Learning Intelligences for the 21st Century

[Jackie Gerstein]

I am attempting to articulate the learning intelligences for the 21st century. I believe we need to reconceptualize and build upon the ideas of Multiple Intelligences to reflect the 21st century learner. I started a Wiki - http://jackiegerstein.wikispaces.com/21st+Century+Learning+Intellig... - and would love some assistance in developing and clarifying these ideas. I have a long term goal of getting them published in some education trade journals. Please visit and add to it!

[Vicki Davis]

I think that all of the learning intelligences are still there but they look somewhat different and are immensely affected by communicative ability (i.e. typing, ability to create digital stories, etc.)

It is almost like the intelligences here have a starting gate, without whose entry, one could not even begin to realize those intelligences. The digital divide keeps kids from being able to even begin to become absorbed into these changes.

Don't know if this makes sense, but somehow b/c this is enabled by technology in many ways there is innate intelligence and then enabled intelligence.

Talking out loud here, not sure if this makes sense.

[Jackie Gerstein]

Thanks for the response. I, too, am concerned about the digital divide. You opened up the channels of discussion about the meaning and implications of the 21st century intelligences. I reviewed the ones that I identified through the review of reports, organizational missions, etc. What is interesting is that none of them - e.g, critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and design, visual literacy, etc. - need the computer to develop (with the possibly exception of social networking). Those on the have not end of the digital are more often than not being taught through pedagogy of poverty - grill and drill, canned programs, etc.. So my thoughts are to identify, promote, and train teachers to use the 21st century intelligences in their pedagogy so that there is an increased possibility of entry into the 21st century and out of their imposed social strata (if they choose!).

So to specifically address your commentary. I believe in the ability of children to naturally engaged in the learning experiences around them. So I believe a naturally visually intelligent student will grasp onto the concepts of visually literacy quite easily. A naturally interpersonal student will naturally grasp onto the ideas of social collaboration. So I do believe the intelligences are natural entry points and I also believe they be morphed into perceived them from a 21st century lens.

Thanks - this is an interesting discussion!

[Peggy Sheehy]

Sorry but rather than the link I have copied the article from Chris Dede--it really sums up his take on learning intelligences in the digital landscape - IMHO a great read. Many thanks to Author: Cedar Pruitt, A Sense Of Place Network | May 5th, 2005 posted on the Digital Divide Network site:@http://tinyurl.com/6heal
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When it comes to understanding the use of media in education and development, take a tip from the professor. “Don’t start with the technology,” says Harvard professor Chris Dede, Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies. “When you start with technology, it’s a solution looking for a problem.” He starts, instead, with learning styles. “No matter what age you are, your learning style can be shaped by the kind of media you use.”

If that’s true, it’s time to start paying attention to the media shaping today's learning styles. According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation report, an increasing number of kids in the U.S. aged 8-18 are using multiple media at the same time, engaging in what KFF calls “media multi-tasking.” One quarter to one third of kids say they are using another media “most of the time” while watching TV (24%), reading (28%), listening to music (33%) or using a computer (33%). Kids are also exposed to more total media outside of school; in the past five years, it’s increased by more than an hour, with most of the increase coming from video games and computers.

There are three learning styles that are widely accepted as standards: sensory-based, which rely on visual and auditory skills; personality-based, which is measured using the Meyers-Briggs test; and aptitude-based, which relies on determining multiple intelligences. Dede proposes a fourth style: media-based. According to his research, while other styles emphasize differences between learners, media neutralizes many learning differences, and brings students together.

Though he studies the impact of mediated instruction, Dede makes it clear that he would never argue wholly against face-to-face learning. “Sometimes learning is face-to-face, but sometimes it is distributed across time, space and media,” he explains. “Research shows that a mixture of face-to-face and distributed learning is most effective.”

The Three Interfaces That Will Shape How People Learn

Over the next ten years, Dede predicts three major interfaces will shape how people learn.

1. The Desktop Interface. Already familiar to computer users, this tool offers access to distant experts and archives, and enables collaboration.

2. Avatars. This learning tool might be more familiar to kids today than to adults. Dede calls this “the Alice-In-Wonderland environment,” in which a self-created digital character interacts with other digital characters. Multi-user virtual environments, or MUVEs, are growing in popularity, and allow learners to transcend their physical selves and help design their own virtual environments.

3. Ubiquitous Computing. A growing number of mobile wireless devices (like cell phones and Palm Pilots) incorporate virtual resources into everyday life. “Smart objects,” says Dede, “make intelligent contexts.” Someday soon, cell phones might use their embedded GPS technology to provide a physical location to others with common interests.


How Can Kids Without Computers Access the New Learning Style?

While the first interface is dependent on a computer, the second two incorporate more commonly used technologies like video games and cell phones. Though video games are not always considered educational tools, they are widely used and loved by kids, who use them to develop skills for interacting in virtual environments. This is an especially meaningful development for kids without computers.

Video games bring the user into an experience centered on symbolic immersion, in which symbols (such as digital characters) interact within a virtual environment. Symbo