Intelligence: The Vain Attempt

I rest my case in trying to scrutinize the depth, the width and the height of an unfathomable entity such as intelligence.

Here is a representation of the relationship between Intelligence, Learning Environment, Learning Styles and Theories in a nutshell.

Module 2 Learning Theories in a Nutshell by BToledo (c) 2015

1. According to (Loechelt, 2002)there are three Main Categories of Learning Styles: Cognitive, Personality and Experiential and several theories are classified under each category.
2. There is a constant interaction between a Teacher and a Student. That interaction happens within the Learning Environment.
3. The zone in which the Teacher’s Teaching meets the Student’s Learning is believe to be a product of an effective application of the Learning Styles.
4. With all these, we must remember that this whole process and product is made possible because of Intelligence.
5. A person is the embodiment on intelligence. Intelligence is the sum of genetic inheritance, experiences, strengths, tendencies and context unique to an individual. This sum is better than its parts for you cannot separate a facet of intelligence because apart from all others, it just won’t make sense. Intelligence does not necessarily need to be in balance but rather constantly dynamic as it moves in a continuum as we go about our lives. Intelligence can never be fully grasped and boxed because doing so, we will lose its greatness and wonder; moreover, precision is contradictory to its nature.
6. This reality about intelligence makes Gardner’s Mutiple Intelligences Theory set apart because it was all encompassing. Despite that being classified under Cognitive Category, it can still be considered interdisciplinary for it does not attribute intelligence to something measurable but rather that which is pliable throughout one’s lifetime and it didn’t attempt in vain to limit an individual’s inexhaustible potential with singular intelligence.

 

Bibliography

International Learning Styles. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.ilsa-learning-styles.com/Learning+Styles/What+is+Learning+Style.html

Loechelt, C. (2002, December). Retrieved from http://web.cortland.edu/andersmd/learning/Table%20of%20Contents.htm

 

Nature VS Nurture AND Choice

Nurture vs Nature by BToledo (c) 2015

The image above shows that Intelligence is composed of Nature and Nurture. Up to 40 per cent of a child’s intelligence is passed down from the parents (Gayle, 2013).

Nurture plays a crucial role in a child’s overall progress and development including intelligence.

1. Socioeconomic Status: Children from poor families are at disadvantaged in any way: Diet, Nutrition, Supplements, Quality of Education, Living Conditions, Hygiene and Parental Guidance among others. No matter how brilliant are the genes passed on to the child from the parents, yet the factors stated above have no hint of any brilliance at all, thus a child’s intelligence will not be sharpened. Poor nourishment brought by poverty does not only lead to poor physical health needed for optimum development of the brain, but also the impoverished lifestyle leads to poor concentration. That’s why there is a different approach on teaching Indigenous People Groups than the usual classroom approach because they have a different context. Also, the reason the Mother Tongue-based Multilingual Education in the K-12 Program has been passed to law because lawmakers saw the relevance of a curriculum that matches the social context of the children to better educational outcomes.
2. Motivation and Hardwork: These are the ultimate key agreed by several studies in order to develop intelligence. Intelligence is NOT fixed, it improves or fluctuates. Hambrick and Meinz (2011) said that it is hard work that separates the great from the merely good and NOT intellectual ability.
3. Educational Experiences: These are linked with socioeconomic status and motivation and hard work. Good Socioeconomic status means better educational opportunities. With motivation and hard work, an individual will be able to seize all possible experiences possible to enhance themselves. Quality Education help improve a child’s mental abilities.
4. Family Dynamics: If the parents’ make it a habit to guide their children in learning, it will help boost their intelligence. Also, role modelling can be practiced at home, the model reflective on learning at home will influence a child’s learning and intelligence as well.
5. Occupation: It is a fact that the type of job you possess helps improve your intelligence with practice. People who worked in complex environments performed better over timethan those who had jobs that didn’t require as much thinking (Groth, 2011).
6. Culture: The culture in the part of the world you are at significantly influences your intelligence because it is what you see and experience on a daily basis. If you are born in poverty in which your friends do not intend to improve themselves or are not motivated to study, it will affect you. Persistence in the face of failure is very much part of the Asian tradition of self-improvement; inhabitants of Japan and Korea strongly believe that intelligence and intellectual accomplishment are highly malleable (Kimball & Smith, 2013).

