3 Reasons Why Strong Cognitive Skills Are Important in School

Strong cognitive skills can help students learn as the education system continues to evolve.

Cognitive skills make up the way our brain thinks, learns, and processes new information. No two brains are alike, and we are all gifted with different sets of brain skills.

When a person experiences brain training, they may also notice how their strengthened skills help them in many areas of their life. For students, these skills go beyond academic material and, in some ways, help students thrive in school.

Whether you are a student, parent, teacher, or professional, here are three reasons why it is important to have strong cognitive skills in school.

1. Cognitive skills can help you adapt.

If this last year and a half have taught us anything, it is that we live in an ever-changing world. Our schools shifted to remote learning in droves, and students had more screen time than they ever had before. If a student's mind had solid cognitive skills, they might have handled the adjustment effortlessly. Sharp cognitive skills give students the brainpower to process and learn information online or in the classroom.

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2. Cognitive skills do not rely on learning styles.

A common belief for learners is that they have a unique learning style. If a student has a teacher who is teaching differently than a student's preferred learning style, then a student may struggle. While this is true in some ways, it could also be cognitive skills to blame. For example, a math teacher tests students with mental math questions and has asked a student to add 53 and 9. If a student has poor working memory or visualization skills, they may struggle to remember to carry the 1 over the 5 in 53 or visualize the numbers and how they add together. If a teacher sees this student struggle, he may assume that he is a 'visual learner' and allow the student to write the problem down to solve it. If the student's cognitive skills were strong, they might easily remember to carry the 1 and visualize the numbers in their head.

3. Cognitive skills can help you learn anything.

In the same way, cognitive skills help you adapt and are not reliant on learning styles; strong mental skills can help students learn anything. Need to memorize vocab words? Use visual processing to make a list with clues to help remember each word. Learning a new complex topic? Processing skills can help students understand the subject and think of questions to ask for further clarification.

The list of benefits for strong cognitive skills in school goes on and on.

While these bullet points mainly focus on the benefits of strong cognitive skills for students, strong mental skills can benefit anyone in every area of life. What if you could be more productive? What if you could understand complex topics? Brain training unlocks your potential in ways traditional methods cannot. Engaging you or your student in a brain training program can help provide lifelong benefits that can carry anyone through school, work, life, and beyond.?