Although original IQ researchers, such as Alfred Binet, believed that intelligence was a fixed entity within each individual, others more recently have shown otherwise. James Flynn has shown that it is environment that shapes IQ more than Robert Sternberg has shown that "being smart" (or not) depends a great deal on both the context and the way you measure it. Amazingly, culture, language, and background circumstances can put anyone at a disadvantage. How intelligent would Street broker be in the rainforests of Tasmania? How long might that broker survive? How long would an Aborigine from the arid Australian outback survive in an urban environment like Hong Kong? Some of what we call intelligence is so dependent on culture and context that it's hard to say we are intelligent. It makes more sense to say we can show intelligence in certain circumstances. This is a critical mind-set for you, as a savvy teacher, to have. Why? With this mind-set, you are less likely to mislabel or pigeonhole a student.
The optimal lQ mind-set is that we all have the capacity to do smart things. And since teacher expectations can influence student performance, this is a positive and powerful mind-set