Howard Gardner developed a theory of multiple intelligences (MI) from his research in to cognitive development, to express 8 innate talents that learners have, to express ways that “students possess different kinds of minds and therefore learn, remember, perform, and understand in different ways”.

Each of the 8 MI innate talents change (amplify or diminish) based on context and experience. I love the idea of this because it means that we are forever changed by our experiences and we are in a cycle of continuous growth and development! His work is grounded in his definition of learning;

“an internal, staged, mental process, unique to the individual which cannot be observed, but is recognized externally as a change in behavior.”

Learning through experience

Kolb (1984) published his theory to help us create learning experiences that support the ‘internal, staged, mental processes‘ of cognitive development. Kolb gave us a view of learning as stages, with preferred start points, that involve:

1. concrete experience: being involved in a new experience
2. reflective observation: watching others or developing observations about own experience
3. abstract conceptualization: creating theories to explain observations
4. active experimentation: using theories to solve problems, make decisions

Believing that these learning stages are what instructors need to be most aware of when designing activity, Hartman (1995) took Kolb’s work and added examples of activities that can be included in courses along this cycle:

1. for the concrete experiencer – offer laboratories, field work, observations or trigger films
2. for the reflective observer – ask learners to create logs, journals or do brainstorming
3. for the abstract conceptualizer – give lectures, assign papers and use analogies when communicating
4. for the active experimenter – offer simulations, case studies and homework

“Designing learner experiences” by LisaON is adapted from “Kolbs' Experiential Learning Cycle, Learning Styles & examples” by Giulia Forsythe, and is (re)licensed under CC BY 2.0.

But wait! That only covers half of the definition of what learning is if Gardner was right!

“an internal, staged, mental process, unique to the individual which cannot be observed, but is recognized externally as a change in behavior.”

If there is merit to supporting the diversity in the learners who come to our classrooms, by selecting inputs like video or audio, creating spaces where learners can do group work, and allow them to experiment… how do we know if it was successful?

We express what is to be learned in observable terms/actions (by writing good course level outcomes) so that we can then assess the ‘recognized external change in behavior’ (the degree to which a learner has met the outcomes stated). We must set our intention, develop activity that supports the change we want to occur, and then conduct assessments to identify the degree to which a learner has reached (or exceeded!) the change.

Blooms taxonomy assists us in this effort as it respects level of complexity in learning from simple recall, through experimentation, all the way up to creative problem solving (complex thought in action). We can use this taxonomy to write the learning outcomes that will set our intention, and then use it again to direct our design of learner activity and assessment, which supports our intentions.

Each of the levels above can be further categorized in to domains (that have learners thinking, feeling, doing, and/or moving).

An example of a cognitive outcome that aims to reach a mid-level of complex ‘knowing’ could be ‘compare two contradictory theories of human history to determine most objective truth’. An example of an affective domain outcome that aims to reach a mid-level of complex ‘knowing’ could be ‘Value and account for the differences of team members when creating your design project proposal’.