Cognitive skills refer to the mental skills that kids need to read, write, think, analyze, understand, remember, and solve problems properly. They are the cornerstones of thought that lead to successful thinking.
Today on TeachHUB.com, we look at cognitive skills and why they are important within our classrooms. Janelle Cox, a seasoned grade school educator (and a prolific writer), today fills us in on the cognitive skills essential to our kids’ learning.
Janelle looks at:
- Concentration
- Processing Speed
- Logic
- Visual Processing
- And More!
Here’s how Janelle looks at the memory cognitive skill: “If information cannot be retained long enough to remember it, then learning will suffer. Students have both a working memory and a long-term memory. Their working memory allows them to retain information for short periods of time, while their long-term memory allows them to store and recall information later. Watch out for a student’s inability to remember short, simple, one-step instructions, or to remember things from over a period of time. Learning will suffer if this occurs, so it’s important to provide students with plenty of activities that can help both their working memory as well as their long-term memory.”
Janelle’s article today can serve as both an introduction to cognitive skills as well as a reminder for those veteran teachers who may need it.
Janelle sums up her article thusly: “These are just a few of the brain-based skills that our students need in order to carry out a task. Fortunately for the students who struggle with these skills, they can boost their cognitive functions with a little repetitive practice and brain challenging games.”
What cognitive skills do you think are essential? Share with us in the comment section, we would love to hear your input.
