Learning and Teaching in the Chinese Classroom: Responding to Individual Needs

4. The Role of Intelligence in the Diversity of Learners

4 The Role of Intelligence in the Diversity of Learners Shane N. Phillipson In response to the publication of The Bell Curve (Herrnstein and Murray 1994), an American Psychological Association taskforce published a review on the general field of intelligence (Neisser et al. 1996). They based their review on the following grounds: Individuals differ from one another in their ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to the environment, to learn from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning, and to overcome obstacles by taking thought. (p. 77) This chapter focuses on some of the most important models of intelligence and how knowledge of these models can assist teachers to understand student diversity. As a full description of all the models of intelligence is not possible in one chapter, we emphasize those models that play a role in predicting the academic achievement of students. Research in intelligence can be very controversial and psychologists who study this area do not always agree on what it is they are studying. A good introduction to the controversies and lively arguments among psychologists on the nature of intelligence can be found in Brody (2000). After completing this chapter, readers will be able to: • understand various theories of intelligence; • distinguish between low- and high-level models of intelligence; • explain the basis and limitations of different intelligence tests; and • apply their understanding of intelligence in supporting learners. In contemporary classrooms, students often compare themselves with others in terms of their academic ability. When asked about what academic ability means, they usually answer ‘being smart’, ‘having a good memory’, ‘able to think quickly’, ‘learns easily’ and ‘works very hard’. Each of these responses reflects a largely intuitive understanding of the nature of intelligence, which, in turn, can reflect the culture in which students live. When explaining the variation in students’ achievement, teachers often refer to differences in intelligence or creativity. To make informed judgements 96 Learning and Teaching in the Chinese Classroom on the role of ‘intelligence’ and ‘creativity’ in achievement, teachers need to be familiar with the ways in which the scientific community understands these concepts and be able to apply the findings of relevant studies. For example, there are many books based on scientifically supported models which they can drawn on to enhance intelligence. Also, understanding the strengths, limitations, and sometimes misuse of intelligence tests is important for teachers as schools sometimes make important decisions on educational needs based on student IQ scores. The Study of Intelligence Psychologists often disagree on the meaning of ‘intelligence’, and so it is imperative that researchers in this area explain clearly what they mean by the concept when reporting their findings. Anderson (1992) categorized the psychological models of intelligence as either low-level (or unitary) or high-level. Psychologists in the first category use tests to measure differences in intelligence and explain their origin by examining the physiological, biochemical, and behavioural differences in brain functions. On the other hand, some psychologists dismiss the biological basis of intelligence as being too simplistic, believing that the complexity of human intelligence requires a full understanding of the contexts in which people display their intelligence. In other words, people can demonstrate ‘academic intelligence’ when they are in school, ‘practical intelligence’ when solving real-world problems, ‘emotional intelligence’ when explaining their emotions and ‘social intelligence’ when interacting effectively with others. Anderson (1992) called these high-level models of intelligence. The study of intelligence continues to be an important and exciting area of research, in which many of the results are relevant to teaching. Indeed, many projects focus on understanding the basis of individual differences in intelligence with the aim of changing classroom practice to enhance learning. Low-level Models of Intelligence Central to low-level theories is the idea that a very small number of traits lie behind all human thinking. These traits are referred to as ‘factors’ because their study is facilitated by factor analysis, a statistical procedure. Charles Spearman (1927) believed that all types of thinking depend on a single or ‘general’ factor: the g model of intelligence. Spearman referred to g as a mental The Role of Intelligence in the Diversity of Learners 97 energy that provides the force through which all thinking occurs, regardless of the tasks involved—that is, although different types of thinking can be measured by different tests, such as tests of verbal ability, memory and abstract reasoning, they all depend on g...