Why is Cognitive Development important? Cognitive development provides children with the means of paying attention to thinking about the world around them. Everyday experiences can impact a child’s cognitive development.

Assimilation is the process of using or transforming the environment so that it can be placed in preexisting cognitive structures. Accomodation is the process of changing cognitive structures in order to accept something from the environment. Both processes are used simultaneously and alternately throughout life.

Jerome Bruner, a cognitive psychologist, created a theory of development based upon the idea that the goal of education should be intellectual development. Bruner believed development does not consist of discrete stages but is a continuous process. He also believed language is a cause and not a consequence of learning.

It allows us to integrate all of the information that we’ve received and to establish relationships between events and knowledge. To do this, it uses reasoning, synthesis, and problem solving (executive functions).

There are 5 primary cognitive skills: reading, learning, remembering, logical reasoning, and paying attention. Each of these can be utilized in a way that helps us become better at learning new skills and developing ourselves.

Underlying cognitive skills include perception, attention, memory and logical thinking. Cognitive exercises can strengthen these weaknesses leading to increased performance in reading, spelling, writing, math and learning.

These cognitive processes include thinking, knowing, remembering, judging, and problem-solving. 1 These are higher-level functions of the brain and encompass language, imagination, perception, and planning.

Play ideas to support cognitive development in toddlers

• Help your toddler put together basic puzzles.
• Provide lots of fun bath toys so your child can enjoy measuring, scooping and pouring.
• Read books and recite nursery rhymes together.
• Sing simple songs that involve actions or animal sounds.

How can Teachers Teach Cognitive Skills?

1. Strong Foundation. A healthy brain naturally seeks to operate as efficiently as possible.
2. Repetition. With repetition, a cognitive skill can eventually become a stored routine.
3. New Activities.
4. Progressive Drills.
5. Feedback.

Piaget’s Stages of Play According to Piaget, children engage in types of play that reflect their level of cognitive development: functional play, constructive play, symbolic/fantasy play, and games with rules (Johnson, Christie & Wardle 2005).

Activities which can be described as cognitive strategies include making mind maps, visualisation, association, mnemonics, using clues in reading comprehension, underlining key words, scanning and self-testing and monitoring.

Cognitive Processes Involved in Learning: Overview They include attention, rehearsal in working memory, retrieval from long-term memory, and metacognitive monitoring.