1. ROBERT J. STERNBERG Presented by: Chelsea Sorrels

2. YOUNGER LIFE Born on December 8, 1949 in Newark, New Jersey Had anxiety as a small child which made him a bad test taker He believed that test taking did not accurately measure his academic abilities

3. YOUNGER LIFE After failing a test in a class with his peers, he later retook the same test in a class with younger children and passed His 4 th grade teacher, Mrs. Alexa, saw that he had potential and inspired him to do better With her encouragement, he became a high achieving student at Yale University

4. INTELLIGENCE TESTING Dr. Sternberg’s experience with intelligence testing at a young age lead him to create his own intelligence test In 7 th grade, he created a test called “Sternberg Test of Mental Ability” He gave the test to his fellow classmates along with the traditional Stanford-Binet intelligence scales he discovered in the library From this point on, Sternberg devoted his time to researching the processes of testing and learning

5. STERNBERG’S THOUGHTS One of Sternberg’s definitions of intelligence is: “Intelligent behavior involves adapting to your environment, changing your environment or selecting a better environment.”

6. TRIARCHIC THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE This theory explains that intelligence arises when there is a balance between: Analytical abilities: this type of intelligence allows a person to process information effectively and think abstractly. Most tests measure this type of intelligence Creative abilities: This type of intelligence allows a person to come up with new ideas. People high in this intelligence can find connections between concepts that seem different and distinct Practical abilities: This type of intelligence allows a person to find practical solutions to real problems - to tie everything together by allowing individuals to apply what they have learned in the appropriate setting. People with this type of intelligence are often considered “street smart”

7. TRIARCHIC THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE This early work is compared to that of Aristotle: that intelligence is comprised of theoretical, practical and productive intelligence Over the course of his career Sternberg seems to be intrigued by the ways different people actually use their intelligence — the interplay of the varied “metacomponents”

8. METACOMPONENT SUBTHEORIES Sternberg contends that what makes the difference in determining if one is smart depends on how people use and balance their mental aptitudes Early on, in describing these aptitudes Sternberg keyed in on our methods of mental self ‑ government, as well as how we balance and use them situationally Thus, in his view measuring intelligence not only entails assessing how much of a certain ability we each have, but also how we use and/or combine our abilities to solve problems or adapt to certain environments

9. METACOMPONENT SUBTHEORIES In contrast to others’ descriptions of intelligence, the governmental model leads to the assessment of how intelligence is used, directed, or exploited Two individuals of equal intelligence might use or combine metacomponents quite differently It then might be the recombination, use or directed application of the metacomponents that could make one seem more intelligent or more successful than the other in tackling certain tasks

10. METACOMPONENT SUBTHEORIES Componential intelligence ( later know as analytical intelligence) This is the traditional notion of intelligence and includes: Abstract thinking & logical reasoning Verbal & mathematical skills Experiential intelligence (later know as creative intelligence) This is creative thinking which uses: Divergent thinking (generating new ideas) Ability to deal with novel situations Contextual intelligence (later know as practical intelligence) This could be termed “street smarts” and embraces: Ability to apply knowledge to the real world Ability to shape one’s environment; choose an environment

12. NEXT LAYER: THE KALEIDOSCOPE PROJECT In addition to popularizing his theory of Successful Intelligence, he has also been fascinated with the concept of “wisdom” As a strong advocate for alternative views of intelligence, in 2010, Sternberg incorporated wisdom and his observations into it in a book on college admissions entitled College Admissions for the 21 st Century In this newer work he discusses on something called the Kaleidoscope Project which encourages updating college admission standards to go beyond traditional academic criteria and look at candidate’s adeptness at wisdom, creativity, and practicality Sternberg believes the addition of these filters is a much better predictor of college GPA amd success than conventional admission processes Sternberg discuss creativity and the Kaleidoscope Project in this great article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. this great article

13. SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE CLASSROOM? The following list is from Sternberg’s book “Why Do Intelligent People Fail?” As you will see from this array, many of these overlap into social and emotional intelligence or have to do with the failure to find balance between Sternberg’s components of his Successful Intelligence – analytical, creative, and practical components Students may be intelligent, but suffer from not balancing the three important components. On the next slide are a list of some examples of how students could be suffering

14. EXAMPLES Lack of Motivation Lack of Impulse Control Lack of perseverance and too much perseveration Using the wrong abilities Inability to translate thought into action Lack of product orientation Inability to complete tasks Failure to initiate Inability to see the forest through the trees Too little or too much self-confidence Fear of Failure Procrastination Misattribution of blame Excessive self-pity Excessive dependency Wallowing in personal difficulties Distractibility and lack of concentration Spreading oneself too thin or too thick Inability to delay gratification Lack of balance between critical/analytic thinking and creative/synthetic thinking

15. WHERE IS STERNBERG NOW? After a series of administrative positions, Robert Sternberg is currently at Cornell University in the college of Human Ecology Some of his awards and achievements include: Cattell Award from the American Psychological Society Sir Francis Galton Award Arthur W. Staats Award E. L. Thorndike Award In the APA Monitor on Psychology, Sternberg has been rated as one of the top 100 psychologists of the twentieth century He is past-president of the American Psychological Association and the Eastern Psychological Association, and currently is President of the Federation of Associations in the Behavioral and Brain Sciences

17. REFERENCES http://www2.moundsviewschools.org/moundsview/userfiles/coopetj/sternberg%20o verhead.pdfhttp://www2.moundsviewschools.org/moundsview/userfiles/coopetj/sternberg%20o verhead.pdf Sternberg, Robert (1988) The Triarchic Mind: A New Theory of Intelligence. NY: Viking Press http://thesecondprinciple.com/optimal-learning/sternbergs-views-intelligence/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triarchic_theory_of_intelligence