Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence introduction a. Processing components b. Contextual components c. Experiential components: Adapting to unique experiences Improving intelligence

introduction Robert Sternberg believes that the ability to function effectively in the real world is an important indicator of intelligence He views intelligence as consisting of three cognitive parts: a. Processing components (skills used in problem solving) b. Contextual components (links between intelligence and the environment) c. Experiential components (mechanisms for modifying intelligence through experience). Figure p. 121

Sternberg's triarchic model of intelligence Performance component Adapting to the environment Knowledge Acquisition component Processing components Meta- component Contextual components Changing the environment Intelligence Selecting out of The environment Experimental components Relate new Experiences To old Create New patterns

Processing components They consist of a metacomponent, a language acquisition component, and a performance component. They are the most basic parts of his model that learners use to think about and solve problems. Sternberg describes these component as analogous to manager, trainee, and laborer in a company. The three components work together to produce a final product.

Processing components For example student writing a term paper: 1. Deciding on a topic, planning the paper, and monitoring progress as its written = metacomponent (manager) 2. gathering facts and combines them into related ideas = knowledge acquisition component (trainee) 3. doing the actual writing = performance component (laborer)

Contextual components These explain how intelligent behavior involves adaptation. In reaching goals, intelligent people adapt to, change, or select out of the environment when necessary. A student trying to succeed in a college course may do the following; 1. adjusts her study strategies in response to a professor's testing procedures (adapts) 2. she can't clearly hear his presentations, so she moves to the front of the class (changes the environment) 3. despite these efforts she isn't succeeding, so she drops the class (selects out of the environment) contextual components help us apply our intelligence to the solution of everyday, real-word problem.

Experiential components: Adapting to unique experiences Sternberg thinks that intelligent behavior includes: a. the ability to effectively deal with novel experiences; and b. the ability to solve familiar problems efficiently and automatically An intelligent person relates new experiences to old and quickly identifies relationships.

Experiential components: Adapting to unique experiences Example A beginning reader encounters the word she. Teacher says, "shheee." Then the reader encounters the word show. Teacher says, "this word sounds like 'shho.'" Next the student sees the word ship. He tries pronouncing it himself: "ship." He now has a rule to decode future words. When s and h are together, they go "shh." According to Sternberg, an intelligent child readily recognizes patterns and soon can use rules automatically. This ability increases with age.

Improving intelligence Sternberg believes that practice in relating new to existing ideas improves intelligence. Sternberg emphasizes three different kinds of thinking that improve intelligence through allowing students to process information in different ways: a. analytic- involves comparing, contrasting, critiquing, judging, and evaluating. b. creative- includes investigating, discovering, imagining, and supposing c. practical- includes implementing, applying, using, and seeking relevance in ideas.