[Child Development, An Active Learning Approach]

JOYCE MUNSCH: What makes a person intelligent?Is it the things they can do?Is it how much they know?Is it how they manage their life?If you're uncertain what the answer to this question is,you're in good company, because even professionals in the fieldhave struggled to reach an agreement on what intelligence

JOYCE MUNSCH [continued]: actually is.Despite this uncertainty, however, wehave found ways to try to measure it.You're familiar with paper and pencil test of intelligence.But we have newer ways that we try to make this measurement.One is the potential of an individual to learn.

JOYCE MUNSCH [continued]: We look at how they benefit from receiving help with a questionthat they couldn't answer on their own.Another way is to look at the ability of an individualto respond to situations that require that they use real lifeskills, such as the skills that you would use in the workplace.

JOYCE MUNSCH [continued]: For infants, we've usually measured thingslike physical, motor, or sensory development.But today, we have ways to measureinfant attention and their attraction to novelty.And these measures are actually better predictorsof future intelligence than the measures we used to use.

JOYCE MUNSCH [continued]: Why are we so interested in measuring intelligence?Well, it's because it predicts how well a child islikely to do in school.