Neuroscience has been described by yourdictionary.com as any science dealing with the functions, abnormalities etc of the nervous system. It is, simply put, the scientific study of the nervous system. This therefore implies that neuroscience in itself is a very broad discipline. It encompasses various other disciplines such us behavioral psychology, neurology, physics chemistry, the nervous system, cognitive development and many others.
This article will however focus on the cognitive and metacognitive side of neuroscience research and application. According to North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, Cognitive skills are mental skills used to acquire knowledge or in other words to learn. Those skills which would require a normal human being to involve their brain to carry out. This could be how a person views things, thinks and even reacts to circumstances in their life.
Metacognition on the other hand has been described by P-16 Science Education as the awareness and understanding of one’s self as a thinker. Metacognition is concerned with our ability to be able to effectively solve problems or handle situations in our day to day lives. Everything that invariably involves a person reasoning and reflecting is classified under metacognition.
Both cognition and metacognition make an individual who he is in terms of acquiring knowledge and putting it to use. One cannot do without the other. It is almost impossible to mention one whilst omitting the other. They are both interdependent. Once knowledge has been acquired in the cognitive process, the metacognition part of a human being helps them to understand it and to put it to use. Individuals who have developed a good metacognition process are able to do well in most areas of their lives. If for example we use a classroom situation, those students who have a well developed cognitive and metacognitive process are able to do well in class and pass highly. They are also able to understand and perceive problems and to offer solutions at a higher degree than others are. They also have an uncanny ability of relating classroom learning to various circumstances in life. Most of the time they are deemed to be intelligent yet it is just because they have good cognitive and metacognitive skills. Their level of self awareness is also very high as compared to the other students in general.
It is not enough that a person acquires knowledge just for the sake of it. It is important that the person knows how to integrate it in other aspects of life. This learning how to integrate what one has learned is what creates self awareness in a person. It is this degree of self awareness that distinguishes people’s level of tackling problematic situations and dealing with life in general. It is also this that creates different perceptions in peoples world view. How one walks and moves in their world is largely determined by their self awareness. In turn, this self awareness is largely determined by their level of metacognitive development and skill.
According to Conford (2009), some levels of self awareness cannot be acquired through instruction. This is because, he goes on to explain, some levels of self knowledge can only be gotten from self experiences and the ability to be absolutely brutal with oneself in self judgment. Livingstone (1997) adds on to state that:
Metacognitive strategies are sequential processes that one uses to control cognitive activities, and to ensure that a cognitive goal (e.g., understanding a text) has been met. These processes help to regulate and oversee learning, and consist of planning and monitoring cognitive activities, as well as checking the outcomes of those activities.
Basing on the above, we can rightly conclude that metacognition becomes better as one grows older and handles various circumstances in their life. The more the wealth of experiences and as ones perception expands, the better a person’s metacognition becomes. With this also comes an improved ability to handle and solve issues in a better and more competent way than before.
There is therefore need for more and more people to be taught how to develop this all too important skill in life. In spite of one having the prowess to acquire more and more knowledge and information in various fields resulting in better cognitive abilities, the metacognitive skill has also to be developed. Or else how will all of the information that has been obtained be beneficial to the person? What role does consumption of data without using it play in an individual’s life? It is only while exercising the metacognitive skills that a person is able to put all their knowledge and information to use. According to Jones et al. (1990) “we must improve students’ capability to acquire, analyze, and apply complex information; to locate, communicate, and produce information effectively: to solve problems quickly and efficiently; and to be committed to life-long learning” (p.3)
Livingstone (1997) proposes that these two skills; cognitive and metacognitive skills should be helped to develop while a person is still young and through to their adolescent years. This is because at this age, one is able to grasp a lot and their mental faculties are still expanding. Grasping new information is therefore easier at these stages of a person’s development than at any other in life. If a conscious effort is made at an individual level in later years then these skills could be developed. The only difference is that it would be more strenuous then than if develop in the earlier stages of life.
According to her, teachers of various curricula have to be trained on how to teach these skills Livingstone (1997). Once a teacher has been equipped on how to teach and develop these skills among the students, then they will be better in putting them to practice. Most teachers who are supposed to be helping students’ acquire and develop these skills do not know how to have no idea how to go about it. They therefore conform to the traditional methods of teaching that place little or no emphasis on cognitive and metacognitive skills. They need to be trained so as to be able to identify different ways to implement these skills in their students.
Apart from teachers, the other people that can help develop these skills are parents and other people that children and students associate with in their lives. But of utmost importance amongst all these are parents and guardians who are with the students most of their early years. Just by engaging their children in different activities that require reasoning and use of mental capacity will greatly improve their children’s cognitive and metacognitive skills. In fact, of any other persons that could ever influence a child’s development of these two skills, parents have the longest period in a child’s life to participate greatly in their general improvement of these two skills. A little effort and some guidance is all that they need in order to raise up children with well developed cognitive skills.
Even though metacognitive skills develop later on in life and through unique experiences of each student, it pays to help them expand their cognitive levels so that they will come in handy as they move along in life. Metacognitive skills can be termed as lifelong but it is the cognitive side that will give a student the knowledge required to handle the circumstances he meets along the way in life. Let it be that one’s skills are sharpened later on in life rather than handle life with partially developed skills. People who handle their lives with undeveloped and unchallenged cognitive and metacognitive skills are also poor at handling challenges in life and are generally inept at problem solving.
Though many of these two developments lie heavily on parents and teachers, organizations and institutions that offer education to students should also be upgraded. This is so as to create platform for activation of cognitive and metacognitive learning and practice. It is not enough that cognitive and metacognitive skills are recognized as important. It must be impressed upon these institutions so that the input of various parties is invoked so that these important skills can be enhanced and developed. Livingstone (1997) states that:
Organization strategies require the transformation of information into a different form and the development of some schematic system that establishes the relationships between parts or elements.
In conclusion, neuroscience has brought to us a completely new perspective of looking at development. Cognitive and metacognitive skills which are a result of this research enable us to know how to improve our lives. This is crucial if we are to better handle our various circumstances in life and to become effective at problem solving skills. It is also vital so that we can be able to understand life in newer and refined perspectives.
When our cognitive and metacognitive faculties become better, we are made to be cleverer than what we were initially. If it is a student in question, their performance in school improves tremendously. The student not only learns what is required of them but also is also capable of integrating that knowledge with all aspects of his personhood.
Although cognitive and metacognitive skills are known and understood by some people, there is still need to create awareness. This is so as to ensure that more people are sensitized to its importance and crucial role it plays in a person’s life. If we are to have a different generation from that which has preceded us, then the implementation of these skills cannot be overemphasized. Considering the fact that we are living in an information age and era, cognitive and metacognitive skills are of paramount importance to us. This is because the amount of information one is required to know, remember and put to practical use increases by day. If these skills could be worked on and helped to improve, then an individual stands a better chance at being able to cope with the moving and changing challenging tide. Livingstone (1997) rightly says that possession of effective learning-to-learn skills is an important prerequisite for effective lifelong learning to occur.
Reference
Conford, I.R. (2009) Learning-to-learn strategies as a basis for effective lifelong learning. 21. University of Technology, Sidney.
Jones, et al. (1990) Introduction. In B.F. Jones & L. idol (Eds.), Dimensions of thinking and cognitive instruction (pp. 1-14). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Livingstone, A. J. (1997) metacognition: An overview. Web.
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Cognitive skills; pathways home. Web.