The crucial skills required for lifelong learning have been proposed by various educational think tanks, including the World Economic Forum and the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).
Both organizations recognize that education is more than the 3Rs and academic curriculum. They understand that our young people need critical skills to prepare them to function in the world of their future and for lifelong learning. All these skills require a complex combination of cognitive functions to be strong across the lifespan.
Enhancing cognitive functions will support students in the acquisition of these essential skills for success in life.
processing information
navigating in space
forming and retaining memories
recognizing familiar faces
learning motor plans required for writing
understanding number and quantity underlying scheduling time and budgeting
discriminating speech sounds
interpreting emotions
seeing relationships and making the connections necessary for insight and comprehension
visually retaining symbol patterns necessary for reading, spelling and all visual template learning
thinking non-verbally
Cognitive functions are the brain processes necessary for all that we do.
Each cognitive function has a specific job and depending on the activity we are engaged in, different cognitive functions work together to perform the task.
Like a symphony orchestra where each instrument has a specific role to play in contributing to creating the music, each cognitive function has a role to play in contributing to our various learning processes.
We need to develop motor plans for smooth eye-tracking of printed text, we need to be able to remember the symbols that make up words, we need to be able to attach sounds to the symbols, we need to develop motor and sensory plans for articulation when reading out loud.
So, reading requires multiple cognitive functions to work in concert.
It is the same for all learning – combinations of cognitive functions work together for each of us to learn and perform all of our daily activities.
Let’s explore these cognitive functions and how they play out in the learning process.
There are times when it is obvious that some cognitive functions, or a combination of functions, are not as strong as they should be.
It becomes evident in school, at work, in independent tasks, in social settings.
Some people are diagnosed as having learning disabilities (learning difficulties).
Some are diagnosed with more specific diagnoses such as dyslexia (reading difficulties), dysgraphia (writing difficulties), dyscalculia (math difficulties), non-verbal learning disabilities, memory difficulties, auditory processing disorder, executive function disorder, attentional problems (ADD/ADHD).
Some individuals may not have a diagnosis yet know that something in their brain is interfering or holding them back from achieving their goals.
Arrowsmith looks under those labels.
At Arrowsmith, we have the unique ability to examine and identity a person’s strengths and weaknesses with their cognitive functions, building individualized programs that are designed to strengthen the underperforming functions - allowing individuals to overcome their learning challenges.
Each one of these cognitive functions operates on a continuum. You can be gifted in several of these functions, perform at an average level in others, and have functions operating at a level that causes difficulty.
If you think about your own learning process, you can identify areas where you excel and others that you tend to avoid – maybe you don’t have a good spatial sense and tend to get lost, you don’t pick up languages easily, or you miss subtle social cues.
Underpinning these abilities is your unique cognitive profile of strengths and areas of challenge. Each one of us has our own unique learning profile that is in play in everything we do. This explains why no two people learn in exactly the same way.
Take our 30-minute cognitive profile questionnaire to start the journey into understanding your brain's strengths and weaknesses through a cognitive lens.
The Arrowsmith Cognitive Assessment, administered by an Arrowsmith trained professional, will provide you with an in-depth insight into your unique cognitive profile.
Imagine - it is possible to change one’s learning profile – that the cognitive functions necessary for learning and performance in daily life can be enhanced and strengthened - that improvement can occur from any starting point on the continuum and at any age.
This is the power of Arrowsmith’s cognitive programs. Rather than accommodating to or working around a fixed learning profile, through applying the principles of neuroplasticity, Arrowsmith’s cognitive programs strengthen and enhance each learner’s fundamental cognitive capacities which underlie all aspects of learning.
Strengthen your brain – be at your best.
The fact that Arrowsmith trains the brain processors that make possible reasoning and rationality, is arguably one of the most important positive developments one could imagine for our world, with its complex problems.
There seems to be a story here about cognitive efficiency which includes working memory and attention and learning, the capacity to learn new things. These are really important cognitive skills for success at school and life in general.
Arrowsmith is changing the trajectory of these students’ lives.
There is neuroplasticity as a function of Arrowsmith training, which generally improves performance. So–do precise Arrowsmith cognitive exercises activate and functionally change particular areas or networks of the brain? The answer, is yes.
Every child is capable of handling curriculum as long as the brain is given the correct retraining to then understand meaning, ideas and concepts.
Being certified in Arrowsmith means joining a global community of educators committed to a true growth mindset. It is a privilege to work with Arrowsmith and all the organizations around the world – we are revolutionizing education.
Whether a learning disability or learning difficulty has been identified, or whether learning challenges have not been experienced and the goal is to enhance learning performance to gain a competitive edge whether at school or professionally, Arrowsmith’s customizable range of cognitive programs can provide the solution.
By providing individuals with an opportunity to enhance a range of cognitive functions, the capacities necessary to understand and analyze complex abstract relationships, think critically, be flexible in thought, retain information and accept and consider other points of view, are developed.
Read our Tutoring Vs Arrowsmith blog, to learn how our programs are a unique proposition compared to traditional approaches to learning challenges.
The resultant strengthened learning capacities provide a competitive edge in academic endeavors and professional pursuits across the lifespan.
At Arrowsmith we firmly believe our brain is our most important asset and that cognitive enhancement through the application of the principles of neuroplasticity is a right that should be accessible to all.