Various studies discuss intelligence and its definition. It’s a topic covered by many authors, and we believe that on our blog we can bring together all points of view.
What is intelligence? How is it developed, strengthened, or motivated?
Intelligence is defined as the capacity to learn, understand, abstract information, and solve problems; similarly, it refers to the ability to create products within a socio-cultural context. Authors such as Adrián Owen, a British neuroscientist, Amanda Céspedes, a Chilean neuropsychiatrist, and Fernando Gómez-Pinilla, a neuroscientist from UCLA University, point out various important elements for the development of intelligence, among them plasticity.
Characteristics of intelligence
One of the most relevant characteristics of intelligence for any decision-making is plasticity, that is, our brain’s capacity to modify itself based on the various stimuli it receives from the environment. External stimulation is not directed towards certain aspects of intelligence, but rather influences its global development. Therefore, the fact that our brain is plastic, even more so in the early stages of life, is a tool that we can strengthen and develop in early childhood to be more intelligent in adulthood.
We know that the brain and intelligence are directly related and that the first years of life are crucial for rooting our development. According to Amanda Céspedes, up to five years of age, the cortex has 300 billion neurons to connect with each other; at seven years, there are 200 billion neurons, and from twelve years onwards, only 100 billion. This information is a treasure, a wonderful hope of being able to modify hundreds of things and make our boys and girls individuals with tools for life.
Intelligence in childhood
Educators have a fundamental role in this process. In early childhood and before schooling, the right hemisphere is worked with greater emphasis than the left, since it houses softer functions such as intuition, spirituality, creativity, melodic music, sensitivity, etc. The current school system mostly exercises the left hemisphere with harder functions such as intellectual logic, reasoning, memory, mathematical thinking, rhythmic music, writing, and language, neglecting the exercise of the right hemisphere’s functions.
As teachers of children in early childhood, we must suggest certain favorable aspects for the development and strengthening of intelligence. Some recommendations for this objective are described below.
How to strengthen intelligence in childhood?
Regarding sleep
It is advisable for the young child to get the corresponding hours of rest (8 to 12 hours) each night. Without light, comfortable, with an adequate temperature, and without factors that could alter their sleep.
Regarding nutrition
Food should be healthy, prioritizing those that contain omega and vitamins. Their schedules are important, as established routines must be respected, and the quantity should correspond to the activity they perform: during the morning, caloric intake should be higher than at night; fruits should be consumed in the morning or mid-afternoon; the consumption of white and red meats should be alternated, always prioritizing white meats over others; nuts should be consumed in small quantities daily; and for liquids, mostly drink water or natural fruit juices without added sugar, as well as infusions or herbs.
Regarding activity
Exercise, body movement, not only promotes a healthy life and body but also the opportunity to explore, learn, feel, and enjoy different environmental scenarios. Currently, there is also talk of BRAIN GYM or brain gymnastics to awaken our neurons and, in this way, unite the hemispheres, leading to higher levels of development of mental abilities.
Regarding external stimulation
This is, for me, a crucial point. Personally, as an early childhood educator, I emphasize the fundamental role of parents. They have (we have, since I am also a mother) a large part of the responsibility in this task. From class, I invite all educators to regularly reiterate to parents the following points that will help their children develop in a healthier way and strengthen intelligence:
- Verbally express love to that child.
- Give constant affection through caresses.
- Accompany them in their games and participate in them.
- Listen to music, especially instrumental.
- Take them to natural spaces where they can awaken their senses and cherish good and meaningful memories with the family.
- Always provide emotional support.
- Read, read, read. Yes, no more excuses. Reading invites the development of multiple functions: attachment, language, values, entertainment, imagination… among so many other things.
- Accompany them in their academic duties, guide them, suggest, instruct as much as possible in a pleasant environment, without actions that cause frustration or disinterest in subjects.
- Dialogue, constantly and persistently with the intention of exploring their feelings and accompanying them in their emotions; being a guide, role model, and responsible mediator of their development.
- Invite them to develop a workshop where they can be responsible, disciplined, and persevering in a skill they enjoy. Furthermore, this will be a tool that allows them to socialize and regulate themselves with others.
- Invite them to participate in something spiritual; for some, it will be church, for others, contact with nature, but a place where they can reflect and think on a scale appropriate for their age, about their transcendence.
- Enjoy art, painting, sculpture, music; bring them closer to this world through visits to museums, exhibitions so they can experience sensations and thus be motivated to create.
These and other suggestions help ground children from the demanding pace, from the globality of the technologized world that has stolen the simplest but most important stages of our little ones’ lives. Recovering them depends, solely and exclusively, on our daily interaction with them.
We must remember that we are made of invaluable richness: we are beings capable of experiencing diverse situations and emotions. Howard Gardner already spoke of multiple intelligences:
- Spatial-visual
- Linguistic
- Logical-mathematical
- Interpersonal – intrapersonal
- Naturalistic
- Musical
- Bodily-kinesthetic
- Existential
We should not only develop a single type of intelligence, given that the market directs us to foster only a few, but rather we must be capable as educators of discovering and fostering those that are more distant and that provide each person with greater happiness and inner peace in the long term.
There is postgraduate training that helps educators maximize the development of their students, such as the Master’s in Educational Coaching, the Master’s in Psychopedagogical Intervention in Educational Contexts or the Master’s in Neuroeducation among others.
For reference:
Adrián Owen: 12 Pillars of Intelligence.
Amanda Céspedes: Brain, intelligence and emotion. Fundación Mirame, 2007