The type of learning that takes place using only one method of teaching can be characterized by using the example of “memorization” or “rote practice.”  Conversely, in terms of teaching and education, the term “interdisciplinary” is used to describe the cognitive approach taken when considering the brain or mind and how it processes information through multiple influences.  Interdisciplinary refers to the belief that a child learns more and understands principles better when taught through the use of various disciplines.

A good example of this is to take a look at how something as basic as an address is learned and remembered.  In the memorization approach, a student would be given the address and after a brief delay, be asked to repeat it without looking.  The accuracy of this response could then be measured.  A different approach to measuring how the address is recalled would be to study how the neurons in the brain are actually firing while the memorization process occurs.  Both of these observations on their own give a measurement, however, a more complete understanding is achieved when the two approaches are studied in relationship to each other.

The fields or disciplines which structure the interdisciplinary approach to Cognitive Science are varied and build on one another.  The five most often examined areas are psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, philosophy and computer science.  Each of these disciplines has their own methods of posing and answering questions about the mind.  When all of these different disciplines are used in combination with each other, a much broader range of understanding comes to light.

Psychologists, for instance, use models of human cognitive processes to help them understand the mind.  Those in the field of the neurosciences use the study of neurons and how they react at different levels of the thinking process to help them get clearer insight into how learning occurs.  A linguistics researcher is concerned with the goal of understanding how the human language contributes to the learning process.  Computer scientists are concerned with understanding how the construction of systems such as computers and robotics can be capable of perception, language learning and high level reasoning.  Collaboration among these branches of Cognitive Science working together to produce integrated research could open up the possibilities for a deeper understanding of how the mind works.

ViralOne.com uses an interesting analogy comparing the brain to a computer and on a very simple level this is an appropriate comparison. But, that is as far as the comparison goes. Computers can not “think” and solve problems without using a man-made program. The human brain creates its own programs, uses them, rewrites them based on new experiences and learning and continues this process every time a new experience changes the accuracy of the former learning or program.

To draw this article to a close, it seems appropriate to use a quote from the renowned researcher, Kurt Fischer, from the Harvard Graduate School of Education who says, “Human beings are unique in their ability to learn through schooling and diverse kinds of cultural instruction. Education plays a key role in cultural transformations: It allows members of a society, the young in particular, to efficiently acquire an ever-evolving body of knowledge and skills that took thousands of years to invent. It is time for education, biology, and Cognitive Science to join together to create a new science and practice of learning and development.  It’s going to have a major shaping effect on the field,” Fischer says. “When trying to put together biology and cognitive science with practice in education you have to do research differently. It’s not enough to just work in a laboratory, but the lab work needs to be connected to what happens in classrooms.”