Can we make our kids smarter?
© 2008-2013 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved
Intelligence-boosting products are big business: Books, toys, DVDs, software, games, and educational programs designed to make your child into an intellectual prodigy. Many of these products come with claims--explicit or implicit--that their usefulness is supported by scientific evidence. Are they really?
Sometimes. For instance, scientific studies suggest that playing with blocks may help kids develop a variety of cognitive skills academic programs that teach critical thinking skills enhance IQ some board games boost preschool math skills some video games enhance spatial skills and working memory But many “brainy” products are ineffective. As I note in this blog post, a controlled experiment has failed to show that infants learn to read from media-based instructional programs (Neuman et al 2014). And the evidence suggests that very young children don't learn to talk by watching TV. Instead, babies learn language by listening to and interacting with live human beings (Kuhl 2005).
Then there are misconceptions and folk beliefs, like the idea that praising kids for their intelligence will raise self-esteem and improve their academic performance. An impressive series of experiments suggests that the opposite is true. Praising kids for being smart tends to make them act dumb.
Even more interesting--at least to me--is the discovery that our beliefs about intelligence can hamper the learning process. People who are convinced that intelligence is a fixed, unchanging trait are less likely to learn from their mistakes and less likely to succeed in school.
Moreover, experiments suggest that your child's awareness of social stereotypes about intelligence and achievement (e.g., "girls have stronger language skills," or "Asian kids are math prodigies") can undermine his academic performance.
So here I present my guide to the “good bets”—evidence-based information about the ways that parents can nurture their children’s intelligence. I will be adding more articles over time.
Exercise and intelligence
It’s both intriguing and unexpected: Aerobic exercise stimulates brain growth and enhances our ability to learn. Studies also suggest that exercise helps kids focus attention in school. But there’s a catch: To reap full benefits, exercise must be voluntary. Click here for the whole story.
Play
Free play promotes better learning, memory, and growth of the cerebral cortex. It also enhances the development of language, spatial intelligence, counterfactual reasoning, and mathematical skills. For more information, see this article about the cognitive benefits of play.
Working memory: The new IQ?
New research indicates that working memory capacity--that mental notepad that we use to think thoughts and solve problems--is a better predictor of school achievement than IQ. Read more about working memory and the evidence that you can improve it with training.
Gestures
There's also good evidence that gesturing with your hands improves your ability to remember and learn. Cognitive psychologist Susan Goldin-Meadow and her colleagues have conducted a series of experiments showing that kids are more likely to remember words, events, and even math lessons when they gesture with their hands.
For the details, see this article on the science of gestures.
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