How genes are expressed depends on the social context according to Kirp (2006); that is to say, your environment can affect whether you reach your genetic potential. Grow up in a well-off home with supportive parents, and you’ll probably max out. Grow up in an impoverished household, and your genes will be stymied. (as cited by Wolfson, 2013)

I know someone who, in his childhood, his older brother seemed to excel better than him in academics, his older brother was regarded to have higher IQ than him. However, during college, he was able to complete his four-year course on time, while his older brother struggled for six years in order to complete his two-year course. Moreover, after graduation, he landed on stable and good-paying jobs in which he worked for at least one year in each company while his brother frequently switched jobs and stayed for only a maximum of 5 months in one job; his brother was usually a contractual or a temporary employee. And currently, his brother has been jobless for eight months while he is holding a high-paying job in a multinational company.

This situation further confirms that genetic inheritance is not the sole determinant of intelligence and success, but rather Nature and Nurture have a meaningful interface; and even with almost the same Nurture environment is not a guarantee.

I am not an academic achiever from elementary to college, however I regard myself to have at least an above average IQ. I hate the idea of measuring up a person according to academic awards because I personally experienced and witnessed the bias in academic institutions- not everything you have worked hard for is credited to you. I may not have numerous academic awards but I will proudly say I am a smart person in real life. I know what matters most, more than the “intelligent image” is that I have a life, I am able to live my dreams and become an inspiration to others and to the world.

Whatever I have accomplished in my life is a complete mix of Nature, Nurture and more importantly, Choice. Advancing one’s intelligence is really a matter of choice– choice to exert effort, to be inspired, to work hard and to exceed your previous best in all aspects of life. Nature and Nurture could only influence, but in the end, the biggest percentage in your own ability is the choice that you make that enables you to break your own limits. 

References:

Gayle, D. (2013, March 15). Mail Online. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2293861/Thank-parents-youre-smart-Up-40-childs-intelligence-inherited-researchers-claim.html

Hambrick, D. Z., & Meinz, E. J. (2011, November 19). The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/opinion/sunday/sorry-strivers-talent-matters.html?_r=4

Kimball, M., & Smith, N. (2013, October 27). Quartz. Retrieved from http://qz.com/139453/theres-one-key-difference-between-kids-who-excel-at-math-and-those-who-dont/

Wolfson, E. (2013, September 13). Motherboard. Retrieved from Motherboard: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/intelligence-and-genetics-do-some-people-inherit-an-edge

 

Learning Forgotten: Is it Learning?

You have learned. There was change. Now you are confronted again by a situation that requires what you have previously learned, however you forgot.

Is forgotten learning, a learning at all?

In order to understand this forgotten phenomenon, I created a diagram on Learning AND Memory:

Learning AND Memory by BToledo (c) 2015

1. Learning needs stimuli to take place as explained in Learning VS Maturation. Now that we understand better what learning is vis a vis Maturation, we will explore further its relationship with Memory.
2. There are two types of learning: Implicit and Explicit (with brief descriptions beside each Red Circles). The best implicit learning example I can think of is the Last Song Syndrome, even if you only heard the song for the first time, the lyrics and tune got stuck in your head and you sing it. You didn’t need a tedious effort to learn the song, you just did in an Unconscious manner. The best explicit learning I could provide is when you need to recall specific dates or facts- like in History classes, explicit learning takes place when you are asked; “When was the Death March to Bataan?”
3. Now, when we learn something, we STORE it to our memory. Short-Term Memory first then to our Long-Term Memory. Short-term memory is a limited memory storage we utilize in keeping information for immediate use before we either transfer it to our long-term memory or dismiss.
4. Our memory also serves as our RETRIEVAL System. Since Short-Term Memory is for immediate use, we are able to retrieve it faster than in Long-Term Memory. Memory is essential to all learning, because it allow for storage and retrieval of information. But learning also depends on memory, since the knowledge stored in your memory provides the framework to which you link new knowledge, by association. (Bruner, n.d.)
5. Therefore, when we learned something and have forgotten it after sometime, it is not a matter of learning. It is a matter of retrieving it from our memory. 
6. So when you have forgotten a specific learning, you are not able to access it and use toward the needed change at the moment but it doesn’t mean that you didn’t learn at all. Learning marks an increase in knowledge, skills, or understanding, thanks to recorded memories. Human memory is fundamentally associative thus, the more meaningful the association, the more effectively it will help remember. (Bruner, n.d.)

I have learned about statistics during my sophomore days in the undergraduate study and passed the subject after removal exams (so I conclude that I must have learned right?). However, in Graduate Study, I needed to use my Statistics knowledge (after 5 years!) which apparently I can’t remember now. So I read and reread books and tutorials again to effectively design tools for my Thesis and to accurately interpret.

So, have I truly learned?

More Notes:

Implicit learning is the process through which we become sensitive to certain regularities in the environment (1) in the absence of intention to learn about those regularities (2) in the absence of awareness that one is learning, and (3) in such a way that the resulting knowledge is difficult to express. (Cleeremans, n.d.)

