I am arguing that we should regard memory, analytic ability, creativity, and practicality as at least equally important in our teaching and assessment of children. We can teach at any grade level and in any subject-matter area in a way that values and enables students to use all four of these kinds of abilities. By teaching all students in all four ways, each student finds at least some aspects of the instruction and assessment to be comfortable and compatible with his or her preferred way of learning and other aspects of the instruction to be challenging and perhaps somewhat uncomfortable. Teaching in all four ways to all students not only renders the teacher's job easier, but also more manageable. No teacher could individualize instruction and assessment to the ability pattern of each student in a large class.
Any teacher can teach in a way that meets the needs of all students.
I am arguing that we should regard memory, analytic ability, creativity, and practicality as at least equally important in our teaching and assessment of children. We did a study at Yale University to address that very question. My collaborators were Michel Ferrari, Pamela Clinkenbeard, and Elena Grigorenko. High school students all across the United States as well as some from abroad were asked to nominate students for a Special Summer Program in introductory psychology to be taught at Yale. All nominated students who were potentially interested in attending took a test, administered in their school, which was designed to measure analytical, creative, and practical abilities.