Maximizing the brain-based learning methods identified as being optimally efficient for students likely to benefit more from those changes could be implemented with less comparative increase in the need for more teachers and supplemental instruction for educational professionals. However, other costs (such as the need for more classrooms and other learning areas) may be equally cost-prohibitive, especially on a system-wide basis. Similarly, the educational materials necessary to implement inquiry-based, active learning methods are also beyond the capacity of most public education systems (Adams & Hamm, 1994). Therefore, the most appropriate approach to improving the American education system through incorporation of inquiry-based, active learning, brain-based learning, and Gardner's multiple intelligences would be to design in as many features as possible of each within the constraints of budgetary realities.

Theoretical Approach:

In principle, it would be possible to dramatically improve the American public education system by identifying the specific methods and materials conducive to maximizing learning that could be implemented in the most cost-effective manner. In that regard, traditional educational systems could be readily adapted to include certain elements of Gardner's multiple-intelligence approach to learning on a piecemeal basis; improvements attributable to such changes do not require an all-or-none choice (Gardner, 2000). Likewise, many elements of brain-based learning could be featured through changes in the learning environment without substantial expense even if more comprehensive changes of this type (such as permanent or dedicated alternative classrooms designed to emphasize brain-based learning) would be cost-prohibitive. Finally, while professionally-produced inquiry-based, active learning materials are not within the realistic budget of most public education programs, elements of that approach to learning could also be incorporated into...

Specifically, geology lessons (for just one example) would be more conducive to learning for many students if they were presented in the field in conjunction with tactile elements of physical learning (Gardner, 2000; 2007). Implementing such changes would require relatively little increased cost.
Implementing elements of brain-based learning could be achieved through minimal costs, such as through temporarily reconfiguring one classroom at a time to provide different types of external environments capable of increasing learning through brain-based learning methodology (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2008). Other equally affordable methods and materials could be used to incorporate various other brain-based methodologies, such as audio-visual lesson presentation to supplement traditional lecture-and-textbook methods and materials. Finally, the inquiry-based, active learning method is, to a large extent, more of a conceptual approach rather than any specific methodology requiring different materials. For example, even traditional textbook-based lessons could easily be adapted to a more interactive inquiry-based approach without prohibitive cost increases.

Ultimately, effective implementation is simply a matter of identifying those aspects of these three proven beneficial approaches to learning that could conceivably be incorporated at minimal cost and distinguishing them from more nearly comprehensive adoption of any particular learning concept that would be unrealistic within the current public education scheme and budget.

References

Adams, D. And Hamm, M. (1994). New Designs for Teaching and Learning: Promoting

Active Learning in Tomorrow's Schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Gardner, H. (2000). The Disciplined Mind: Beyond Facts and Standardized Tests: The K-

12 Education That Every Child Deserves. New York: Penguin Putnam.

Gardner, H. "Multiple Intelligences and New Forms of Assessment" Edutopia: What

Works in Public Education. The George Lucas Educational Foundation (2007).

Retrieved June 25, 2009, from:

http://www.edutopia.org/howard-gardner-interview#graph5

Gerrig, R, and Zimbardo, P. (2008) Psychology and Life. New York: Allyn & Bacon.