Intelligence

Intelligence 

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What is Intelligence? Many people think of intelligence as being defined by how well one does in school, or even by one's IQ test. The Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is able to determine the mental age, or the performance that represents the average age abilities for that age group, of a child. While the test is able to measure one's ability of abstract thinking, problem solvin g, and his or her capacity to acquire knowledge, it is not able to measure one's ability to be creative, one's motivation towards achievement, one's goal-oriented behavior, or one's ability to adapt to new or different situations. The true definition of intelligence involves all of these abilities.

There are two views of intelligence that are especially important to understand. One of these views is attributed to Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. Gardner states that there are at least eight separate intelligences. These intelligences are: naturalist (understanding nature vs. man-man made systems), interpersonal (understanding others), logical/mathematical, spatial/visual (judging distance, etc.), Intrapersonal (understanding one self), bodily-kinesthetic (movement), musical, and linguistic (verbal). This can also be described by the graphic to the right. To sum up the intelligences, this graphic is labeled with Gardner's names (such as naturalist) and also with words describing what kind of "smart" it is.

 To further describe intelligence, we can summarize the above by understanding Robert Sternberg's triarchic theory of successful intelligence. This theory includes analytic, creative, and practical intelligence. Analytic intelligence is what some might call "school smart," or intelligence in certain subjects in school, or any general subject area (this includes facts and knowledge about a certain topic - general or specific). Creative intelligence is the ability to draw on existing skills and k nowledge to create something new or unique. Finally, practical intelligence is the ability to adapt to new situations.

Views of Intelligence at Heritage Heights ﻿﻿﻿Heritage Heights believes in the success of all students. Knowing our students as individuals is important to us. We believe that IQ scores are only a number and that each student has areas of excellence unrelated to their IQ score. At Heritage Heights, we believe that each student has an area of excellence. Our goal is to help our students see the talents they have and to be proud of them. The Teachers at Heritage Heights encourage students to recognize their academic strengths. We acknowledge that not all students excel in all subject areas, but they all have at least one area of excellence or talent. We aspire to help our students recognize their areas of excellence and the areas in which they may struggle. A view of Heritage Heights is that students should know that their intelligence can change. There is no such thing as fixed intelligence. Everyone has the potential to succeed and we strive to show our students that they have the capability to do so.

More Information  ﻿  ﻿Listen to the story below to see how a group of seventh-graders' beliefs about intelligence changed after they learned that their intelligence could improve and grow. [] <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">To learn more about the multiple intelligence theory, view this link. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">[] <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">To learn more about the triarchic theory of successful intelligence, view this video.

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