Research summary - learnable intelligence

'The claim that we have a mental ceiling has no place in science.' John White

'The idea that intelligence is learnable and can be developed through effort and skillful practice has not penetrated our society widely or deeply.' Carol Dweck 

What do we mean by intelligence?

'We need to find more useful ways of talking about intelligence.' Carol Dweck

The word ‘intelligence’ is commonly used in everyday language, although it often means different things to different people. Intelligence is most commonly associated with mental or cognitive ability or being clever academically. Many people also believe that intelligence is in-born and can be measured with some degree of accuracy. 

Over the years, however, the academic study of intelligence has led to significant debate about the meaning and definition of intelligence, how humans become intelligent, and whether we can or should measure intelligence through testing. 

Some writers have sought to redefine and clarify what intelligence actually is (see for example, multiple intelligences). Others studies have been more focused upon how we become intelligent. For many the key debate centres on the extent to which intelligence is genetic - a fixed trait inherited from parents - or, alternatively, the degree to which intelligence is learnable. Is intelligence something we are born with and can never change or can we develop intelligence and behave more intelligently?

Despite the amount of research and publications in the area of intelligence, there is not a great deal of consensus. Indeed we are coming to recognise that intelligence is difficult to measure scientifically or otherwise. Carol Dweck, a leading writer and academic who has spent over 30 years researching intelligence, believes we need to change our thinking about the meaning of intelligence and how we become intelligent.

Where does the idea of ‘learnable intelligence’ come from?

Although the concept of mind, intelligence or mental function has been studied for thousands of years, the prevailing view of intelligence as a general capacity, mainly fixed and measurable, is a relatively recent concept, which evolved some 150 years ago and is based on relatively little scientific research.

In the 19th century Frances Galton proposed the concept of a new kind of super facility, which he called 'General Ability of Intelligence' and he set up the world’s first mental test centre in London in 1882. He became obsessed by the idea of intelligence and assumed that heredity, not education, was the key factor in developing intelligence.

Galton’s work set the scene for Binet, a French psychologist who invented the first intelligence test in 1904. This allowed intelligence to be represented by a single number - IQ or ‘Intelligence Quotient’. The IQ score was based on a test of mental intelligence, divided by age and multiplied by 100. This gives the figure that represents a person’s general level of intellectual function.

Binet himself did not believe that intelligence was either fixed or general, but recognised that by expressing it as a number, it would lead people to think this way. He feared it might give educators the excuse to ignore the plight of poorly performing students on the grounds that they lacked the intelligence to do better. As it turned out, Binet’s fears were justified.

For decades, IQ testing was embedded in 11-plus examinations to underpin school selection procedures, though its prevalence faded with the advent of comprehensive schools. Testing for intelligence has by no means disappeared, however, and the notion of measuring intelligence has given rise to significant levels of research and commercial application.

A growing number of writers, however, champion an alternative view, ie, that intelligence is learnable. They believe that our level of intelligence is a product of both nature and nurture; a carrier of genes that shape us, but also a reservoir of innumerable experiences that cultivate various attitudes knowledge and skills. For such writers, intelligence is not just about brainpower - our original neural equipment - it depends on how we use our brainpower. Intelligence is about know-how. All humans can learn to be intelligent within a particular context, be it the stock exchange or the African savannah.

The proponents of testing counter this view by arguing that today’s tests are much more sophisticated in measuring different kinds of intelligence and that they no longer operate on the basis that intelligence is completely fixed. On the contrary, modern tests give teachers an accurate picture of where students are so that they can design tuition to fit their needs and help them to improve their performance and learn to be more intelligent.

The main messages

• Despite significant levels of research over many years, there is no consensus about what is meant by intelligence and how, or whether, it can be measured. 

• The concept of intelligence has become closely tied with how we regard ourselves and other people. It is more often associated with perceptions of human worth, values, politics and ideology, than what can be proven scientifically. 

• Human intelligence is one of the most important yet controversial topics in the field of human sciences. The associated literature is huge; much of it is highly partisan and often far from accurate. Academics cannot agree what constitutes intelligence and whether it can (or should) be measured. 

• Stressing the importance of intelligence, defining it narrowly and suggesting that it is mainly genetic can damage people’s confidence and self-belief.

• Science is unlikely to resolve whether intelligence is a result of nature or nurture.

• We need a new view of intelligence in our schools, universities and businesses - a view of intelligence that is less exclusive, more democratic and which has a wider application to the real world. 

• In the meantime, education professionals need to consider attitudes to intelligence and how this impacts on learning. Schools need to develop policies and practices that play down the importance of in-born intelligence and play up the importance of learnable intelligence.

Intelligence is important in our society

'What is it about intelligence that links it so intimately with human worth?' Roland Barth 

Society sets great store on intelligence, not only in our schools and colleges but also in the workplace. Barth suggests that intelligence has also become personal - that it is closely tied up with societal views of what it is to be a worthwhile human being. Intelligence is often associated with employment status and personal wealth, as well as with value and belief systems.

David Perkins contends that because intelligence is very important in today’s society, assumptions about intelligence can have many practical consequences, for example in relation to a person’s ability to move within the labour market. 

When society makes assumptions about a person’s intelligence, to what extent does this reflect intrinsic beliefs about nature and nurture? To what extent is that person’s intelligence the product of genes or upbringing? To what extent does that person have free will and the capacity to make choices about his or her life? Crucially, to what extent are humans capable of improving themselves by increasing their capacity to learn and, in effect, become more intelligent?

