The Theory of Successful Intelligence Research Papers (original) (raw)

In this paper, I blur the edges between quantitative and qualitative research through an arts-based investigation of pedagogy, praxis, and epistemological inquiries in a 200-student, undergraduate art and society class. The need for developing creative and innovative educational practices within learner-centered college environments is also addressed. Informed by the author’s lived experiences as teacher, designer, artist, and researcher, the paper expands on frameworks that address critical pedagogy, epistemologies, and assessment, as well as belief systems and motivation of 21st century students. Emerging theory from the researcher’s mixed model comparative dissertation study is applied, conceptualizing a balance of creativity, critical thinking, and practical skills in relation to pedagogic practice. This paper reports on the effects of learner-centered instruction on students’ qualities of thinking and ideas about their learning at the undergraduate level, further expanding upon balanced intelligence frameworks, It is hypothesized that students’ qualities of thinking and engagement in arts classrooms—even very large classes—are enhanced when operationalized through inquiry, ambiguity, and meaningful connection-making. Focusing on lived experience and empirical data collection, a hermeneutical phenomenological research framework is initiated through inquiry, data collection, further inquiry, leading to deeper understanding and new ideas.