Students just about everywhere are becoming less intelligent. However, this reality is fairly counter-intuitive to many. It is a fairly common belief that the next generations are getting smarter, technology is becoming more complex, we’re discovering more every day so how could our students possibly be becoming less intelligent? We are sending them to schools to increase their intelligence, making sure that the students are doing their homework, all sorts of different techniques to help make our kids smarter. And the problem lies here; our formal education system is not helping our students become more intelligent.
Well first it is important that we look at what I mean by intelligence. We know three things about intelligence: it is diverse, we think about the world in all the ways we experience it, through vision, sound, kinesthetic; it is dynamic, it is very interactive, the brain is not compartmentalized, it relies on all parts to function; it is distinct, everyone has a talent and it is important that people find that talent special to them. Intelligence is dependent on several factors but one of the most important factors research suggests is creativity. Creativity is another broad term, which, along with many experts in this field, will define as the ability to have original ideas that have value (Changing Paradigms). Now an important part to creativity is divergent thinking. Robinson explains divergent thinking is the ability to look at a problem and come up with many ways to solve the problem and this is a necessary part of intelligence because it allows you to come up with original processes ways to solve a problem. An example of divergent thinking would be “how many uses can you think of for a paper clip?”. Most people c...
... middle of paper ...
...in the same way and we should not have an education system rooted in these beliefs.
Works Cited
Ainsworth-Land, George T., and Beth Jarman. Breakpoint and Beyond: Mastering the
Future--today. Champaign, IL: HarperBusiness, 1992. Print.
“Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains." Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains.
N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
Brame, Cynthia J. "Flipping the Classroom." CFT RSS. Center for Teaching, Sept. 2012.
Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
Changing Paradigms. Prod. RSA. Perf. Sir Ken Robinson. RSA - Changing Paradigms.
RSA, 13 Apr. 2011. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
Pappas, Stephanie. "Are Humans Getting Smarter or Dumber?" LiveScience.
TechMedia Network, 04 June 2013. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
Robinson, Ken, and Lou Aronica. "Gillian Lynne." Finding Your Element: How to
Discover Your Talents and Passions and Transform Your Life. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.
Richard Florida, in The Rise of the Creative Class, describes creativity as a separate entity from intelligence, and I totally agree. He also describes it as something acquired through experience. I have always been a nerd, but that doesn’t make me a creative genius—and my tunnel vision hasn’t helped either. Florida mocked me with these words: “Creativity is favored by an intellect that has been enriched with diverse experiences and perspectives.”
The definition of intelligence that is explained in the book is having certain attributes that help you become a stronger individual. The qualities are having honesty, ethics morals and compassion. One has to achieve this intelligence thoughtlessly; Charlie shows this before he has his operation. By reaching this type of intelligence a person does not have to have a lot knowledge or a high I.Q, but you may reach peace in life by being a spiritually kind person that is previously show in the abstract definition.
People can achieve intelligent by learning or by following their passion in whatever they love. If someone loves fixing cars there is a chance he will become a mechanic, so he will be intelligent in that careers. That is how someone becomes intelligent because they learned everything they can about their profession in book or by what they learn on the streets. To become a intelligent person is important in society because that sets a standard for us and we try to learn everything we can to be the best in our jobs and careers, so we can be the best in our field.
Surprisingly, intelligence is not defined as a single ability, but by a combination of related abilities. For instance, a savant that discerns numbers different than the average human, and uses those numbers to connect with others is an unconventional show of intelligence. And there are even infographics that people design, and dedicate time and effort into, showing their thoughts on intelligence. Lastly, there have been articles written about intelligence that layout the author’s thoughts on how intelligence should be viewed. While some people label intelligence as academic skills, an individual can actually develop many different forms of intelligences, outside of academics.
Throughout history, psychologists have made hundreds of attempts to define intelligence and measure it precisely. However, none of these attempts have been accepted by all because Intelligence is so broad. Intelligence has been defined by many things, by Weschler, who made the most used psychological test today, as “the global capacity of a person to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment.” However, while he may have created the most successful test, his definition is not the only definition of intelligence, for psychologists such as Gardner, believed that there was more than just knowledge to intelligence, and Sternberg, who defined intelligence as “mental activity directed toward purposive adaptation to, selection and shaping of, real-world environments relevant to one’s life.” Intelligences has been measured in a variety of ways throughout psychologists, however because intelligence is such a broad concept, there is no single definition and method of testing it.
