Looking Back, Looking Around, Looking Forward: The Impact of Intelligence Theories on Gifted Education.The study of giftedness has closely paralleled the study of intelligence. Many scholars who were concerned with matters of intelligence also focused on manifestations of talent and genius: Kant, William James Noun 1. William James - United States pragmatic philosopher and psychologist (1842-1910) James , Galton, Terman, and Hollingworth, to name just a few. The interrelationship in·ter·re·late tr. & intr.v. in·ter·re·lat·ed, in·ter·re·lat·ing, in·ter·re·lates To place in or come into mutual relationship. in between intelligence and gifted education Gifted education is a broad term for special practices, procedures and theories used in the education of children who have been identified as gifted or talented. Programs providing such education are sometimes called Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) or continues today. Intelligence theory influences the way we identify and assess students, our attitudes toward giftedness and gifted students, the models upon which we base our programs and interventions, and many other aspects of gifted education. Yet with the recent surge in new intelligence theories, many of these theories and their potential applications remain underexamined. The purpose of this essay (and of this special issue) is to identify theories that have significant potential for gifted education or that, for various reasons, have been underutilized. But how to organize the multitude of intelligence theories? Both Sternberg (1990) and Gardner, Kornhaber, and Wake (1996) propose classification schemes in their texts on intelligence. Sternberg suggests that we view intelligence theories in terms of the metaphors on which they are based: geographic, computational, biological, epistemological e·pis·te·mol·o·gy n. The branch of philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge, its presuppositions and foundations, and its extent and validity. [Greek epist , anthropological, sociological, and systems. Gardner et al. take the more traditional approach to classify these theories based on their dominant perspective: psychometric psy·cho·met·rics n. (used with a sing. verb) The branch of psychology that deals with the design, administration, and interpretation of quantitative tests for the measurement of psychological variables such as intelligence, aptitude, and , developmental, biological, cognitive, and recent. In this brief article, I will use a simpler set of categories: classic theories that dominated psychology and education for most of the past century (Looking Back), more recent theories that were introduced and have been analyzed for nearly two decades (Looking Around), and emerging theories that have had a considerable educational impact or show potential to do so (Looking Forward). Table 1 contains a summary of relevant theories. Table 1 Representative Summary of New and Emergent emergent /emer·gent/ (e-mer´jent) 1. coming out from a cavity or other part. 2. pertaining to an emergency. emergent 1. coming out from a cavity or other part. 2. coming on suddenly. Theories Looking Back: Relevant "Classic" Approaches Monocentric, entity views such as "g" (Jensen, 1998a, 1998b) Fluid and Crystallized Intelligences In psychometric psychology, fluid and crystallized intelligence (abbreviated gF and gC, respectively) are factors of general intelligence identified by Raymond Cattell (1971). (Cattell, 1971) Structure of the Intellect (Guilford, 1967) Looking Around: Relevant "Modern" Approaches Three-Stratum Theory of Cognitive Abilities (Carroll, 1993) Theory of Multiple Intelligences Multiple intelligences is educational theory put forth by psychologist Howard Gardner, which suggests that an array of different kinds of "intelligence" exists in human beings. (Fasko, this issue; Gardner, 1983, 1993, 1995) Triarchic Theory of Intelligence The Triarchic Theory of Intelligence was formulated by Robert J. Sternberg, a prominent figure in the research of human intelligence. The theory by itself was groundbreaking in that it was among the first to go against the psychometric approach to intelligence and take a more (Sternberg, 1985) Successful Intelligence (Sternberg, 1996; Sternberg & Grigorenko, 2000) Theory of Mental Self-Government (Sternberg, 1988) Bio-ecological Theory (Ceci, 1990) Looking Forward: Emerging Approaches PASS Theory (Das, Naglieri, & Kirby, 1994; Naglieri & Kaufman, this issue) Emotional Intelligence (Mayer, Perkins, Caruso, & Salovey, this issue; Pfeiffer, this issue) Implicit Theories of Intelligence (Dweck, Chiu, & Hong, 1995) Other Perspectives (Rea, this issue; Ritchhart, this issue) Looking Back The unitary, entity view of intelligence ("g") has been by far the most influential conception of intelligence since Spearman spear·man n. A man, especially a soldier, armed with a spear. first provided evidence of its existence early in the 20th century. Although g is much maligned ma·lign tr.v. ma·ligned, ma·lign·ing, ma·ligns To make evil, harmful, and often untrue statements about; speak evil of. adj. 1. Evil in disposition, nature, or intent. 