Activity: What is Intelligence?

AIM

To get students to think more subjectively about what knowledge is, and how we might benefit certain people and disadvantage others with ‘scientific’ tests such as IQ tests or schooling.

PROCEDURE

This is a taught session of approx. 45mins-1hour, which can either be run as part of normal teaching or as a special event. Students complete intelligence tests based on different expectations of cultural knowledge, and discuss the role ofcultural knowlege in our understanding of the term ‘intelligence’. At University of Southampton it was run by the Intercultural Connections Southampton (ICS) project, and was designed and conducted by students and delivered to a mixture of home and international students outside of teaching hours.

Students complete two IQ tests from very different cultures, and start to think about what we might mean by ‘intelligence’, and its link with cultural knowledge.

FOLLOW UP

Once students are abroad, they could start to think reflexively about the tasks and assessment they are required to complete in foreign universities.

Downloadable Documents

---