It is often difficult to remember that intelligence is purely a social construct, and as such is limited to operational definitions. Binet & Simon (1905, as cited in Mackintosh) defined it purely in terms of mental ability: "the ability to judge well, to comprehend well, to reason well." Wechsler (1944, as cited in Mackintosh) added behavioral factors: "the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with the environment." Sternberg (1985) synthesizes the previous definitions, defining intelligence as "the mental capacity of emitting contextually appropriate behavior at those regions in the experiential continuum that involve response to novelty or automatization of information processing as a function of metacomponents, performance components, and knowledge acquisition components." Gardner (1993) took the definition to a societal level, as "the ability or skill to solve problems or to fashion products which...
Most researchers believe that we are born with a certain intelligence or potential intelligence. They also believe that the intelligence we are born with is difficult to change. Psychologists use short-answer tests to assess one’s intelligence (Gardner papers). It was believed that intelligence was a single inherited thing. Human beings start out initially as a blank slate and could be trained to learn anything, provided that it was presented in an appropriate way (Multiple Intelligences and Education). Currently an “increasing number of researchers believe the opposite. Gardner defined intelligence as: “the ability to create an effective product or offer a service that is valued in culture; a set ...
Dictionaries add still more definitions: Funk & Wagnall’s defines intelligence as “The faculty of perceiving and comprehending meaning; mental quickness; active intellect; understanding” , while Webster’s defines it as “the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations; the skilled use of reason.” While some of these definitions are similar, none of them are exactly the same.
Why would one hypothesize a change is needed? First, international comparisons show the decline in education. Tests show American high school students rank much lower than other nations on standardized math and science tests (United States 66). On a test given in twenty-one nations, American pupils only outperformed Cyprus and South African students. These results seem more devastating when one sees Asian nations, usually ranking high in competitions, did not participate (McNamara 73). Examinations also reveal pupils' performances decline as students climb up the educational ladder toward college. "We seem to be the only country in the world whose children fall farther behind the longer they stay in school" ("Nation" 1). Yet, just comparing our students to international standards does not divulge the whole story.
Gardner’s theory of MI offers an alternative view of intelligence which has measured intelligence based on the results that would predict success in the current educational system. Furham (2009) sums up Gardner’s definition as “the ability to solve problems or to create products that are valued within one or more cultural settings”. This definition suggests that human intelligence is comprised of more than the predictable success in a western school system. Gardner argues that traditional definitions of intelligence and intelligence testing are too narrow and marginalize people who do not fit traditional education system that focuses on visual–spatial, verbal–linguistic, and logical–mathematical intelligences. He supports this with unique cases of idiots savant, who are people with low IQs but excel in skills in areas not measured through tradition IQ tests (Arnett, 2013). MI theory proposes that individual’s intelligence can be differentiated on eight different modalities:
One of the most definitive things ever said regarding the nature of intelligence was that intelligence is whatever IQ tests measure. The IQ test has been in use throughout the 20th century and serves as an accepted measure of a person’s intelligence. It is used by institutions such as schools and the army to screen people’s level of intelligence and decisions are made based on that. The IQ test consists of a series of questions regarding certain skills such as vocabulary, mathematics, spatial relations. The scores that a person gets on these tests depend on the amount of questions that a person answers correctly. The actual score that a person gets is dependant on how others in that age group do on those particular questions.
Intelligence by definition is “the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills” (Oxford Dictionary, 2014). However, many psychologists argue that there is no standard definition of ‘intelligence’, and there have been many different theories over time as psychologists try to find better ways to define this concept (Boundless 2013). While some believe in a single, general intelligence, others believe that intelligence involves multiple abilities and skills. Another largely debated concept is whether intelligence is genetically determined and fixed, or whether is it open to change, through learning and environmental influence. This is commonly known as the nature vs. nurture debate.
Anyone who takes the time to learn, and especially to acquire diverse knowledge, can express great creativity. As said by Vern Burkhardt, “The mythical views that we have about creativity and genius are almost impossible to reconcile with the scientific method” (Burkhardt). In other words, this quote is saying that no science is able to backup that creativity is linked to a higher IQ. So, all in all, anyone who applies themselves to a topic or field can be creative in that matter. You don 't have to be a registered genius to be
Most people would agree that education is the foundation of society. A solid education generally leads to a better life. Numerous studies have proven that college graduates earn significantly more than those without a degree. Aristotle refers to an educated mind as able to entertain thoughts without accepting them, meaning educated minds think independently. In the modern educational setting, how difficult is it for students to successfully succeed to that next level described by Aristotle?
The Oxford Dictionary defines intelligence as “the ability acquire and apply knowledge and skills.” Many people are born naturally intelligent, able to grasp and understand concepts easily, with little work. In children, it is easy to separate those born with higher intellectual ability from the rest, because they easily excel in learning. This skill is often lost by those born with it, and through a great deal of work others attain it. In order for an individual to have true intelligence into her adult years, she must foster what gifts she is given, and strive to better her self academically. Even as early as elementary school, many who are born with natural talent begin to fall behind intellectually. These students are often not