Making Kids Cleverer

What's Making Kids Cleverer about?

• Focus on Intelligence: The book explores how intelligence can be enhanced in children through education. David Didau argues that teaching powerful knowledge can increase intelligence and prepare children for future challenges.
• Closing the Advantage Gap: It addresses the disparity in educational outcomes between advantaged and disadvantaged children, suggesting that improving knowledge can help close this gap.
• Evidence-Based Approach: Grounded in cognitive science and educational research, the book provides a framework for understanding how children learn and how to teach them effectively.

Why should I read Making Kids Cleverer?

• Insightful Perspectives: The book offers a fresh perspective on education, challenging common beliefs about intelligence and learning. It encourages readers to rethink their approach to teaching and parenting.
• Practical Strategies: Didau provides actionable strategies for educators and parents to help children become more knowledgeable and cleverer.
• Timely Relevance: In an era of educational inequality, this book presents a timely manifesto for improving educational practices.

What are the key takeaways of Making Kids Cleverer?

• Knowledge is Power: Didau emphasizes that knowledge is the foundation of intelligence, enabling critical thinking and problem-solving.
• Role of Teachers: Teachers play a crucial role in designing effective learning experiences, significantly impacting children's learning outcomes.
• Intelligence is Malleable: Intelligence is not fixed and can be improved through education and experience, particularly by focusing on crystallized intelligence.

How does Making Kids Cleverer define crystallized intelligence?

• Definition: Crystallized intelligence is the ability to access and utilize information stored in long-term memory, including knowledge gained through experience and education.
• Importance: Increasing crystallized intelligence is key to making children cleverer, achieved by teaching them rich, culturally significant knowledge.
• Contrast with Fluid Intelligence: Unlike fluid intelligence, which involves reasoning without prior knowledge, crystallized intelligence can be developed and expanded over time.

How does Making Kids Cleverer suggest we can increase children's intelligence?

• Knowledge-Rich Curriculum: Didau advocates for a curriculum that prioritizes essential knowledge, helping children build a strong foundation for further learning.
• Explicit Instruction: The book emphasizes the effectiveness of explicit teaching methods over discovery learning, leading to better retention and understanding.
• Encouraging Recall: Strategies like retrieval practice and spaced repetition are recommended to help children remember what they learn, enhancing their crystallized intelligence.

What myths about intelligence does David Didau address in Making Kids Cleverer?

• Fixed vs. Growth Mindset: Didau challenges the notion that intelligence is fixed, emphasizing the importance of fostering a growth mindset in children.
• Multiple Intelligences Theory: The book critiques Howard Gardner's theory, asserting that intelligence is more general and interconnected than the theory suggests.
• Cultural Bias in IQ Tests: Didau discusses the controversy around IQ tests and their perceived cultural bias, arguing they measure certain cognitive abilities but do not define a person's worth or potential.

What role do teachers play in making kids cleverer, according to Making Kids Cleverer?

• Educational Designers: Teachers are described as educational designers who create effective learning environments, crucial for enhancing student learning.
• Setting High Expectations: Maintaining high expectations for all students can motivate them to strive for success and improve their academic performance.
• Influencing Peer Culture: Teachers can shape classroom culture, encouraging a positive environment where hard work and intelligence are valued.

How does Making Kids Cleverer address the advantage gap in education?

• Identifying Disparities: Didau highlights the achievement gap between disadvantaged and advantaged students, often exacerbated by unequal access to quality education.
• Strategies for Equity: The book proposes strategies to help all children succeed, focusing on knowledge acquisition to provide equitable learning opportunities.
• Long-Term Impact: Improving educational practices can have a lasting impact on children's lives, helping them achieve happiness and success in adulthood.

What is "powerful knowledge" as defined in Making Kids Cleverer?

• Systematic Development: Powerful knowledge is systematically developed by experts, providing reliable explanations and frameworks for understanding the world.
• Culturally Rich: It is culturally significant, allowing students to engage in discussions about important societal issues and think critically.
• Entitlement to Knowledge: Didau argues that all children should have access to powerful knowledge, essential for their development as informed citizens.

How does Didau suggest we improve children's memory in Making Kids Cleverer?

• Retrieval Practice: Emphasizes actively recalling information rather than passively reviewing it, strengthening memory retention and identifying knowledge gaps.
• Spaced Learning: Advocates revisiting information at intervals, allowing for forgetting and relearning, which solidifies knowledge in long-term memory.
• Interleaving Practice: Suggests interleaving different content types during practice sessions to prevent familiarity and encourage deeper understanding.

What are some practical strategies for teachers outlined in Making Kids Cleverer?

• Use of Worked Examples: Recommends using worked examples to help students understand complex concepts, reducing cognitive load and facilitating schema acquisition.
• Regular Low-Stakes Quizzes: Suggests incorporating quizzes to reinforce learning and assess understanding, activating prior knowledge and encouraging retrieval practice.
• Encourage Metacognition: Emphasizes teaching students to be metacognitive, reflecting on their learning processes to identify areas for improvement.

What are the best quotes from Making Kids Cleverer and what do they mean?

• “Knowledge is opportunity”: This quote encapsulates the book's thesis that knowledge equips children to navigate life's complexities, underscoring the importance of a strong educational foundation.
• “Intelligence is a social good”: Didau argues that increasing intelligence benefits society as a whole, highlighting the broader implications of educational equity and access.
• “We can all get cleverer”: Reinforces the idea that intelligence is not fixed, encouraging belief in growth and improvement through education and effort.