades, self-esteem, and quality of life. 

Andragogy has been used to help design organizational training programs for adults. The term andragogy differs in definition from pedagogy.  Pedagogy refers to being a leader of, as in a classroom where the teacher is the decision maker of “what is to be learned, how it is to be learned, when it should be learned, and if it has been learned” (Nadler).  As Jarvis states (1985), “perhaps even more significantly is that for Knowles education from above is pedagogy, while education of equals is andragogy” (Smith, 1996, 1999).

Culatta, Richard. "Andragogy." Instructional Design. Innovative Learning.com, 2011. Web. 22 Sept. 2011. <http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/andragogy.html>.

Fedishun, ED.D, Dolores. "Andragogy and Technology: Integrating Adult Learning Theory As We Teach With Technology." Middle Tennessee State University. Web. 23 Sept. 2011. <http://frank.mtsu.edu/~itconf/proceed00/fidishun.htm>.

Jarvis, P. (1985) The Sociology of Adult and Continuing Education, Beckenham: Croom Helm.

Nadler, Leonard (1984). The Handbook of Human Resource Development. New York: John Wiley & Sons

Smith, M. K. (1996; 1999) 'Andragogy', the encyclopaedia of informal education, http://www.infed.org/lifelonglearning/b-andra.htm.

Assignment One, Chapters 9-11

There are uniform schools that teach all the children the same way because they think that all kids should be taught equally, but that is not the best way due to the different intelligences we all have and use.  One way to help solve this problem is to have individually configured education, which would teach each person in the way they would learn the best.  Teachers would have to get to know the minds of students.  Mandatory studies like history and math would still be taught, but it would be in the ways that the students learn best.  Howard Gardner says that if at the end of the day all students can show that they have understanding of all important topics of the time they are living in, then all resources used in order to teach them this are justified.  Gardner also says that people don’t understand why something is the way it is or why it is the way it is.  They know how to come up with an answer to problems but still do not understand. 

As Gardner states in an article in The Reading Times, "there is no direct tie between a scientific theory and a set of educational moves." In any case, when a teacher decides to implement the theory of multiple intelligences in everyday classroom life, he must begin by trying to determine the "intelligences" with which different children learn (Gardner 1999). Gardner describes “individually configured education as a future reality, (but) many educators are applying the theory of multiple intelligences in the classroom today” (Posit Science, 2011).

There are three approaches to understanding that Gardner touches on.  The first is observational = modeling. Modeling or social learning is the way in we learn most new things and modify those things we already do know.  This type of learning is “prewired into us and appears in all of us” (Zinn, 2011).  We can learn things like knitting, and piano playing; and we can learn emotional responses such as anxiety and pleasure by watching.

The second approach to understanding is the confrontational approach, which means coming up with multiple perspectives.

The third approach is the systematic approach = teaching for understanding. This involves explaining why things are the way they are and not just stating that things are the way they are but making sure that this understanding is taught all the way through the learning experience.

Some people argue that “Gardner's theory is based on his own intuition rather than empirical evidence. They also point out that the theory is extremely broad in its definition of intelligence by including basic abilities or talents (Knol, 2009).

"BrainConnection.com - Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom - Page 2." BrainConnection: The Brain and Learning. 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. <http://brainconnection.positscience.com/topics/?main=fa/mult-intelligence-class2>.

Chipongian, Lisa. "Mulitiple Intelligences in the Classroom." Newsweaver. 30 Apr. 2008. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. <http://newsweaver.ie/neuronreading/e_article001083919.cfm?x=b11,0,w>.

Gardner, H. (1999).  Intelligence Reframed. New York:  Basic Books

"Intelligence - a Knol by Kevin Spaulding." Knol - a Unit of Knowledge: Share What You Know, Publish Your Expertise. 2009. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. <http://knol.google.com/k/intelligence>.

Zinn, Mark. "Observational Learning (modeling, Imitation, etc.)." Welcome to Pianoweb.net! 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. <http://www.pianoweb.net/index.php?option=com_content>.

Assignment One, Chapters 1-3

Howard Gardner, author of Intelligence Reframed, states that there are originally eight intelligences. They are as follows:
1. Linguistic intelligence, meaning using language to accomplish goals such as lawyers, speakers, or writers do
2. Logical mathematical intelligence, which means being able to compute mathematical operations
3. The arts and musical intelligence
4. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, which is what dancers and athletes have and they use parts of their bodies or their whole bodies to solve problems or fashion products;
5. Spatial intelligence, which pilots, sculptors, graphic artists, and doctors have and they can manipulate wide space and confined areas;
6. Interpersonal intelligence, which means working well with others
7. Intrapersonal intelligence, when you have the ability to understand one’s self and to use this information to run one’s own life
8. Naturalistic, which has to do with nurturing and relating information to one’s natural surroundings like naturalists, farmers, and gardeners
Gardner goes on to say that “a person’s strength in one area of performance simply does not predict any comparable strengths in other areas” (Gardner 1999). If we are able to do more than one thing at a time, there is proof that different areas of the brain are being used.
When it comes to using multiple intelligences as ways for students to learn in the classroom, there are notable changes taking place for the better. In one elementary school in San Jose, this type of learning is known as the “eight kinds of smart”. All eight intelligences are incorporated into the daily lesson plans. In two elementary schools in Chino Valley, “teachers design lesson plans around individual student interest”. In another elementary school in North Carolina, staffers are not concerned with “how smart are you?” but with “how are you smart?” (Seider, Geiger).
According to an article by Thomas Hoerr, a multiple intelligences approach is “child centered”. He also states that more children succeed with the multiple intelligences method. He believes that we should “see multiple intelligences as a tool to help reach more kids” Hoerr agrees “that yes, Gardner was right; there are many different ways that students can learn” (Hoerr, 2002).

If teachers think of their students as individuals who each have their own ways of expressing themselves and not as a whole as the picture above shows, they will bring out much more in each student. The students we are referring to above are: J.K. Rowling, Richard Feynmann, Lauryn Hill, Julian Schnabel, Mia Hamm, Colin Powell, Deepak Chopra, Jane Goodall, and Gary Larson.

• J.K. is writing the next Harry Potter adventure on scraps of paper.
• Richard is daydreaming the equations enabling a quantum computer.
• Lauryn softly hums the tunes for the sequel to "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill."
• Julian has painted brilliant fall leaves on each windowpane.
• Mia can't wait to get to PE.
• Colin has organized the school's charity fund drive.
• Deepak provides in-class spiritual counseling.
• Jane adds a new animal to the class menagerie daily.
• Gary scrawls witty absurdities in the margins of his notebook.
(Ed Broadcasting Corp, 2004).

The findings in The Project on Schools Using Multiple Intelligences Theory (Project SUMIT) showed that students’ education experiences showed improvement, including students with disabilities. They also reported a reduction in disciplinary actions and an increase in parental involvement (Fierros, 2004).

"Concept to Classroom: Tapping into Multiple Intelligences - Explanation." THIRTEEN - New York Public Media. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
Fierros, Edward G. "How Multiple Intelligences Theory Can Guide Teachers Practices:." Nov. 2004. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.
Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence Reframed. New York: Basic Books
Hoerr, Thomas. "Applying Multiple Intelligences in Schools." Applying MI in Schools. New Horizons for Learning, Jan. 2002. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
Seider, Scott, and Rebecca Geiger. "Teachers Are Taking Multiple-Intelligences Theory to Heart." Edutopia. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.