Cognitive science is the systematic study of intelligence and how it relates to people acquiring and using knowledge.  Cognitive scientists are interested in investigating how intelligence, attention, language processing, learning and development, memory and perception affect learning. 

As the field of Cognitive Science grows, education and instructional practices will change drastically.  Teaching English, Math and Science will become a science rather than an intuitive endeavour.  Teachers will apply the knowledge acquired by the research conducted by cognitive scientists as they teach the constructs of English, Math and Science.  They will be applying the knowledge obtained through the research in the areas described below to their teaching.

Intelligence

An important lynch pin to learning is an individual’s innate capacity or their intelligence which is defined as an aspect of mind and consists of interrelated mental abilities such as: the capacity to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas and language and to learn.

Intelligence is affected by genetics, by the healthiness of the prenatal period, birth trauma, congenital issues, and nutrition, health care and environmental stimulation following birth and progressing throughout the developmental years.  It is important to remember that even though a child is born with good innate intellectual potential development can be thwarted by many factors.  If a child is born with compromised intellectual potential, providing appropriate nutrition, health care and developmental stimulation will provide the opportunity to reach potential.

In the mainstream of psychological practice today, intelligence is measured by standardized intelligence tests. These tests provide a score of verbal and nonverbal intelligence.  The scores are combined to derive a single IQ score.  Despite the mainstream belief that IQ is a single score, Neumind falls into line with the belief that there are nine different kinds of intelligences or multiple intelligences and the IQ describe above only taps into two of those intelligences.  This theory of intelligence was founded by Dr. Howard Gardner and you can read more specific information about them in other Neumind articles.

Attention

Attention is more than just noticing incoming stimuli - information. Attention requires several processes such as filtering out perceptions (ignoring stimuli that are not important), balancing multiple perceptions (knowing how to attend to multiple stimuli) and placing emotional importance to these stimuli.

Research describes two types of attention, passive and active. Passive attention is an automatic or involuntary action that occurs when something stands out - a bright light, a bad odour, an explosive noise etc.

As could be expected active attention then is a voluntary action that requires effort and is facilitated by alertness, concentration and interest and needs such as curiosity and hunger. Active attention is a multifaceted process requiring the ability to choose and focus on what is important at any given moment.  It also requires the ability to sustain steady mental effort when performing tasks requiring mental energy and, at the same time, to restrain from acting or thinking when sorting out possible actions or thoughts. With this all said, attention is the initial first step in the learning process. We must attend to before we can understand, remember and learn.