The Effect of Designing e-Activities within the Multi-Intelligence Theory on Satisfaction and Achievement of Postgraduate Students at the Arabian Gulf University

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of including the multiple-intelligence strategy when designing an e-content on the satisfaction and achievement of postgraduate students at the Arabian Gulf University. An experimental method with a quasi-experimental design was used due to the difficulty of randomly assigning the sample. Participants, males and females, were selected from the students of the Gifted Education Program at the Arabian Gulf University. The sample consisted of two groups: experimental (n=29) and control (n=22). The experimental group students studied the e-learning program through the Virtual Learning Environment (WebCT) and they were communicated using all the tools available in the virtual learning environment (VLE) such as e-mails and Discussion. The e-content was designed via instructional interactive activities that develop students' intelligence determined by using Multiple-Intelligences Scale administered before the experiment. It indicated that there are three types of intelligence in the experimental group individuals: self, logical, social. The e-content was presented in three different forms to fit each type of intelligences. The controls studied the same course using face to face method. This study used several measures: Gardner's Multiple-Intelligence Scale, Questionnaire of Major Satisfaction, and Achievement Test. Results indicated that there are statistically significant differences among the mean scores of the experimental and control groups in the total of the final achievement test in favour of the experimental group. Furthermore, students were more satisfied with learning method using e-learning program than face-to-face method.