Successful Intelligence How to Help Students Develop Analytical, - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Successful Intelligence How to Help Students Develop Analytical, Creative and Practical Intelligence Carol Carter LifeBound, president Based on the work of Robert J. Sternberg

What is Successful Intelligence?

Successful Intelligence – The ability to acquire, develop, and apply a full range of intellectual skills, rather than relying on the inert intelligence that schools value.

“If IQ rules, it is only because we let it. And when we let it rule, we choose a bad master. We got ourselves into the test mess; we can get ourselves out of it. It’s a mess from which I personally had to extricate myself.” ~ Robert J. Sternberg

Obstacles to the Development of Successful Intelligence  Negative expectations on the part of authority figures.  When authority figures have low expectations, it often leads to their getting from an individual what they expect.  It’s not the low IQ that can easily lead us down the road to ruin, it’s the negative expectations that are generated.

The Successfully Intelligent Response  Successfully intelligent people defy negative expectations, even when these expectations arise from low scores on IQ or similar tests.  They do not let other people’s assessments stop them from achieving their goals.  They find their path and then pursue it, realizing that there will be obstacles along the way and that surmounting these obstacles is part of their challenge.

Successfully Intelligent People….  are self-efficacious. They have a can-do attitude.  actively seek out role models. They also observe people who fail, and note why they fail, and then make sure they do things differently.  Realize that the environment in which they find themselves may or may not enable them to make the most of their talents.  Seek to perform in ways that not only are competent but distinguish them from ordinary performers.

The Three Keys to Successful Intelligence To be successfully intelligent is to think well in three different ways:  Analytically  Creatively  Practically

Analytical Intelligence  Involves conscious direction of our mental processes to find a thoughtful solution to a problem.  A.K.A. – Problem-solving and decision- making skills

Analytical Intelligence  A student may be able to score high on tests, but are they capable of coming up with original ideas?  For example, to excel in the practice of science requires the ability to generate creative, significant ideas that make a difference in the field.

Creative Intelligence  The ability to think “outside the box”; to come up with inspiring and creative ideas that present new perspectives  To generate interesting ideas and carry them out independently

Creative Intelligence  Why do we pay more attention to predictors (test scores, IQ) than performance?  Creative intelligence is what produces products in the first place and keeps them coming out.

Practical Intelligence  Common sense  The idea that it’s not just what you know, but how you use what you know in order to create opportunities for yourself or solve a problem.

Practical Intelligence  One aspect is sensitivity to nonverbal communication  For example, in a job interview you can change the way the interview is going based on the nonverbal cues you receive from an interviewer.