Understanding how our brains work through cognitive assessment

At Seeds of Knowledge, we believe nurturing a growth mindset is key to every learner’s success. We’re excited to share a guest blog post by Danielle Copplin, Director and Educational & Developmental Psychologist at Scope Psychology Services Australia. This post explores how cognitive assessment enhances our understanding of brain function and aids in developing a growth mindset. By evaluating various aspects of cognition, these assessments provide insights to tailor educational support, fostering metacognition—a crucial element for adopting a growth mindset. Join us in exploring how cognitive assessment empowers students to believe in their potential for growth..
~ Lasni, Owner – Seeds of Knowledge

Cognitive assessments and metacognition

Cognitive assessment helps us understand how our brains process information and make sense of the world around us. Assessment evaluates multiple aspects of cognition, such as language, memory, attention, problem-solving and processing speed. This information provides us with insights that we can use to inform educational support, interventions (such as psychology) and personal development. One interesting aspect about cognitive assessment is its impact on improving metacognition—the awareness and regulation of our own thought processes (which some call a growth mindset).

Adopting a growth mindset requires students to actively reflect on and regulate their own learning and thinking patterns, which is why metacognition (learning how they learn) is an important skill for changing mindsets. Let’s explore how cognitive assessment contributes to improving metacognition, and by extension adopting a growth mindset.

The role of cognitive assessment in metacognition

Cognitive assessment provides a clear understanding of our cognitive strengths and weaknesses. This understanding is fundamental to metacognition and enables us to reflect on and monitor our own cognitive processes. By knowing our cognitive abilities, we can better understand why certain tasks are more challenging or simple than others, and which strategies might be the most effective for our thinking and learning.

Setting realistic expectations

Understanding our cognitive strengths and challenges helps us to set realistic expectations in various academic, professional and personal pursuits. We can be realistic about what we expect to do well, while being aware of things we may need a bit of help with or things we need to do differently. A growth mindset thrives on setting and pursuing realistic goals that promote learning and development over outcome and achievement.

Tailoring support

After a cognitive assessment, professionals will recommend strategies that are personalised to your cognitive profile. These strategies can range from specialised educational programs to personalised learning strategies and cognitive training exercises. With the right strategic support, students are able to develop a growth mindset, see the direct link between their efforts and improvements, and are more likely to stay motivated and committed to their learning goals.

Improving metacognition

Our metacognition can be improved when we start using strategies designed to suit our cognitive profile. We monitor our progress, evaluate the effectiveness of each strategy and make adjustments as needed to optimise our cognitive functioning. By understanding how we learn and which strategies work best for us, we are given the tools to face challenges and persist through difficulties. Improving metacognition creates resilience and a belief in our ability to grow and improve over time, which is a key component of the growth mindset.

How cognitive assessment can help students

Cognitive assessment helps us learn more about ourselves. Knowing our strengths and weaknesses helps us improve how we think and improves our metacognition. Using cognitive assessment in schools and other places helps us learn better, do well in our careers, and succeed in life.

For more information on cognitive assessment, or how a psychologist could aid in student learning and metacognition, please visit the Scope website or contact info@scopepsych.com.au.