According to Piaget’s theory of development, there are four stages of child development that include: sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational. Concrete operational is the third stage of a personal development that is between the age of 7 and 11. During this period a child cognitive growth an individual start to think more logically about ideas, concepts, and orders of activities ( Sternberg, 2013) . The child starts to make sense of instructions and directions, understand actions and consequences and develop the ability to empathize with others. During this age, I was able to tell my mum that I had homework and if I did not finish I would be punished the following day in school.
At the age of 11 years, a person gets into formal operational stage until into adulthood. During this period of development and the individual begins to think about abstract concepts. Skills such as systematic planning, deductive reasoning, and logical thoughts emerge at this stage ( Sternberg, 2013) . For example, at this stage I learned how to do some basic things for myself such as cloth ironing, folding my own clothes. At this stage they a person can solve mathematical equations that are complicated.
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According to Dr. Gardner, the traditional notion of intelligence of I.Q testing is far too limited. He developed the multiple intelligences theory that proposes eight different types of human intelligences to account for a broader range of human potential both in children and adults. The 8 types of intelligence include musical, linguistic, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalistic intelligence(s) ( Sternberg, 2013) . The problem with the theory is that it lacks imperial evidence and testing. I would contribute to this theory but trying to develop tests that measure the different bits of intelligence.
According to Sternberg’s Triarcharic theory (2013) of intelligence describes three distinctive bits of intelligence that a person can possess. The three include creative, analytical and practical intelligence(s). According to Sternberg, there are no tests developed for tri-archaric ability and therefore acknowledges that it is an ongoing theory. I would add to this theory by suggesting possible tests that would be used to test the theory.
Research has shown that both genetic and environmental factors are determinants of intelligence quotient. Environmental factors that influence intelligence may include womb conditions, national culture, modern media, nurture and parenting, school and the community culture ( Horn, 2017) . Modern media such as the television, radio, newspapers, internet or online media such as YouTube, Facebook, et cetera and printed materials such as books, newspaper magazines et cetera, contribute to intelligence. Access to these materials improves influence the process of IQ of a person. Another environmental factor that influences intelligence development parenting. When a child is growing, the first few years the kid spend the time with the parents. If the parents are good teachers they train the kid to talk, communicate play and other things while the parents are not concerned the kids are left to learn on their own which may cause the problem of the slow learning process.
Hereditary factors determine the intelligence of a person. Mental capacities and mental disorders may be two genetic factors that influence intelligence. Hereditary factors are not easy to notice but researchers have embraced on understanding how intelligence may be influenced by genetic factors. The best research so far is that of testing the IQ of identical twins and comparing the findings with that of fraternal twins ( Horn, 2017) . A person can inherit smart genes from the parents and those people tend to have a higher IQ. In other families, children might inherit genes that are associated with mental illness that affect intelligence such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism , bipolar disorder , major depression or schizophrenia. Children with these disorders have a difficult time understanding things.
Environmental factors have the most influence on the intelligence of a person. When a child is born, the environment helps in the process of development and learning. If the immediate environment of a person is supportive that individual gets to learn quickly and they are smart. In 2012 a study conducted in Washington in St. Louis University found out that children with loving and nurturing mothers significantly contribute to the kid’s intelligence. In addition, research conducted in 2014 from the University of Toronto showed that musician’s brains were more active than non-musicians brain and that in the cognitive test they performed better (Dana, 2016).
In society, there are different types of people who show different levels of intelligence. These people may include gifted, traditional, and special needs kids. Gifted kids show a high level of intelligence and active brains in early life. Gifted children possess unusual alertness and are rapid learners. Gifted kids have excellent memory in that they remember even small details. Gifted kids enjoy solving a problem such as numbers and puzzles and also have a large pool of vocabulary. Special need children are slow in the process of development and learning. They take time to learn simple concepts and thus they need a person who understands them.
Teachers can have a class with children who have mixed abilities. the pros of such a class include that the kids with special needs get to feel normal, gifted and normal kids get to realize not everyone is like them and kids with nontraditional strengths can help everyone betters. The disadvantages of a mixed class are that slow kids take too much time of the teacher slowing others down, slow children may feel stupid and quick learners may feel forced to stay back.
References
Dana, D. 2016. Genes Vs. Environment: What Influences Your Intelligence Most? Medical daily. Retrieved from https://www.medicaldaily.com/genes-vs-environment-what-influences-your-intelligence-most-400640
Horn, J. (2017). Heredity and environment in 300 adoptive families: The Texas Adoption Project . Routledge.
Sternberg, R. J. (2013). Intelligence . John Wiley & Sons Inc.
