Cognitive Skills In A Nutshell

Cognitive skills are essentially the tools needed for proper and efficient learning in your brain. They consist of mental capabilities that are needed to learn academic subjects. And when they function properly, it is more easy to read, think, prioritize, understand, plan and problem solve.

People often get confused between cognitive skills and academic skills. All of the mathematics, English, science and other subjects taught in the classroom are academic skills. The basis for cognitive learning is solely within the mental capabilities. When these skills are weak, academic learning can becomes an increasing struggle.

One question that is often pondered on is whether or not cognitive skills can improve. The good news is that it is possible for them to improve. Thanks to brain plasticity, you can train your brain and cognitive abilities and create a lasting change. There is room for improvement as these skills can be strengthened and enhanced no matter how old the person may be. Even younger people can benefit from training their cognitive skills.

A key point to keep in mind is that it is not necessarily how much you know, but how effectively one processes the information that is received. You will often times find students in the classroom simply cramming information into their head before a test. But a few weeks later they cannot remember what they just learned.

Cognitive skills are the processors of the incoming information and external stimulis. They are the skills used to attend to and retain the information as well as process, analyze and store facts and feelings. On top of this, they can create mental pictures, and help you read words and understand various concepts.

No matter what type of information it may be, it must usually be processed with a variety of these skills first. Cognitive processing can be broken down tremendously according to how active and higher up it is. It is the active processing and higher thinking of these skills that will in part determine how successful one’s learning becomes.

If your attention or concentration is weak, there is the chance you never fully heard the request. If your short-term memory is weak, you may have forgotten the question in the first place. If you tend to process things slower, something that may have been too complex to process will need you to have it repeated many times over.

If logic and reasoning is weak, coming up with a solution can become a problem. With poor auditory processing, depicting various sounds is often problematic. The same goes for weak long-term memory and poor visual processing as it all impacts how you learn and how you retain new information.

The point of the matter is cognitive skills greatly impact what you learn and how well it is learned. Just always keep in mind these skills can be developed, enhanced and strengthened over time. These skills have also a great impact in your overall life as the way you process information and use it is linked in many ways to your daily living experience.