London: It is possible to teach people problem-solving skills which are widely known as "intelligence," a new study suggests. "Our research indicates that it should be possible to understand the complex psychological processes that enable people to solve problems, a construct that is more popularly understood as 'intelligence'," said Romain Martin, Professor of Psychology and Empirical Educational Research at the University of Luxembourg.
"With this knowledge we could design programmes to train people to be adaptable throughout their lives," said Samuel Greiff, Professor of Educational Assessment at the University of Luxembourg.
At the basis of general problem solving is the ability to use strategies acquired in one area in a wide range of other tasks. Facts are widely available thanks to technology, but it requires particular skill to covert this diverse, plentiful information into useful knowledge.
It remains important to maintain traditional educational goals of teaching facts and different problem solving strategies, but new cross-curricular skills, indicating mental processes that are relevant in a number of situations and across several domains, are also needed, researchers said.
Researchers see strong evidence that this cross-curricular ability can be learned and is not simply a naturally acquired trait.
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