Running head: INTELLIGENCE CRITIQUE Intelligence Critique Lucy Carnes Psy 357 Leron Peterkin, M. A. Grand Canyon University College of Liberal Arts May 19, 2010 Intelligence Critique Which theory do you believe is the best for determining intelligence? I think moral intelligence would be equivalent to these two intelligences because in order to make moral decisions, one has to understand other’s points of views as well as knowledge and motivation to do the right thing.
However, unlike the two current intelligences, moral intelligence would need to include the ability to distinguish between right and wrong and the courage to make moral decisions. (Guignon, 2010) Looking at the list of Gardner’s intelligences, we see visual-spatial, kinesthetic, musical, logical-mathematical, linguistic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. (Guignon, 2010) Intrapersonal – understanding one’s own interests, emotions and goals, they have knowledge, intuition and inspiration, and tend to want to work alone.
In addition to being in tune with their inner feelings, they have strong will, confidence and opinions. (Guignon, 2010) Interpersonal – perceiving and understanding other people’s moods, desires and motivations. They are experts at interacting with others. They have many friends, empathy for others, street smarts. I think moral intelligence would be equivalent to these two intelligences because in order to make moral decisions, one has to understand other’s points of views as well as knowledge and motivation to do the right thing. However, unlike the two urrent intelligences, moral intelligence would need to include the ability to distinguish between right and wrong and the courage to make moral decisions. (Guignon, 2010) I think teachers should include the teaching of moral development for a few reasons. One, it helps students apply their knowledge to “real world” situations. Secondly, it helps develop moral character in a society that seems to have now degraded morals. Teaching strategies for moral development could include situations being present to the student relating to the material that there learning. Cambridge Assessment Network, 2008) What are the pros and cons of using each theory to define intelligence? In a language test, for instance, it could be predicted, for example, two formal tests of listening comprehension would rank learners in the same way, but each would have a weaker correlation with scores on a test of grammatical competence. The researcher who created the “Math Skills” test noted in his manual that scores on this test, when it was taken in High School, correlated . 6 to . 8 with university Math grades.
The way this is done, is by taking the Math Test scores from a previous grade and matching them with later Math test scores, if the tests’ scores have any correlation. In the numbers given here, it shows that the high school Math skills are moderately significant from . 6 to . 8 (Wechsler, 2004) Why is assessing a child’s intelligence important (or not! )? When parents are able to “let go” of their minor children the children will probably get a greater sense of confidence. They will feel terrific about themselves whether or not their parents around them.
When letting children learn for themselves, parents should be extremely patient, and they want to give their children time to try a new task. If they do not succeed, parents should provide their children a lot of incentive to try it again. They can recommend a pointer to them, but they should not do it for them. (Santrock, 2008) Teaching responsibilities to children is valuable because it is a skill that they will need for life. A good way to teach children responsibility is for parents to teach them little by little daily. They should start early.
When parents teach their children responsibility they should do it when children are alert and responsive. They can do this by teaching them chores. Each child should do different chores weekly, and they may be rewarded when they are all done, with an allowance or a luxury. Parents should be determined when teaching children responsibility. They should not criticize or bug. (Cambridge Assessment Network, 2008) Teaching values to children is crucial because it enables them to recognize the difference between “right” and wrong” and helps them to understand what is extremely useful in life: not material possessions but love, hope and compassion.
Parents can teach their children values by telling them your life stories and teaching a lesson or moral through them, following their values since children learn primarily by copying, and guiding children toward their faith and beliefs. They should also ask them questions that allow talk about values and engage in dialogue about values. (Cambridge Assessment Network, 2008) Parents should not lecture their children about values. Values should be discussed in happy times and unhappy times. Parents can also include their children in helping others through donations or charity work.
They should give high expectations about values for their children. For example, when children have to make a decision they should be asked to consider how it fits into their value system. (Guignon, 2010) Incorporating an effective self-concept is vital for parents to make; it will bring their children greater confidence to achieve anything throughout their lives. Parents can include a certain self-concept in their children by modeling positive self-talk for them often and responding consistently to negative self-talk with positive comments. For example, if a child gets rustrated and wants to give up when learning how to do something a parent can teach them a certain mantra such as, I can do it. (Santrock, 2008) A reassuring feel should be set up to influence a child’s thoughts in a positive way. It may be with signs labeled with positive messages such as “You can do it! ” Also, children should be surrounded with positive images and words that are relevant to the child’s common knowledge. Parents can brainstorm ways to use certain words in dialogue with their child. Positive thoughts and affirmations should be discussed with the child in ways that are relevant to them. Guignon, 2010) References Cambridge Assessment Network (2008). Learning mod 570 . Retrieved from http://www. assessnet. org. uk/e-learning/mod/glossary/view. php? id=&hook=ALL&soryky=&sortorder=&fullsearch=0&page=9: Guignon, A. (2010). A Theory for Everyone. Education World. Retrieved from http://www. education-world. com/acurr/curr054.. shtml Santrock, J. W. (2008). Life-Span Development (11th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill . Wechsler, D. (2004). Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. Wechsler Scale. Retrieved May 19th, 2010. Retrieved from http://www. wilderdom. com/personality/intellgenceWAISWISC. html