“Changing education systems is like moving a graveyard.”
Elsbeth Stern will give her farewell lecture on 27 March. Stern, who conducts research on the topics of learning and teaching, has helped shape the discussion around the transition to the baccalaureate school in Switzerland. We talked to her one more time about her insights.
Professor Stern, you’ve worked on intelligence research for decades. Are there any insights that particularly surprised you?
When I began studying psychology in the mid-1970s, there was clear evidence of a genetic basis for differences in intelligence, but almost no one wanted to admit it back then. Looking back, I was astonished at the predictive capacity of intelligence tests. For a long time, people believed in the threshold hypothesis, which states that, beyond a certain IQ value, it no longer makes a difference to how successful you are in a demanding field. Since then, there have been many results showing that it certainly does make a difference whether you belong to the top hundredth or thousandth of the intelligence distribution. I was also surprised at how high the general level of intelligence is. In day-to-day life, we think there are people who are gifted at languages or maths, whereas there actually seems to be a general intelligence that can be applied to different areas.
Has your view of intelligence changed?
Across the board, there is now greater awareness among intelligence researchers that many of the genetic variations underpinning differences in intelligence can only take effect under certain environmental conditions. Educational opportunities are a decisive factor in the development of intelligence, and the more we optimise these opportunities, the more strongly genetic differences come to the fore.
Are there any misunderstandings that irritate you?
Many. For example, the idea that “brain training” boosts your intelligence or that you’re gifted at either logic and maths or languages. From an early stage, this shapes a self-concept that doesn’t reflect the actual ability structure of a child. Many teachers also actually think their grades reflect the children’s intelligence and simply do not question the effectiveness of their teaching.
Particularly for girls, there’s the preconception that they tend to be better at languages than maths …
It’s precisely this misconception that means there are still fewer girls and women in STEM subjects. Without these fallacies, we could foster talent even more effectively.
About Elsbeth Stern
Elsbeth Stern studied psychology and worked at Max Planck Institutes and German universities before being appointed as Full Professor of Empirical Research on Learning and Instruction at ETH Zurich in autumn 2006. She was responsible for the pedagogic section of training prospective baccalaureate school teachers in STEM subjects. In her academic work, she focuses on the acquisition, change and use of knowledge. Stern has achieved recognition beyond the world of academia through interviews and media reports on current topics in education.
Nevertheless, not all children are suited to baccalaureate school (Gymnasium). Do you think too many children go to one?
Baccalaureate schools prepare children for studying at university. The pupils are supposed to deal with abstract content and complex problems, which requires a high level of intelligence. Unfortunately, there are children who come to baccalaureate school who, although they meet the minimum requirements due to intensive support, will face problems when they get to university, if not sooner – and this is also frustrating for lecturers. The fact that only 20 percent of pupils go to baccalaureate school, with the remainder receiving other excellent training opportunities, is one of Switzerland’s strengths. However, the question is whether the right 20 percent make it. Intelligent children from families of low socio-economic status are disadvantaged in favour of less intelligent children from higher social strata.
How could we change this?
Ideally, children should be provided with good and demanding learning opportunities that reveal whether they can use these opportunities effectively. They themselves would then recognise whether they have the prerequisites and willingness to familiarise themselves with abstract and complex fields. By the age of 15, differences in intelligence have largely stabilised and children have developed interests and a realistic sense of self-awareness. Much would be gained if we could wait until this age to begin the transition to baccalaureate school while also starting to offer demanding learning opportunities in primary school.
Do you have a positive or negative view of the Swiss school system?
There are many positive elements, but we should keep an eye on problematic developments. Even though I’ve benefited from it myself, I don’t think it’s a positive development that fewer and fewer Swiss people are taking up leadership positions in science and business. Although Switzerland can easily import highly skilled workers, this is one way of squandering a relatively large pool of talented individuals who would actually have academic potential and who aren’t given the opportunity purely because of their social background.
How do new technologies like AI and social media influence children’s development?
For me, the biggest problem is the loss of self-determination. If you sit and watch a film on your smartphone, new suggestions appear as soon as the film ends. If you read a book through to the end, you have to think for yourself about what to do next. Social media can make people passive and lose sight of their own objectives. Of course, it’s also possible to use digital media as an effective tool for learning. For example, teachers can delegate adaptive exercises to programmes of this kind and devote more time to supervision in order to provide individual feedback and explanations.
Is there anything you’d like to do more research on?
I would have liked to look at how school entry changes the way children think. From that point onwards, children are provided with cognitive tools, such as writing and numerical symbols, that they can use to develop abstract ideas. Another interesting question, in my view, is what people are actually capable of catching up on. Many think that learning depends on biological age, but there are also social requirements: our children learn to read and write at age six. With that in mind, it would be interesting to see how someone behaved if they didn’t start school until the age of 25.
If you could send a message to the next generation of teachers, what would it be?
Please create better learning opportunities. Not everyone is capable of learning everything, but we should make sure that everyone can fulfil their potential. Different pupils can learn different things from the same programme. You can also make do without a multi-track school system as long as the learning opportunities are good and teaching across different year groups is facilitated, for example. Regular but anonymous testing is important so that teachers can adapt their teaching to any deficits or misunderstandings they spot. The pupils then also focus on the content rather than thinking about how to get the best grade with the least effort.
Are you disappointed that this hasn’t changed yet?
No. Changing education systems is like moving a graveyard. We shouldn’t expect a revolution. Tightening one screw in a complex system makes everything even worse. What’s the point of setting high standards for teaching if we can’t find any suitable teachers? I think it’s in teaching itself that you can achieve the biggest impact, and I’m hopeful that teachers who have undergone training at ETH do a better job.
What is a good teacher, in your view?
One who knows how pupils learn and who sees their subject through pedagogic glasses. A good teacher can deal with differences in intelligence and is aware that their subject knowledge is not simply transplanted into the learners’ heads. Rather, the learners must be supported in expanding – and often radically restructuring – their existing knowledge.
Is there anything you’ll miss when you’re no longer at ETH?
At the moment, I’m enjoying focusing on scientific articles. However, ETH should think about how the potential of retired professors can be harnessed without them standing in the way of younger academics. I’ve currently got plenty to do, and I’m becoming a mixture of postdoc and academic grandmother. In many projects, there are still treasures that I’d like to dig up in collaboration with professors who emerged from my group.
Farewell lecture
On Thursday, 27 March at 5.15 p.m., Professor Elsbeth Stern will deliver her farewell lecture, titled Intelligence: how, when and where does it appear?, in the Audi Max. The event will be livestreamed at: external page http://bit.ly/audimax-stream.
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