21st Century Learning & Development

Early life stages might not seem excessively important for cognitive development, however it is crucial that young children are being exposed to various stimuli (Laffier, 2015f). During this time in an individuals life, synaptogenesis is occurring and the more numerous experiences a child encounters, the more their brain makes these synapse connections (Laffier, 2015f). This is the reason that kindergarten aged children have all their senses engaged during school (Laffier, 2015f). As teachers, we should be aware of this and attempt to always stimulate the brain and various senses within the classroom. Another aspect of brain development is the development of glia cells and the fatty tissue called myelin sheath.

 

The myelin sheath is like insulation for the neurons in the brain, which helps to transfer messages down the neuron (Laffier, 2015f). The thicker the myelin sheath, the quicker the message can get from one end of the neuron to the other, thus the quicker the message reaches it’s intended location (Laffier, 2015f). Myelin sheath is a fatty tissue and foods that are rich omega-3 fatty acids promote a healthy and thick myelin sheath (Laffier, 2015f). This puts an emphasis on the importance of students’ physical health, in particular their diets. In the pre-teen years, the parts of the brain being myelinated control emotion and arousal (limbic system and RAS) (Laffier, 2015f). This contributes to the impulsivity and emotional swings that are often seen in teens (Laffier, 2015f).

 

Another aspect of cognitive development that can affect a student in the classroom is their level of stress (Laffier, 2015f).  Cortisol is the stress response hormone and although in smaller amounts it is perfectly healthy, when the concentration within the body is high, there can be negative implications (Laffier, 2015f). The control of the brain works different when there are excessive levels of cortisol within the body (Laffier, 2015f). When any information goes into the brain, it always goes to the thalamus, which then decides where to send the information (like a control center) (Laffier, 2015f). Students who has manageable levels of cortisol within them are able to learn and remember what they have learned because the information travels from the thalamus to the learning and memory centers of the brain (the hypocampus and cerebral cortex) (Laffier, 2015f).  The brains of students who have excessive amounts of stress act in “fight or flight” mode, which means that the brain downshifts (Laffier, 2015f). When the brain downshifts, the information moves from the thalamus to the hypocampus and amygdala (Laffier, 2015f). As a result of this downshifting, these students do not remember much that they have learned during the class (Laffier, 2015f).

 

As teachers, we need to be aware of these various cognitive development areas so that we can aid students as best we can. There are things that we, as teachers can do, to ensure that our students are healthy and happy and in turn have healthy cognitive development.