The Relationship Between Gardner's Multiple Intelligence and Kolb's Learning Style

In a diverse work environment, it’s important to have diverse managers, and people with different talents and intelligence in order to deal with different problems. The concept of learning styles is used to describe individual differences in the way people learn. According to Kolb (1984), each person has a unique way to absorb and process experiences and information. He has identified four statistically prevalent learning stylesdiverging, assimilating, converging, and accommodating. Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory is very helpful to recognize that people have differing aptitude in different subject areas. In the study, the participants consisted of 153 bachelor students of Management of Multimedia University of Malaysia. They were given two questionnaires, one for Kolb’s learning style and other for Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence inventory and a correlation was conducted. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between Kolb’s Learning Style and Multiple Intelligence. The relationship could be seen particularly in Abstract Conceptualization (AC) and Multiple Intelligences which were Nature, kinesthetic, music, word, interpersonal, and picture. And also a slight relationship between Concrete Experience (CE) and kinesthetic and nature. The results can be found deeper in this article. DOI: 10.4018/jkss.2012070105 International Journal of Knowledge and Systems Science, 3(3), 52-59, July-September 2012 53 Copyright © 2012, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. of knowledge-based work. Simple, routine and low-level functions are decreasing, while complex high-level functions are increasing. Organizing educational provisions that promote learning to increase the knowledge productivity of individuals and teams have become part of the day to day business policy. Organizations are more aware about the importance of learning and on their way to promote it in every way possible. According to Kessels (1996), there are seven critical learning functions. The first one is the professional knowledge which is closely related to the organization’s core competencies. This is due to the fact that professional knowledge is what the work is related to and all objectives are drawn to it. It can be both implicit and explicit knowledge and it can be transferred, codified and shared throughout the organization. The second and third functions are problem solving and reflecting which is learning to deal and identify new problems, Argyris’ double loop learning is a good example of questioning the existing values and therefore proceeding to consider other solutions and ideas. This tends to bring new visions and creativity. The fourth learning function is the communication skills which is foundation of how knowledge is transferred from one individual to another. Good communication skills help knowledge sharing and provide an environment where employees can be friendlier and work more effectively. The fifth function is self regulation of motivation which is the personal interest of learning. According to Pink (2010), people are motivated, when their job is challenging and they learn from it, he later states that intrinsic motivation is a powerful tool to get employees to go that extra mile. Personal interest is very much linked to inspiration, passion and sensemaking (De Leenheer, 2004). The sixth learning function is the creative turmoil, According to Senge (1992) distance between vision and reality is the source of creative tension as distance makes it necessary to take action in order to come closer to the objective. A certain degree of chaos, disorder or even failure may prevent complacency, and could stimulate organizations to stretch beyond their strategic focus. Creative chaos can stimulate individuals to fundamentally change their ways of thinking and create new knowledge. The last function is peace and stability which is the need to reflect, learn and share. It gives the opportunity to assess one’s performance and effectiveness. Peace and stability gives the certainty and the time which is required for specialization and improvement (van Lakerveld, 2005). The learning functions peace &stability and creative turmoil may seem to be conflicting; however, they are supposed to balance one another. Therefore, learning leads to better thinkers, vision, and personal mastery which is defined by Senge (1990, p. 141), is “the discipline of personal growth and learning.” It is a motivating factor for people who have high personal mastery skills to step towards their desired goals. Personal mastery according to Senge (1990) is recognized in several ways: • They have a special sense of purpose or a calling. • They accurately assess their current reality; in particular, they quickly recognize inaccurate assumptions. • They are skilled at using creative tension to inspire their forward progress. • They see change as opportunity. • They are deeply inquisitive. • They place a high priority on personal connections without giving up their individuality. • They are systemic thinkers, that is, they see themselves as one part in a larger system. Developing personal mastery is a lifelong process, in order for that process to begin, one must be ready to learn. In order for learning to happen, each individual must understand one’s own learning style. The concept of learning styles is used to describe individual differences in the way people learn. One must understand the individuality of learners and the need to raise awareness their learning style. Therefore, different students may prefer different learning environments, learning modalities and the all exhibit unique strengths, talents and/or weak6 more pages are available in the full version of this document, which may be purchased using the "Add to Cart" button on the product's webpage: www.igi-global.com/article/relationship-between-gardnermultiple-intelligence/69963?camid=4v1 This title is available in InfoSci-Journals, InfoSci-Journal Disciplines Computer Science, Security, and Information Technology. Recommend this product to your librarian: www.igi-global.com/e-resources/libraryrecommendation/?id=2