Howard Gardner, My Students, and I

How often have students told you that they do not like History as a subject because it is "boring?" This study was an attempt to undermine that prejudice. Based on preliminary research data, it was determined that students dislike Social Studies, and consequently do not perform well in the subject. Based on this data, the researcher sought to design lessons that would be more enjoyable to students and better approach their individual interests. Using Howard Gardner''s theory of Multiple Intelligences, the researcher attempted to plan lessons incorporating as many of the intelligences as possible (touching on every intelligence at least once in the 16-week experiment). This was done to try to pique students'' interests and try to improve their enjoyment of social studies and therefore improve their academic achievement. Featured in the study are several lesson plans as well as the materials to execute the lessons. At the conclusion of the study, the researcher found that using the Multiple Intelligences as a basis for lesson planning was an effective way to reach students and increase their enjoyment, and consequently their academic achievement for Social Studies.

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Monica Squires was born and raised in Southern New Hampshire in the United States. She graduated from Merrimack High School with Honors in 2003. She received a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education and a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Maine in 2007 and her Master of Science in 2009. She intends to teach high school.