Issues In Educational Research, Vol 16, 2006 [ Contents Vol 16 ] [ IIER Home ] The role of intrapersonal intelligence in self directed learning Maura Sellars University of Newcastle Supporting students to be self-directed learners in classrooms is currently more important than it has ever been in the past. The rapidly changing nature of society, the demands of the 'new economy' and the contemporary understanding of life long learning have combined to highlight the need for students to be increasingly independent learners. This study investigated eight and nine year old children's capabilities to develop skills in the intrapersonal intelligence domain as defined by Howard Gardner. A group of twenty-seven students identified as low achievers in English were introduced to a program specifically designed to foster their self-knowledge as learners and establish how this self-knowledge may be used to improve their self-management skills in the English learning environment. The results obtained evidenced a considerable improvement in the students' self knowledge and attested to how this impacted on their perceptions of themselves as learners and their behaviours in the learning context. The students grew increasingly aware of their own relative strengths and used this information to negotiate their learning environment, to identify strategies that worked for them and to take increasingly more responsibility for their own learnings. Introduction Schools, traditionally associated with preparing young learners to take their places in an adult social and economic world, are under increasing pressures to implement pedagogical changes that will support students and provide them with a positive start to a lifetime of learning. The difficulty appears to be that, whilst much of the corporate world may have embraced reforms and restructured to accommodate the changing nature of society and economy, it is more complex to achieve these reforms in schools (Hartley, 2003). This is not surprising, considering that the enterprise upon which schools are embarking involves the nurturing and education of young people. The complexity of meeting the many needs of young individuals is reflected in the considerable amount of literature that is available regarding the nature of teaching and learning to meet future needs, the basic elements of productive pedagogies and contemporary theories about the nature of intelligence. In his discussion of the characteristics of schools of the future, Beare (2003) identifies seven differences that distinguish these schools from traditional institutions. Lepani (1995) also gathers together educational theories relating to education for the future and proposes eight principles upon which to develop a 'mind ware industry'. Lepani (1995) and Beare (2003) both stress the need for schools to develop and implement curriculum that facilitates integrated, customised learning for a diversity of learners. They also place increasing emphasis on the students' own capacities to customise the curriculum to complement their individual relative strengths and limitations and develop awareness of themselves as learners. These proposals embody radical changes to the way in which education has been traditionally perceived. To embrace this model would mean redefining school as we know it, particularly the roles of teachers and students and the complex relationships that bind them together in educational institutions. Facilitating achievement for a diversity of students in educational settings now requires educators to recognise and encourage individual Page 1 of 19 IIER 16: Sellars - the role of intrapersonal intelligence in self directed learning 15/05/2009 http://www.iier.org.au/iier16/sellars.html