2. in educational circles, anyone concluding that unitary entity perspectives are out of fashion should note the passion surrounding the publication of The Bell Curve. This book, which is among the most exhaustive defenses of g, elicited a great deal of debate within gifted education (e.g., Pyryt, 1996; Robinson, 1995; Rogers, 1996; Sternberg et al., 1995). At the time of its publication, I was surprised at the number of educators who openly disagreed with the authors' rather extreme social recommendations but quietly agreed with the authors' scientific positions. Indeed, Jensen (1998b) goes so far as to argue that Sternberg's Triarchic Theory is fully compatible with the idea of g. The death of g has been exaggerated. However, the debate about the existence of unitary theories (Chem.) the modern theory that the molecules of all complete compounds are units, whose parts are bound together in definite structure, with mutual and reciprocal influence on each other, and are not mere aggregations of more or less complex groups; - distinguished from the of intelligence is unfortunate for another reason: Several other theories of intelligence that emerged prior to 1980 received little application in gifted education. These theories include the conception of Fluid and Crystallized Intelligences (Cattell, 1971) and the Structure of the Intellect model (Guilford, 1967). Granted, these theories saw different degrees of application in schools, but not to the degree one would have expected given their considerable empirical support. Looking Around Several new approaches to intelligence theory have become rather widespread in their acceptance and application. Foremost among these theories are the Theory of Multiple Intelligences (Gardner, 1983) and the Triarchic Theory of Intelligence (Sternberg, 1985). MI Theory has enjoyed widespread application since not long after its inception, but the popularity of the theory in educational circles has peaked. Triarchic Theory, which has received much less attention from educators primarily due to its complexity, is well-known and may be gaining momentum -- the work of Sternberg and his colleagues applying the theory in educational settings (in conjunction with Sternberg's theories of successful intelligence and mental self-government) has produced promising results. Interestingly, two approaches to intelligence theory that are often cited in the psychological literature are much less popular (and rarely discussed) by educators of the gifted. Ceci's (1990) extension of Sternberg's theory to incorporate bio-ecological elements receives very little attention among educators, as does Carroll's (1993) Three-Stratum Theory of Cognitive Abilities. These conceptualizations of intelligence are worthy of further investigation. Looking Forward A major goal of this special issue is to introduce emerging theories of intelligence and ability. Some of these theories (e.g., PASS Theory) have had longer incubation periods incubation period n. 1. See latent period. 2. See incubative stage. Incubation period than others, but all provide alternative perspectives on the nature of human intellect. For example, many educators are exploring the potential applications of emotional intelligence (Mayer, Perkins, Caruso, & Salovey, this issue; Pfeiffer, this issue), implicit theories of intelligence (1987), and similarly alternative perspectives (Rea, this issue; Ritchhart, this issue). Determining the relative worth of these theories is a difficult process. After all, who would have expected MI Theory to have such a pervasive influence on gifted education, and education in general, back in 19837 And who would have expected the potential applications of Triarchic Theory to become more readily apparent a decade after its introduction? As Sternberg and Lubart (1995) note in their investment theory of creativity, when considering the value of ideas, buying low and selling high has considerable value. Educators and psychologists have begun to buy the value of PASS Theory, emotional intelligence, and implicit theories. The other, even more recent perspectives have similar potential. The Special Issue In addition to the articles in this issue that are cited above and in Table 1, several leading scholars contributed reviews of classic texts in the areas of intelligence and talent development. The authors' purpose was to identify aspects of these works that are still relevant to our ever-changing field. John Feldhusen reviews the work of Terman and Hollingworth, Dean Keith Simonton addresses Lehman's research, and Mark Runco examines the impact of Wallach and his colleagues and also that of Keniston. Complementing these reviews of classic perspectives are reviews by Tom Froehle, Jann Lappien, and Stuart Omdal of recently published books that seek to apply multiple intelligences theory in a variety of educational contexts. REFERENCES Carroll, J. B. (1993). Human cognitive abilities: A survey of factor-analytic studies. New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of : Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press (known colloquially as CUP) is a publisher given a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1534, and one of the two privileged presses (the other being Oxford University Press). . Cattell, R. B. (1971). Abilities: Their structure, growth, and action. