Intelligence is one of those hot button topics in education. With all of the testing we do to students and the emphasis on grades, many students get the impression their intelligence is fixed; therefore if they are unable to grasp a concept or prove mastery over it, they say, "I'm stupid," or, "I'm not smart." Many teachers buy into this idea as well and put their energies into helping students that meet or exceed their expectations excel further and let those who don't apply themselves or struggle fall behind.
But is intelligence a fixed trait or can it change? There is a growing body of research in the field of neuroscience that shows the brain has more plasticity over time than we originally believed. This means that we are able to learn more and grow our knowledge base throughout life. Findings suggest that depending on how a teacher encourages a student, it determines how the student views his/her intelligence and, thus, their performance in the classroom. If a teacher praises a student for their intelligence, it leads the student to adopt a fixed mind-set toward intelligence; they start to think they're smart because of genetics and nothing they do will make them smarter. They either excel at something or not. If a teacher praises the effort, the student tends to remain confident and eager to continue to do well and work harder (Ryan and Cooper, 58). In light of this research, teachers have the power to change a student's relationship with education and even more the potential to change the trajectory for the rest of his/her life.
Most students are aware of IQ and some may even take the test. As AP Psychology students in high school, my friends and I were curious to know how we would rank on the IQ test. I remember a few teachers commenting on one student in junior high and talking about her high IQ and we wanted to know what her IQ was and how it compared to ours. We never got to test that, but we also had a common misconception about IQ and the test that's administered. Most people know that IQ test or Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, fourth edition/Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, fourth edition tests intelligence and assigns a person a number as representation of their intelligence. What isn't as commonly known is that these tests are more about the process of taking the test than the test itself. If a child/adult answers a question on the test wrong, the test is designed in a way to help the clinician gain some understanding as to why it was answered wrong (psychologytoday.com). The tests tell more about the people than their intelligence, so to speak. Using data from individuals who have taken the IQ test multiple times throughout their lifetime, researchers have determined that intelligence remains relatively stable; there is no evidence to support intelligence as a fixed trait.
If teachers view intelligence as a fixed trait, it's easy to give up on students who don't seem to grasp concepts right away in favor of helping those that have an easier time. This also sends a message to students about intelligence and typically reinforces what it is they already think - if they can't get this now, they never will. Students buy into the idea that working hard to learn something equates to low intelligence, so if they don't immediately understand a concept, they check out and accept that they'll never be good at it or know it. Research is showing that students who need to put effort in to learn can actually learn from even "sheer conviction" of adults (learningandtheadolescentmind.org). Students who see their intelligence as something that can grow with a little effort tend to "have more positive attitudes, greater enjoyment of academic tasks, and stronger learning goals," (learningandtheadolescentmind.org). So, for teachers, it's important to help students to understand that intelligence isn't a fixed trait; with some work and some guidance, students can continue to grow and learn new concepts.
So, as teachers what can we do to help our students improve their grades and become better learners? For starters, we need to put an effort in to help our students realize that intelligence isn't fixed. This might seem crazy; I'm not sure how many students actually think about whether they're smart because of their genetics or because they work hard to understand the material, but I do know that in my 7th grade classroom I hear a lot of my minority students say they're not smart and they never will be. We need to let our students, especially those pegged as incapable of being as intelligent as another group (such as Blacks and females), know that intelligence isn't fixed. Social psychologists Aronson, Fried, and Good determined in their study that there may be a way to combat the intelligence conditioning of minority groups. They taught African American and European American college students to think about their intelligence as changeable, not fixed. The control group didn't receive this lesson. The students who learned that intelligence is changeable improved their grades more than the control group. They also found that their African American students benefited greater than their White peers of learning this (apa.org). Another group of scientists applied the same idea with 7th grade students and found similar results; girls benefited more from the intervention and performed as well, if not a little better than the boys in math. Girls who didn't have the intervention performed below the boys (apa.org). This intervention doesn't take long and it has some serious return on investment! Lastly, we can also work to make sure we encourage our students and praise their effort, rather than their knowledge in completing a task.
Ryan, Kevin, and James Michael Cooper. Kaleidoscope: contemporary and classic readings in education. 13th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Engage Learning, 2010. Print.
Great topic, full of lots of discussion points! I wished I could have had this discussion in person because I wanted to comment on so many things. :) I've spent many years on studying IQ information and traits of gifted students.
ReplyDeleteFirst, there is a big difference between IQ and achievement. If i were to read your whole second paragraph by replacing the word "intelligence" with "achievement" it would be more accurate and I think that is what you meant there? Try it and see?
One can have a high IQ, (gifted is 130+), and not be driven for achievement and not score well on assessments given they have disengaged from the school learning process due to lack of challenge, or be gifted but have a learning disability. Yet, their IQ is still very high (I've known some students with 150 IQ that struggle in the typical school and don't have high grades due to disengagement or LDs.)
The Gifted Development Center in Colorado has done studies and shown that gifted (top 5% of population) come from all races and socioeconomic groups. Although, minority culture as a whole, does not recognize or value being more intelligent than others. You can look up gifted minorities to see studies in google scholar. If they actually show their giftedness, teachers don't recognize it and refer them for gifted services because minorities 'show' their giftedness differently than the dominant culture does.
You might be interested in the studies on gifted girls and how they underperform in lower middle school, due to cultural biases learned and not wanting to look smarter than the boys.
Lastly, I do believe in a growth mindset and teaching students this as a lifetime skill, however, while one can learn a whole lot of things, it doesn't grow their IQ by more than a couple of points, yet it grows their knowledge tremendously. Think of IQ as the 'potential' to learn, meaning there are extra, or more connections in the brain (according to brain scans) yet, they still have to be taught to use it or they lose their abilities (even if the IQ is still there.) Where as knowledge is acquired through learning and experiences and the sky is the limit!
So many aspects to consider, and you hit on my passion area. :) Great post!