NATIONAL CENTRE FOR VOCATIONAL EDUCATION RESEARCH ...

personnel in both the development of the organisation’s services and systems, as well as in theprofessional development of new and existing staff.ConclusionThe emerging findings on neuroplasticity and multiple intelligences have significant implications forhow people learn and what action they can take in association with others in their workplace andeducational settings to enhance the development of the skills sets needed to participate inworkplaces generally, and innovative workplaces in particular. This awareness not only opens upthe opportunities for improved and more relevant skills and knowledge but also has the potential toextend people’s effective cognitive lifespans and, indirectly, their working and community lives.Some of the more significant of the findings include the importance for learning and brain growthof the exposure of people to the ongoing rich experiences in their community, work andeducational environments which involve the close attention and focus of the people concerned, theengagement of a wide spectrum of bodily senses, a degree of novelty and challenge and aninteraction and involvement with others. The findings also indicate the need for a broader conceptof skills sets which incorporates not only skills and knowledge but also appropriate personaldispositions, attitudes and motivation.ReferencesAbraham, R 2005, ‘Emotional intelligence in the workplace’, in Emotional intelligence: an international handbook,eds R Schulze & R Roberts, Hogrefe and Huber, Cambridge, MA.Armstrong, T 2009, ‘Multiple intelligence’, viewed June 2010, article on the Dr Thomas Armstrong website,viewed 24 November 2010, .Begley, S 2008, Train your mind – change your brain – how a new science reveals our extraordinary potential to transformourselves, Ballantine Books, Random House, New York.Cropley, D H 2005, Fostering and measuring creativity and innovation: individuals, organisations and products, viewedSeptember 2010, .Dispenza, J 2007, Evolve your brain – The science of changing your mind, Health Communications Inc, DeerfieldBeach, FLA.Doidge, N 2007, The brain that changes itself – stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science, Penguin,New York.——2009, Norman Doidge discusses neuroplasticity, video and transcript of interview with ABC reporter, Leigh Sales,viewed June 2010, .Elias, M, Kress, J & Hunter, L 2008, ‘Emotional intelligence and the crisis in schools’, in Emotional intelligencein everyday life, eds J Ciarrochi, J Forgas & J Mayer, Psychology Press, New York.Gardner, H 1999, Intelligence reframed: multiple intelligence for the 21st century, Basic Books, New York.——2006, Intelligence – new horizons, Basic Books, New York.Kandel, E 2006, In search of memory: the emergence of a new science of the mind, WW Norton and Co., New York.Maino, D 2009, Neuroplasticity: teaching an old brain new tricks, viewed July 2010, .Marquardt, J 1997, ‘The learning organisation—the critical paradigm for corporate success in the 21stcentury’, Training and Development in Australia, vol.24, no.2, pp.3–8.Merzenich, M 2004, Michael Merzenich on re-wiring the brain, viewed June 2010, archived video posted onTechnology, Entertainment, Design (TED) online conference website in 2009 .——2008 On the brain – about brain plasticity, viewed June 2010, .——2010 On the brain – lessons from the hand and mind symposium, viewed June 2010, National Research Council 2008, Research on future skill demands: a workshop summary, National Academies Press,Washington DC, viewed September 2010, .NCVER 65