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. The company's headquarters is located in Boston's Back Bay. It publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers . Ceci, S. J. (1990). On intelligence -- more or less: A bio-ecological treatise on intellectual development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Prentice Hall is a leading educational publisher. It is an imprint of Pearson Education, Inc., based in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, USA. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6-12 and higher education market. History In 1913, law professor Dr. . Das, J. P., Naglieri, J. A., & Kirby, J. R. (1994). Assessment of cognitive processes Cognitive processes Thought processes (i.e., reasoning, perception, judgment, memory). Mentioned in: Psychosocial Disorders : The PASS theory of intelligence. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Dweck, C. S., Chiu, C., & Hong, Y. (1995). Implicit theories and their role in judgments and reactions: A world from two perspectives. Psychological Inquiry, 6, 267-285. Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books. Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: The theory in practice. New York: Basic Books. Gardner, H. (1995, November). Reflections on multiple intelligences: Myths and messages. Phi Delta Kappan, 200-209. Gardner, H., Kornhaber, M. L., & Wake, W. K. (1996). Intelligence: multiple Perspectives. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace. Guilford, J. P. (1967). The nature of human intelligence. New York: McGraw-Hill. Jensen, A. R. (1998a). The g factor and the design of education. In R. J. Sternberg & W. M. Williams (Eds.), Intelligence, instruction, and assessment: Theory into practice (pp. 111-131). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Jensen, A. R. (1998b). The g factor : The science of mental ability. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. Pyryt, M. A. (1996). IQ: Easy to bash, hard to replace. Roeper Review, 18, 255-258. Robinson, N. M. (1995). Rescuing the baby: A commentary on The Bell Curve. Gifted Child gifted child Child naturally endowed with a high degree of general mental ability or extraordinary ability in a specific domain. Although the designation of giftedness is largely a matter of administrative convenience, the best indications of giftedness are often those Quarterly, 39, 180-182. Rogers, K. B. (1996). What The Bell Curve says and doesn't say: Is a balanced view possible? Roeper Review. 18, 252-255 Sternberg, R. J. (1988). Mental self-government: A theory of intellectual styles and their development. Human Development, 31, 197-224. Sternberg, R. J. (1990). Metaphors of mind: Conceptions of the nature of intelligence. New York: Cambridge University Press. Sternberg, R. J. (1996). Successful intelligence: how practical and creative intelligence determine success in life. New York: Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster U.S. publishing company. It was founded in 1924 by Richard L. Simon (1899–1960) and M. Lincoln Schuster (1897–1970), whose initial project, the original crossword-puzzle book, was a best-seller. . Sternberg, R. J., Callahan, C. M., Burns, D., Gubbins, E. J., Purcell, J. P., Reis, S. M., Renzulli, J. S., & Westberg, K. (1995). Return gift to sender: A review of The Bell Curve, by Richard Herrnstein Richard J. Herrnstein (May 20 1930—September 13 1994) was a prominent researcher in animal learning in the Skinnerian tradition. He was one of the founders of Quantitative Analysis of Behavior. & Charles Murray Charles Murray is the name of several notable people:
Sternberg, R. J., & Grigorenko, E. L. (2000). Teaching for successful intelligence: To increase student learning and achievement. Arlington Heights Arlington Heights, village (1990 pop. 75,460), Cook county, NE Ill., a residential suburb of Chicago; founded 1836, inc. 1887. Its manufactures include machinery, drugs and medical equipment, and metal fabrication. Arlington Park racetrack is there. , IL: Merrill-Prentice Hall. Sternberg, R. J., & Lubart, T. I. (1995). Defying the crowd: Cultivating creativity in a culture of conformity. New York: Free Press. Jonathan A. Plucker pluck v. plucked, pluck·ing, plucks v.tr. 1. To remove or detach by grasping and pulling abruptly with the fingers; pick: pluck a flower; pluck feathers from a chicken. , Guest Editor, The author appreciates the assistance and encouragement of the editor during the creation of this special issue. He also appreciates the feedback provided by Frederic Lieber on this essay. Jonathan A. Plucker is an assistant professor of learning, cognition cognition Act or process of knowing. Cognition includes every mental process that may be described as an experience of knowing (including perceiving, recognizing, conceiving, and reasoning), as distinguished from an experience of feeling or of willing. , and instruction in the Indiana University School of Education . The School of Education of Indiana University is an academic unit within the university, with a presence on the two core campuses of IU, Indiana University Bloomington and IUPUI. It offers a range of degrees in professional education: a B.S. . His research focuses on creativity, intelligence, and talented students' effective development. He is especially interested in how research from these areas is applied across the breadth of contexts in which learning Occurs. |
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