New Article Series Aims to Bolster Student Wellbeing by Strengthening Cognitive Skills
Brainware Learning Company
In this post-COVID world, the lack of student wellbeing is reported to be one of the top obstacles in their academic performance, and the problem is growing.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, “The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many challenges to students, educators, and parents. Children already coping with mental health conditions have been especially vulnerable to the changes, and now we are learning about the broad impacts on students as a result of schools being closed, physically distancing guidelines and isolation, and other unexpected changes to their lives.”
Obviously, the reality of social distancing, remote learning and isolation have lasted much longer than “a few more weeks.” Even though the rate of COVID-19 infection has been lower and the cases less serious as of late, the societal consequences have been severe.
So, what do schools, administrators, teachers and parents need to understand about the relationship between learning and mental health? Helping students get access to mental health treatment and support is clearly a first step. But one often under-appreciated aspect of health outcomes in general and mental health in particular, is the role of cognitive skills.
“While educators and parents can’t wave a magic wand and make the pandemic and other sources of stress and anxiety disappear,” said Betsy Hill, “there is much they can do to relieve the pressure and help children develop the resilience they need to deal with the difficulties they face and continue to acquire the skills and knowledge they will need to be prepared for whatever comes next. What they can do is help students to develop their cognitive skills to make learning easier and less stressful. Research has shown that cognitive training can improve the academic performance of students, yielding increased confidence, pride in authorship and improved relationships at school and at home.”
Improving cognitive functioning is possible, whether it is related to chronic disease, short-term stress or other causes. While strengthening cognitive skills may not, by itself, cure a mental illness, developing stronger skills typically reduces stress for children and adults because it gives them more confidence in their ability to learn, to solve problems and to successfully engage in new learning situations.
“As educators and parents, we oversimplify in large part because we usually don’t have the tools to look under the hood at the learning successes and struggles each student has,” said Roger Stark. “When we do, we see that learning struggles are less often attributable to curriculum or instruction and more often to the specific cognitive strengths and weaknesses of each student. Once we understand each student’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses, the next task is to remediate them, to build and strengthen both weaker cognitive processes and those that are already strong. Comprehensive, integrated cognitive training does exactly that. It involves the systematic and integrated exercise and development of the processes our brains use to take in, interpret, organize, store, retrieve and apply information. With the right kind of cognitive training, cognitive skills can be improved to a far greater degree than most people realize, educators included.”
The article series is scheduled to begin in late April, 2022.
About BrainWare Learning Company
BrainWare Learning Company’s innovative Cognitive Literacy Solutions helps clients address their brain fitness needs and improve their cognitive capacity, through the practical application of neuroscience to learning and teaching. They focus on foundational cognitive skills, executive functions, and the keys to literacy, that enhance performance in school, the workplace and life.
Roger Stark
BrainWare Learning Company
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