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Can We Teach Intelligence?(Book)Ann NevinPublished online: 08 Jun 2010.

To cite this article: Ann Nevin (1993) Can We Teach Intelligence? (Book), Journalof Educational and Psychological Consultation, 4:3, 281-283, DOI: 10.1207/s1532768xjepc0403_7

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s1532768xjepc0403_7

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JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSULTATION, 4(3), 281-283 Copyright 0 1993, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

BOOK AND MEDIA REVIEWS

Can We Teach Intelligence? A Comprehensive Evaluation of Feuerstein's Instrumental Enrichment Program, by Nigel Blagg. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 1991, 214 pp., $54.00 (hardcover).

Review by Ann Nevin Arizona State University West

Nigel Blagg, an educational psychologist for Somerset (England) County council, set out to evaluate rigorously the impact of the Feuerstein (1980) model for diagnosing and improving the cognitive performance of children. Blagg reports that Feuerstein, like many educational psychol- ogists, became "disillusioned with the use of standardized intelligence tests for planning educational programs or predicting likely success rates . . . [and] . . . began to select and adapt conventional testing materials so they lent themselves to a dynamic rather than static assessment procedure" (p. 15). Feuerstein believes that his program can provide learners with the basic prerequisites of thinking, enabling them to become more effective.

Chapter 1 reviews the literature on teaching cognitive skills; chapter 2 summarizes Feuerstein's model; chapter 3 provides an overview of the evaluation design; chapter 4 describes the experimental and control groups; chapter 5 describes the selection, training, and assessment of the teachers in the study; chapter 6 summarizes the results; and chapter 7 considers the wider theoretical and practical implications of the project.

NOTE: Larry Maheady of the State University of New York at Fredonia is the column editor for BOOK AND MEDIA REVIEWS.

Requests for reprints should be sent to Ann Nevin, Education Unit, Arizona State University West, P.O. Box 37100, Phoenix, AZ 85069-7100.

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282 BOOK AND MEDIA REVIEWS

Blagg's longitudinal evaluation of the "government-based initiative designed to explore ways and means of improving the educational opportunities for 14- to 16-year-old, low-achieving adolescents" (p. 33) in four schools is derived from the Stufflebeam (1971) context- input-process-product (CIPP) comprehensive evaluation model. Blagg describes the schools (all four of which are located in a small, industrial town in southwest England with an urban and rural mix), pupil characteristics of the Feuerstein instrumental enrichment (FIE) and control groups, teaching materials, assessment instru- ments (including standardized tests of abilities and achievement, as well as attitudinal and behavioral measures), selection and training of FIE teachers, and assessment of teachers (using standardized measures and semistructured interviews). The FIE process itself was assessed via teacher diaries and direct observation of class- rooms.

As summarized by Sternberg who wrote the foreword to the book, the results were disappointing in terms of improving student reading or math, work-study, or thinking skills. The results, however, were encouraging in terms of increasing student participatio~n in class discussion. Students became better able to handle two or more sources of information simultaneously, to describe different strategies for solving problems, and to make spontaneous links between ideas and principles in different curriculum areas. Teacher outcomes seem more positive in that, although teachers reported that the materials were too abstract, they became more assertive, confident, and committed to teaching.

So here we have a study conducted by an educational psychologist in another nation on an intervention model developed by a psychologist in yet another nation that yields disappointing results; the intervention received low marks from the teachers, did not impact student achievement. Yet it had encouraging results in terms of related, perhaps more important, student behaviors. Why should American educational and psychological consultants read this book? In my opinion, the benefit of his book for our readers lies in its mission. All of us care deeply about documenting the effectiveness of our consultation programs. The application of Stufflebeam's (1971) CIPP gives us a replicable, adaptable model of evaluating the impact of school consultation programs. The idea remains a compelling one - can we teach intelligence? Indeed, can we afford not to try? Are we not about the business of improving the abilities of al l school personnel? Blagg provides a model for all educational consultants who aspire to be accountable for their interventions.

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REFERENCES

Feuerstein, R. (1980). Instrumental enrichment: An intervention program for wgnitive modifi- ability. Baltimore: University Park Press.

Stufflebeam, D. (1971). Educational evaluation and decision making. Itasca, IL: Peacock.

Please submit manuscripts and address inquiries regarding potential topics to Larry Maheady, PhD, Department of Education, State University of New York at Fredonia, Fredonia, NY 14063.

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