Reber (1967) first suggested that learning might be “implicit” to the extent that people appear to be able to learn new information without intending to do so and in such a way that the resulting knowledge is difficult to express (as cited by Cleeremans,n.d.). Implicit learning contrasts with implicit memory in that it typically involves sensitivity to relationships between events rather than sensitivity to single events, and with subliminal perception in that it typically involves supra-liminal stimuli.

References:

Bruner, E. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://biology.mit.edu/sites/default/files/COGNITIVE%20NEUROSCIENCE.pdf

Cleeremans, A. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://srsc.ulb.ac.be/axcwww/papers/pdf/03-ECS.pdf

 

Maturation VS Learning: Can Negative be a Positive Sign?

A member of Barangay Skinner, Ms. Caunca asked; If the result of maturation is negative, can it still be considered learning?

I replied that Maturation itself is NOT learning. Therefore, be it negative or positive, I think it doesn’t matter as much as learning is concerned.

I want to expound this answer in a rephrased question:

Can negative change be a positive sign of Learning?

Let me set the line between Maturation and Learning first before we proceed with the Attributes.

The diagram shows that:

1. Maturation is ONLY a matter of time. There’s NO OTHER stimuli that brings about Maturation.
2. Maturation is the biological, emotional, cognitive, spiritual and psychological growth and development inherited and takes place with the life stages (Human) such as Infancy to Adulthood or life cycle (Animals) such as Caterpillar to Butterfly.
3. Maturation results to changes that are NOT learned.
4. Maturation generates reflex: the ability to react or behave appropriately in a given situation. Ex. Nobody teaches a baby to cry nor a hatchling to fly, it happens with time.
5. Maturation AFFECTS learning. If a level of maturity has not been achieved, no matter how experience, practice, environment and knowledge influence learning, the expected change or outcome cannot be accomplished. 
6. You can’t expect an infant to count even if you teach him/her day and night.
7. Learning needs stimuli to take place. Unlike Maturation that only requires time, learning needs a trigger to occur.
8. Learning does NOT affect maturation.
9. Maturation and Learning can either be a POSITIVE or NEGATIVE Change. Cancer is a negative Maturation the same way that acquiring knowledge to cut classes is negative learning.

Negative learning is the phenomenon of new information leading to a decrease or sustained divergence of current belief from the true outcome while Progressive learning is an increase in the correspondence between the true outcome and the uncertainty characterization over time (Oppenheimer, O’Neil, & Webster, 2008).

Although the definition above is in connection to climate change, I think it is also applicable in education. People regard an unfortunate situation as a chance to figure out what NOT to do (Kohn, 2009).

Therefore, YES.

A negative change is a positive sign of either Maturation or Learning or BOTH.

People can’t just will themselves into being proficient progressive teachers; still, construing a bad classroom as an opportunity for negative learning may jump-start the process (Kohn 2009).

So as teachers, we MAY also have a contribution to bring about any negative learning to our students. Thus, it is important to continuously improve ourselves and our own views of learning in order to deliver a progressive approach in our classrooms as much and as often as possible.

References:

Kohn, A. (2009). The Value of Negative Learning. Retrieved from http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/value-negative-learning/?print=pdf

Korb, K. (2010, May 4). Maturation and Development. Jos, Nigeria. Retrieved September 18, 2015, from http://www.korbedpsych.com/LinkedFiles/102_01MaturationandReadiness.pdf

Oppenheimer, M., O’Neil, B. C., & Webster, M. (2008, May 6). Negative Learning. Princeton, New Jersey, USA. doi:10.1007/s10584-008-9405-1

 

Learning Overload: The Preventive Spheres

Based on Atherton’s What is Learning diagram, I have come up with this illustration of the Three Spheres in Learning:

1. Teaching Sphere (Red Circle)
2. Learning Sphere (Green Zone)
3. Teaching-Learning Sphere (Yellow Zone)

The Three Spheres in Learning Illustration by BToledo

Each student has their own Learning Capacity (Blue Circle), it is then DIVIDED in two:

• One of which is in the Teaching-Learning Sphere
• The other is the Learning Sphere ALONE

The Student’s Learning Sphere that coincides with the Teaching Sphere (Yellow Zone) is where the teaching and learning meet, thus, the Teaching-Learning Sphere.

The Student’s Learning Sphere that does not coincide within the Teaching Sphere (Green Zone) is what the students learn OUTSIDE the teaching sphere such as experiences, interaction with others etc.

Not all that a teacher imparts is absorbed by EACH student.
There are just portions of what has been taught that is being captured within each student’s learning sphere.

