Sharp cognitive skills are necessary for academic success and often distinguish students who struggle from those who effortlessly excel. Unfortunately, schools today invest more resources in improving test scores than enhancing students’ cognitive abilities.
As parents and educators, we are charged with helping schoolchildren develop the cognitive skills to enable them to be their best selves in their academic endeavors and future lives as adults. Luckily, there are ample science-backed options for activities and lifestyle changes that can help students maximize their cognitive skills.
Improving and enhancing cognitive skills doesn’t have to involve meticulous problem-solving exercises and sedentary activities. In fact, one of the main benefits of the activities we’ve listed is that they are fun. With something for any age and any setting, the fun activities and additions to your classroom or home curriculum can help make learning more engaging and beneficial.
Age-appropriate puzzles can help students develop a number of cognitive skills, including spatial awareness, problem-solving skills, and hand-eye coordination. Jigsaw puzzles, which were originally invented as a teaching tool for geography in the 18th century, are a fantastic way to improve cognitive function in people of all ages, even as young as four years old.
Improving academic achievements by letting school children roam nature instead of sitting in the classroom may seem counter-intuitive and potentially risky. However, it appears to be a risk worth taking.
Outdoor play and exploration offer a dynamic and diverse learning and social engagement environment that stimulates cognitive development in school-aged children. Multiple experiments and studies have proven the benefits of outdoor play to cognitive development, as well as academic achievement, and social skill enhancement.
Physical activity and fitness contribute greatly to developing various cognitive skills in people of all ages. In school-age children, this has been observed in multiple studies across various types of physical activity and sports.
Swimming especially was shown to speed up cognitive development in children, with one study showing that children who learn to swim between 6 and 15 months are ahead of the general population. The study, conducted by Griffith University, showed that swimming lessons promoted early milestone achievement in problem-solving, counting, language comprehension, and following instructions.
Research shows that movement in water can significantly improve language skills and memory. In one experiment, children aged 6 to 12 demonstrated better memory retention after swimming (an aerobic activity) compared to coloring (a resting activity) or performing CrossFit-style exercises (an anaerobic activity).
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle that promotes cognitive development isn’t just about adding physical activities to a student’s routine. Food choices, as well as sleep hygiene (schedule and quality), impact children’s cognitive skill development as well.
In a recent study, researchers found that students with healthier eating habits showed greater cognitive development than children in the general population. Specifically, the study found that lower red meat consumption and higher low-fat dairy product intake were linked to better reasoning skills in students.
(Source: University of Eastern Finland)
The contribution of play to the efficacy of learning has long been known to parents, educators, and researchers. Today, gamification can be applied to almost every aspect of cognitive skill development at any age.
Adding playfulness to the learning experience is not the only way to enhance cognitive development in students. According to one study, learning to play traditional board games (like Congklak, the game used by the researchers) can improve students’ working memory capacities and function.
Even video games can have a surprisingly positive effect on students' intelligence, with one study claiming that children who played more games (rather than watched TV or scrolled social media) had increased their intelligence between the two measurements (two years apart) by approximately 2.5 IQ.
A great way to engage students is to introduce them to a cognitive training program such as Mastermind’s, which has been scientifically proven to improve learning and processing skills.
It often feels like parents and educators treat screens and media devices as an enemy. This has been true about innovation since the invention of the radio and through the introduction of the Internet, mobile phones, and most recently, AR/VR technologies. However, innovation can also be a tool that contributes to the development and use of effective cognitive training programs for all ages, especially for students who are already using these technologies for entertainment.
One prominent example is using augmented and virtual reality technologies in learning and cognitive skill development. For example, when adding AR components to physics instruction, researchers found that it can “significantly enhance students’ physics learning self-efficacy, as indicated by a better understanding of concepts and higher-level cognitive skills.”
(Source: Wiley Online Library)
Helping students improve their cognitive skills sometimes means thinking outside the box. Instead of sitting in a classroom, outdoor exploration and physical activity are sometimes preferable for cognitive development and better academic outcomes.
In addition to gamifying learning and encouraging students to challenge their minds with various puzzles and games, you can help them adopt technologies in ways that benefit their cognitive development. Technologies like augmented and artificial reality, as well as innovations in AI for learning environments, can help students enhance various aspects of cognitive function, including memory, processing speed, and problem-solving capabilities.
Mastermind’s cognitive training program for students empowers teachers and educators to leverage science-based and personalized brain training practices to improve cognitive skills and processing speeds for greater academic success.
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