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The way in which an individual\u2019s cognitive development effects their education is a common topic of discussion among educators and psychologists, but I feel that we sometimes forget to think about how education affects cognitive development.\u00a0 How can educators be sure that their learning goals are being met in the classroom?\u00a0 How can we better create lesson plans and learning standards for students who be cognitively disabled compared to other students?\u00a0 All of these questions have the potential to be answered by more research being done to determine exactly how education can affect an individual\u2019s development.<\/p>\n
First, it must be determined that education does indeed influence cognitive development in some way.\u00a0 A study done at the University of Edinburgh examined whether education was associated with improvements in general cognitive ability, or in specific skills.\u00a0 The research showed \u201cthat education is associated with specific IQ subtests, rather than with the general factor of intelligence.\u201d (Ritchie, Bates, & Deary, 2015). In other words, education is associated with different cognitive skills, rather than simply making people \u201csmarter\u201d.\u00a0 It\u2019s important to remember that Piaget\u2019s stages of cognitive development did not measure the degree in which people were becoming more knowledgeable about general facts, but rather more knowledgeable about how the world around them works.<\/p>\n
Once it\u2019s established that education can impact a child\u2019s cognitive development, we can begin to study how<\/em> it impacts individuals. In a study conducted by Lachman et al., researchers examined the effects of limited education on cognitive functioning by looking more closely at episodic memory in individuals with different levels of childhood education. It was found that \u201cThose with lower\u00a0education\u00a0had lower\u00a0cognitive\u00a0functioning, but this was qualified by level of\u00a0cognitive\u00a0activity\u201d (Lachman et al., 2010). Furthermore, those engaging in more cognitive activity (like going to school longer) had increased ability in regards to episodic memory, \u201cwhich has promise for reducing social disparities in\u00a0cognitive\u00a0aging\u201d (Lachman et al., 2010).<\/p>\n Lastly, educators should know exactly how to structure learning in order to promote a positive influence on their students\u2019 cognitive development.\u00a0 During the semester in both Educational Psychology and Introduction to Education and Teaching, we\u2019ve examined the different types of teaching techniques and have categorized them in one of two ways: teacher-centered or student-centered.\u00a0 In a study done by Simmons and Fisher, researchers wanted to know how different kinds of classroom settings impacted cognitive development.\u00a0 The two different types of classes included a semester long practicum class, and a pre-practicum course in which students participated in only one or the other.\u00a0 Results showed that, indeed, \u201cparticipating in a field seminar course\u2026ha[d] important implications for enhancing cognitive development\u201d (Simmons & Fisher, 2016).<\/p>\n The previous study in which the students participated in the field study is considered to be at the student-centered end of the spectrum, where the students are learning in a hands on way about real world problems.\u00a0 In this case, the education is about the experience rather than the information retained in a traditional type classroom.<\/p>\n In conclusion, as a future educator, it\u2019s important to remember that my teachings are impacting my students\u2019 cognitive development, and that by structuring my classroom in a way that promotes a more student-centered learning environment, their development can be enhanced instead of hindered.\u00a0 Additionally, these impacts are brought into adulthood in the form of episodic memory in older adults.\u00a0 This is yet another illustration of how teaching can impact learners for years after they have left our classroom.<\/p>\n References<\/p>\n Lachman, M. E., Agrigoroaei, S., Murphy, C., & Tun, P. A. (2010). Frequent Cognitive Activity Compensates for Education Differences in Episodic Memory.\u00a0The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry,<\/em>\u00a018<\/em>(1), 4-10. doi:10.1097\/jgp.0b013e3181ab8b62<\/p>\n Ritchie, S. J., Bates, T. C., & Deary, I. J. (2015). Is education associated with improvements in general cognitive ability, or in specific skills?\u00a0Developmental Psychology,<\/em>\u00a051<\/em>(5), 573-582. doi:10.1037\/a0038981<\/p>\n Simmons, C., & Fisher, A. (2016). Promoting cognitive development through field education.\u00a0Social Work Education,<\/em>\u00a054<\/em>(4), 462-472. Retrieved from http:\/\/libproxy.uww.edu:2094\/psycinfo\/docview\/1845057814\/FDE1D51A296D488EPQ\/17?accountid=14791<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This class has discussed many ways in which individual differences among students can affect learning and education.\u00a0 One of these ways is development.\u00a0 Two of the most famous theories of development were coined by Jean Piaget and Erick Erickson.\u00a0 To refresh your memory, Erickson focused his theory on psycho social development as a result of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7114,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/mikaylajones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/mikaylajones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/mikaylajones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/mikaylajones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/mikaylajones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/mikaylajones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/mikaylajones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions\/34"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/mikaylajones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/mikaylajones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/mikaylajones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}