Yes, Virginia, You Can Grow Intelligence

Studies focusing on how children learn are making it more and more clear that not all children learn in the same way and not all children are formed with the same ability. What is different about these most recent studies is that it is clear that 90% - 95% of student variation in performance is most likely attributable to factors other than determined IQ. What we have originally termed innate ability is actually the capacity of an individual to complete certain tasks that IQ tests measure and we know that these capacities can be increased.

Sustained increases in IQ, long after training is completed, result from several factors, one of which is the quality of schooling. A respected study from Israel in 1989 by psychologists Cahan and Cohen concluded that measured intelligence is strongly influenced by the quality of learning in school. A similar study of Swedish children by Husen and Tuijnman in 1991, concluded that those students who experienced excellent schooling had grown more in measured intelligence. Intelligence appears to be dynamic and continues to be affected by environmental factors, especially by availability of high-quality education. The scientists concluded, “Schools… train and develop students’ intellectual capacity.” (Educational Researcher, 1991.) Berliner and Biddle wrote in 1995, “ A society that chooses to nurture and develop high levels of intelligence among its youth must also provide high quality education for them. Poor schools, like poor home environments, have negative lasting consequences. (p. 49. The Manufactured Crisis).

Carol Dweck in her book, Mindset, shows us that children who believe that their ability can improve do significantly better in school. Young children naturally believe that success comes from trying (effort). For them, success and effort are synonymous. As children get older, in Middle School, they tend to attribute their success more to innate ability rather than to their own efforts. As a result, when these children meet with difficulty in school, their first explanation is that they must not be smart and there is nothing they can do about this. Unfortunately, many of these students stop trying in school and give up.

Through her research, Carol Dweck, one of the leading researchers in the field of motivation, found that children (and adults) tended to think of themselves as either entity theorists or incrementalists. Don’t let these content specific words be intimidating. Simply put, entity theorists believe that intelligence is an thing, an entity, that is fixed and responsible for all successes and failures. Effort plays no role in how an individual performs on given tasks. Intelligence is fixed (fixed mindset) and cannot be changed by effort or by education. Low performance indicates low ability while strong performance means high ability. Entity theorists feel they are constantly being judged on their accomplishments and have little control over the outcome. They aim at performance goals to prove and validate their ability. A focus on presentation instead of learning and growing, results in students holding back from risk taking and trying new things.

Incrementalists believe that ability is built little by little through effective effort and consistent and realistic feedback from the environment. Their goal is to learn and they aim to learn new things, not to constantly prove themselves. They pick ever increasing challenges. The closer a student is to the incrementalist pole, the more likely he or she will treat any setback as data points providing an opportunity to utilize more or different efforts along with more effective strategies in order to overcome an obstacle. With increased practice and effective effort, students become smarter! This is great news, especially for students who persist and practice.

The beliefs that we hold about a child’s abilities are instrumental in helping he or she either embrace effort and effective strategy utilization or give up and determine that improvement is hopeless. Early talent indicators in young children are unreliable as many children do not progress beyond the early stages of talent identification. John Hattie, in Visible Learning, reminds us that the development of skills and ability is the result of many factors beyond precocious talent such as motivation, goal setting, knowledge building, persistence, and deliberate practice. By encouraging children to reach, grow and nurture their intelligence, the sky becomes the limit for them.

I recommend you check out the following resources if you would like more information on the growth mindset and malleable intelligence. The first two suggestions explain the work of Carol Dweck, who has been studying the human brain and intelligence for 30 years. The third resource includes an excellent BBC video clip about how the brain builds neurons when learning… excellent stuff!

• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Carol Dweck. 2007.

• https://mindsetonline.com/abouttheauthor/

• http://learningandtheadolescentmind.org/ideas_theories.html