Most people believe it’s in the genes

Because our culture places so much importance on intelligence, this can often impact negatively on learner self-esteem and motivation, particularly if the prevailing view is that intelligence is fixed.

Carol Dweck’s research has documented how perceptions about intelligence can impair the capacity to learn. She points out that our ideas about intelligence turn children who are born ‘mastery’ learners (who want to learn and believe that they can), into young people who try to avoid learning so that they do not appear to be stupid. Studies have documented negative attitudes to learning in children as young as 3.

Dweck believes that an individual’s beliefs about intelligence can have a significant impact on their learning. She found that many people who believe themselves to be born intelligent or smart, think that they have something that others do not - something that makes them special and worthy. As a result, they become too focused on appearing smart to others, rather than on challenging themselves, stretching and expanding their skills, and becoming better learners. In other words they focus on the trait of intelligence and on proving that they have it, rather than on the process of learning and growing the capacity to learn. This is a mindset that can be self-defeating over time.

Once people believe that their intelligence is a potential to be developed they start focusing, not on the short-term outcomes that might make them look impressive, but on the effort and strategies that will lead to learning and long-term achievement. 

Intelligence is more learnable than we think

Carol Dweck asserts that there is an increasing body of scientific evidence to indicate that intelligence is learnable. The question is how much of this is down to the brainpower we are born with and how much can be developed throughout our lives. The real key lies in coming to a greater understanding of how these two aspects interact.

Studies of identical twins provide contradictory results and only indicate that intelligence is a complex phenomenon, governed by hundreds or even thousands of genes, so genetic patterns of inheritance are not obvious.

In summary, experts vary in their views about the extent to what extent intelligence is learnable or genetic. The key questions are: how do the two interact and what are the implications for teachers and learners? 

Implications for learners

No matter how intelligent we are or consider ourselves to be, human beings tend to place too much emphasis on trying to live up or down to other people’s expectations. In effect, we let other people decide how clever, intelligent, talented or gifted we are. 

Motivation to learn is affected not only by how clever people think they are and how they got there but also what they understand intelligence to be. Motivation is a key driver to achieving success in both learning and life.

Those who succeed in any walk of life are often those people who put in effort, work hard and use the right techniques to overcome difficulties. They also persevere when challenged to understand and solve problems, especially when they are faced with problems that they cannot readily overcome. 

Adapted from David Perkins ‘Smart Schools’

Implications for schools and classrooms

'I don’t talk about able and less able any longer. These terms don’t mean a thing. OK, talk about more or less motivated, or more or less focused. We are all capable of being brilliant in some way.'  Secondary headteacher

'It is understood that learners’ ability is not fixed, but is alterable by the conditions of learning.'  Headline statement in School Learning and Teaching Policy 

Carol Dweck has called for a new view of intelligence in our schools, universities and business organisations – a view that is less exclusive, more democratic, and with far wider application to the real world. Helping other people to change their views of themselves and the world is not easy and does not happen overnight. This is where schools and individual teachers can, and do, make a big difference.  

Talking about mindsets

Teachers, parents and pupils should be encouraged to reflect together on their beliefs and assumptions about ability, motivation and potential, and how these beliefs affect the way young people learn. Specifically: 

• through involving everyone in open discussion about the aims and values of the school, and what ‘success’ means in the context of school

• by discussing and challenging our beliefs about ability at parents’ meetings, with pupils in class and in personal and social development time

• by teaching groups of pupils specific skills throughout the curriculum that build self-confidence in a much more systematic way

• by talking with individual youngsters about their mindsets.

Developing an ethos of achievement across the school

Schools should nurture and develop an ethos of achievement which ensures that all pupils are successful and that this success is valued. Specifically:

•  playing down the role of ability in producing success and failure

• placing more emphasis on assessment for learning which reduces the focus on comparing pupils and highlights comparisons between present and past levels of performance

• putting less emphasis on grades and levels and more on comments that help learners to understand why something is good and how it can be improved

• focusing on the type and amount of interaction encouraged between pupils and on the quality of the relationships between teachers and pupils

• encouraging teachers to give both written and verbal feedback on effort and strategy, rather than ability

• placing more recognition on effort and aptitude, rather than ability.

Think carefully before setting classes or overusing fixed ability groups:

• avoid setting too early and considering potential as well as attainment

• set for a limited number of subjects

• make sure that ability is not the only criterion used to make up groups

• ensure that there is movement between sets or ability groups.

Challenging teachers to examine their own beliefs and expectations

'I was useless at school, until I got this one teacher: she believed in me.'  Company director 

Nathaniel Brandon remarked that what good teachers have is a deep-seated belief in the potential of young people and the ability to share that conviction with them. 

Herbert Kohl, renowned for his book ‘Thirty Six Children’, an account of his first year as a teacher in the Bronx in New York, argues that providing hope to young people is the major challenge of teaching. 

'Never in my whole teaching career has it occurred to me that there are limits to what any student can do. I am hopelessly optimistic when it comes to believing in people’s capacity to grow and to learn. Such optimism has occasionally led to accusations of being naïve or romantic, but I am happy to accept any accusation of being positive and hopeful in the service of my students.' Herbert Kohl