Gender and Multiple Intelligences

ISBN: 972-8924-16-X © 2006 IADIS

THE EFFECTS OF GENDER AND MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES IN LEARNING WITH DIGITAL MUSEUM
Peng-heng Tsai
Department of Industrial Technology Education, National Kaohsiung Normal University. No.41, Longsing St., Cianjhen District, Kaohsiung City 806, Taiwan (R.O.C.)

Tien-Yu Huang
Department of Computer Science, National Pingtung University of Education. No.4-18, Minsheng Rd., Pingtung City, Pingtung County 900, Taiwan (R.O.C.)

Hsungrow Chen
Department of Mathematics Education, National Pingtung University of Education. No.4-18, Minsheng Rd., Pingtung City, Pingtung County 900, Taiwan (R.O.C.)

ABSTRACT The construction of an information structure such as a digital museum was seen as another powerful way for students to gain better understanding of existing web directories. This study first let students to search information and find the accurate answer then completed the learning guides in each fields of knowledge of Lanyü Digital Museum (LDM). And then, students should choose one theme to create their own briefing and use the LDM as their information resource. Finally, they used Microsoft Office Power Point program to create their briefing and present to their classmates. The results are as follows: (1) there were significant differences in seeking information of geology, entomology, botany and students’ presentation between sixth-grade females and males in learning with the LDM; (2) the gender can explain and predict 5%, 7%, 7.2%, 2.4%, 3% and 5.9% of the total variance in seeking geology, entomology, botany, amphibious herpetology and students’ briefings and presentation, respectively; (3) the logical-mathematical intelligence of students can explain and predict 9.7%, 9.2%, 11.5%, 18.8%, 8.8% and 6.9% of the total variance in seeking geology, entomology, botany, amphibious herpetology and students’ briefings and presentation, respectively. KEYWORDS Digital museum, Learning effect, Multiple intelligence.

1. INTRODUCTION
The Internet is unlike any other existing informational resource. It is dynamic, interrelated, uncontrolled, expanding, and instantaneously accessible. During finding tasks, the students may not know exactly what type of information will be relevant to filling his/her knowledge gap before information seeking begins. Previous research has shown that students rarely employ systematic search strategies and spend little to no time planning their searches (Marchionini, 1995; Moore, 1995). The Lanyü Digital Museum (LDM) was created by Digital Archive Lab (DAL) in National Chi-Nan University was instituted by the department of computer science and information engineering and National Museum of Natural Science (NMNS), Taiwan, R.O.C. The Lanyü Island is a small and isolated island in southeast of Taiwan and located between the Ryukyu Islands and the Philippine Islands. The aborigine is Yami tribe and its population is nearly 3000. As the uniqueness in geographical coordinates, the ecology was balance and self-contained in the island and Yami tribe preserved their own characteristic culture. However,

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as a result of the tourist industry and invasive species, the ecology balance was destruct little by little in the Orchid Island. And the Yami culture was gradually disappearing. Hence, this study first let sixth-grade students in five classes (n = 143) at an elementary school in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan to search information and find the accurate answer then completed the learning guides in each topics of LDM. And then, students should choose one theme to create their own briefing and use the LDM as their information resource. Finally, they used Microsoft Office Power Point program to present their briefing in their classroom. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of gender and multiple intelligences in learning with the LDM. Multiple intelligence (MI) theory is framed in light of the biological origins of each problem-solving skill. Only those skills that are universal to the human species are treated. Gardner developed the theory of multiple intelligences at Harvard University. MI theory suggests that the traditional notion of intelligence, based on I.Q. testing, is far too limited. Instead, Dr. Gardner proposes eight different intelligences to account for a broader range of human potential in children and adults (Gardner, 1983; 2000). Those intelligences are: Linguistic intelligence, Logical-mathematical intelligence, Spatial intelligence, Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence, Musical intelligence, Interpersonal intelligence, Intrapersonal intelligence, Naturalist intelligence. The multiple intelligences of students were measured by the Douglas’s Multiple Intelligences Test (Douglas, 2002).

2. RESULTS 2.1 Difference in Gender
Table 1 shows that females achieved higher means than males in seeking every field of information that the LDM provided. The independent samples t test t values between females and males of seeking tasks of geology, anthropology, entomology, botany and amphibious herpetology and students’ briefings and presentation were 2.451, 1.698, 2.974, 3.085, 1.487, 1.82 and 2.734, respective. There were significant differences at the 0.05 confidence level in searching geology, entomology, botany and students’ presentation. But there were no significant differences at the 0.05 confidence level in searching anthropology, amphibious herpetology and students’ artifacts.
Table 1. Means, standard deviations, and independent samples t test for gender comparisons Field Gender Mean Std. t Geology F M Anthropology F M Entomology F M
73.7 59.35 26.58 30.49 2.974*

Botany F M
89 76.92 18.58 27.89 3.085*

Amphibious herpetology F M
75.94 68.99 25.33 29.87 1.487

Artifacts F M
87.47 85.69 4.35 6.85 1.82

Presentation F M
48.77 43.49 11.71 11.34 2.734*

58.03 45.79 82.02 75.16 27.67 31.46 20.83 27.39 2.451* 1.698 F = females, n = 66; M = males, n = 77; *