Capitalizing on Multiple Intelligences to Enhance Vocabulary Development in a Sixth Grade Classroom

Abstract

This study was designed to determine if Multiple Intelligence Theory is a more effective approach to vocabulary development than direct instruction. Eighty Sixth Grade students from a suburban school district in Western New York were the subjects for this study. In order to determine the students' prior knowledge of the 60 words to be used in the study, the students were given a pretest. The study was conducted over six weeks with the students receiving a new vocabulary list consisting of ten words from the pretest each week. During three of the weeks the students were taught via direct instruction. During the remaining three weeks a multiple intelligence approach was employed. The amount of time during the school day devoted to vocabulary instruction was the same regardless of instructional approach. Specific instructional activities and lessons for each approach are outlined in the thesis. At the end of each week a post-test was given to the students. The researcher evaluated the growth made during each week and searched for a statistically significant difference between the means of the two approaches. The results forded that both methods were indeed effective in enhancing vocabulary growth in sixth grade students. However, when comparing the means of the two approaches, there was a statistically significant difference in favor of Multiple Intelligence Theory.