Cognitive education focuses on developing students’ cognitive abilities holistically, including social, emotional, and imaginative aspects. It emphasizes “learning to learn” and uses techniques like mind mapping and insight creation to help students maximize their learning experiences. The approach relies heavily on Dr. Reuven Feuerstein’s “Instrumental Enrichment Program” and Mediated Learning Experience.
Cognitive education is a teaching method that focuses on stimulating and developing students’ cognitive abilities, which, in turn, will improve their learning ability. This method looks at cognitive abilities holistically and includes social, emotional, and imaginative aspects, rather than just looking at intelligence. The “schools of thought” that apply this educational method rely heavily on Dr. Reuven Feuerstein’s “Instrumental Enrichment Program”, developed from his theory of structural cognitive modifiability.
One of the fundamental principles underlying cognitive education is “learning to learn”. A student’s ability to learn is not only based on their DNA and hereditary traits, but also depends on their environment. Unlike conventional teaching methods that quantify a student’s intelligence based on test scores, this new teaching method looks beyond scores and asks why scores are high or low. In this way, cognitive education can develop learning techniques that can help students maximize their learning experiences.
For a child to “learn how to learn,” Dr. Feuerstein proposed a method called Mediated Learning Experience. Simply put, another person, usually in the form of a mentor, acts as a “mediator,” from whom a student will learn many skills to enhance his or her learning. Having been equipped, students can now learn directly from their environments, but still maintain a strong relationship with their mentors.
One technique that cognitive education can teach students is mind mapping. This technique can train a student to explore certain topics in limitless ways by asking, “What do you think about when you hear the word…?” The student can then draw a map or network using any pictures and words that she can associate with the word. This will help him remember what the lesson is about as he creates new ideas for himself. Mind maps are useful not only for students but also for any group of people in brainstorming sessions.
The cognitive education approach also teaches ‘insight creation’. This is especially useful in subjects that require heavy memorization. Rather than just presenting, for example, a list of words that a student should understand and write correctly, cognitive educators can teach students to break down words, associate them with real-life examples, and find patterns to help them remember spelling correct . These techniques will not only help a student memorize words, but will also teach them how to use them long after the lesson is over. With these strategies, cognitive education answers the question “how to learn”, instead of the traditional “what to learn”. Approaching the learning process in this way can help a student be better equipped for the world outside the classroom walls.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
