The Intelligence-Friendly Classroom: It Just Makes Sense.

Ms. Fogarty provides guidelines that serve as a bridge between theory and practice in the intelligence-friendly classroom. If we know that intelligence is emotional, then it just makes sense to use visceral hooks. If we know that intelligence is nurturable, then it just makes sense to create rich environments. If we know that intelligence is constructed, then it just makes sense to provide tools for the mind If we know that intelligence is experiential, then it just makes sense to challenge through doing. If we know that intelligence is multiple, then it just makes sense to target many dimensions. If we know that intelligence is modifiable, then it just makes sense to mediate learning. If we know that intelligence is elusive, then it just makes sense to vary the ways we measure it. If we know all these things and believe what we know to be true, then the "intelligence-friendly classroom" should be a given. It is as simple and logical as an "if . then" syllogism. Defining Intelligence-Friendly Classrooms Let's look more closely at the term "intelligence-friendly classroom" and see just what it means. An intelligence-friendly classroom is a classroom in which the teaching/learning process is governed by what is known about developing the intellectual potential of human beings. Literally, intelligence-friendly means "friendly to intelligence," which can be translated into friendly to the growth patterns of human intellect and friendly to the learner in fostering intelligent behavior for problem solving, decision making, and creative thinking. Figuratively, the intelligence-friendly classroom serves as a caring companion and mindful guide to the intellect of each and every child in it. Just as a friend in the real world furnishes certain kinds of support that are reliable, time-tested, and tried and true, so intelligence-friendly classrooms provide similar systems of support that foster the ongoing development of human intelligence potential. In brief, intelligence-friendly classrooms are classrooms that celebrate the joy of the learner's emotional and intellectual word, not through rhetoric and repetition, but through richness and relationships. In this article, I'll take a closer look at these intelligence-friendly classrooms and investigate their theoretical underpinnings briefly and their practical implications in more depth. Theoretical Underpinnings Guidelines for the intelligence-friendly classroom are grounded in the works of the leading voices in the field. First, I offer a cursory examination of the various theories of intelligence and then suggest what each of them implies for the intelligence-friendly classroom. * Traditional theory of general intelligence. Intelligence is inherited and unchanging. * Piaget's theory of developmental psychology. Intelligence is developmentally constructed in the mind by the learner and moves from concrete to abstract stages of understanding. * Vygotsky's theory of social mediation. Intelligence is a function of activity mediated through material tools, psychological tools, and other human beings. * Feuerstein's theory of structural cognitive modifiability. Intelligence is a function of experience and can be changed through guided mediation. * Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. Intelligence is made up of eight realms of knowing (verbal, visual, mathematical, musical, bodily, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic) for solving problems and creating products valued in a culture. * Sternberg's successful intelligence. Intelligence is triarchic, with analytic, creative, and practical components that need to be balanced. * Perkins' theory of learnable intelligence. Intelligence is made up of neural, experiential, and reflective components that help us know our way around the good use of our minds. * Costa's theory of intelligence behaviors. …