These teaching methods were developed by teachers who carefully and thoughtfully combined educational research and theory with the realities of classroom teaching.
Students have multiple intelligences.
Howard Gardner's findings that human cognition includes a far wider and more universal set of competencies than had previously been recognized offer the possibility of revolutionizing the instruction of history in our schools. Gardner has found that every student excels in two or three of the multiple intelligences. If we accept this premise, we will begin to discover that the cognitive capabilities of our students are much richer and more varied than we had previously imagined. Cooperative interaction increases learning and improves social skills. However, sociologists have found that when students perform a groupwork task, they prejudge what their peers will be able to contribute on the basis of perceived academic ability and peer status.