Conclusion:

• As represented in the diagram, a Teacher’s effort is never in vain despite the fact that NOT everything that has been taught are learned by ONE Student.
• In a class composed of several students, the teacher has the opportunity to fill each student’s learning capacity; in which portions of everything he/she has taught is captured by one or two, in one way or another.
• There is a limit to an individual’s learning capacity to absorb what is Taught, this will allow room for them to learn ON THEIR OWN, OUTSIDE the Teaching-Learning Sphere

 

How Deep is Deeper Learning?

I approach learning depending on the task at hand and I agree with what Roberts has presented that deeper learning won’t be achieved without the surface. The first thing that came to mind in differentiating surface and deep learning was this:

How Deep is Deep Learning Illustration

LEARNING: DEEPER VS SURFACE

Factors	Deeper Learning	Surface Learning
1.       Focus	Significance	Signs
2.       Old Knowledge	Related to New Knowledge	Unrelated to New Knowledge
3.       Information	Weaved with other factors	Memorized
4.       Theories	Integrated to daily live	No Integration
5.       Evidence	Distinguished from arguments	No distinction
6.       Content Structure	Coherent	Isolated
7.       Emphasis	Internal	External

In surface learning, we tend to look for signs, pattern or evidence that we have learned. As illustrated, in deeper learning however, despite not seeing a fruit or an actual tree, learning is there.

This supports the fact that surface learning is the start of deeper learning, teachers plant learning from the surface and slowly cultivate it to grow deeper roots and begin to yield new knowledge from the existing.

I previously learned that the roots of a tree spread as wide as its canopy.

With that in mind, the sight of this tree is already amazing for me; how much more when we relate it to learning.

Roots are predominantly located in the top 6 to 24 inches of the soil and occasionally can grow deeper 3 to 7 feet if soil conditions allow (Jacobi & Sillick , 2014).

So learning could grow as deep as that, that no matter what happens, 

even if the tree has beencut and leaves only a stump,

learning can never be taken away from that person.

Deeper learning stays!

Reference:

Atherton J S (2013) Learning and Teaching; Deep and Surface learning [On-line: UK] retrieved 15 September 2015 from http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/deepsurf.htm

Jacobi, W. & Sillick, J. (2014). Retrieved September 16 , 2015, from http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/02926.html

 

Learning Models: Enlightening

Learning Models	Remarks	Conclusion
APPROACHES
1.       Surface Learning	Memorization	·  These are not labels to describe a person. ·  One approach may be preferred over the other at different times.
2.       Deeper Learning	With Understanding
LEARNING PREFERENCES
1.       Visual	One or two of these receiving styles is normally dominant. This dominant style defines the best way for a person to learn new information by filtering what is to be learned.	This VKA Learning model is being challenged. “We can learn to be good at things which we were initially not good at.”-G. Roberts I think, a balance of all the three preferences integrated in teaching is most effective.
2.       Kinaesthetic
3.       Auditory
LEARNING DIRECTION
1.       Inductive	Specific to general; Theory Building	People learn in difference sequences. Both are valuable in the learning process; however the teacher would need to decide which is more suitable based on the learning goals, allotted time and the students’ aptitude.
2.       Deductive	General to Specific; Testing Hypothesis

 

Learning: Endurance over Time

We could never oversimplify a concept as complex as learning.

I think Schunk’s Definition is adequate.

Learning is an enduring change in behavior; or in the capacity to behave in a given fashion, which results from practice or other forms of experience. Schunk, 2012

Given the three basic criteria of learning:

1. Change
2. Consequence of Experience
3. Endurance over time

We are all so familiar with the first two, that’s why what struck me the most was the last one. When talking about endurance, I could not think of a better picture than the hardest known natural material on earth and which development occurs over periods from 1 billion to 3.3 billion years:

Photo by: R. Tanaka Diamonds are formed at high temperature and pressure at depths of 140 to 190 kilometers (87 to 118 mi) in the Earth’s mantle.

I love the picture it painted on my wit on learning.

We need to endure over a time to develop priceless lessons and cultivate ourselves to become diamonds which our students would need to sharpen them and effectively scratch them when needed (Remember: Only a fellow diamond could cut into another diamond).

But for the mean time, we are still diamonds in the rough thus we are tirelessly learning.

 

Fresh from the Refinery

The first term in an Online University was like an eye of the needle during the first month for me

But that eye of the needle miraculously allowed a Camel-size like me to pass through, I was UNBOXED and was brought in the state of nothingness again in terms of my education.

Now this term I believe is more exciting for the new challenges it has in store for me and for happy learners alike.

Happy Learning!