Learn Your Full Potential With Cognitive Learning

Cognitive learning is a thinking process that helps you more efficiently use your brain and retain more knowledge. To understand this learning process, you must first understand that cognition is gaining knowledge and understanding through your thoughts, experiences, and senses. When you practice this type of learning, you are actively engaging your senses to retain more information. By making immersive connections through your senses, thoughts, and experiences, you can more easily access this knowledge.

Rather than simply memorizing information or listening to a lecture, you retain more information by immersing yourself in a topic. For example, when learning a new skill, you can’t just read about it and then instantly know how to do it. You have to actually try doing the skill and then learn through trial and error. Likewise, when trying to learn information, memorizing it on flashcards will only help you know it short term. With this learning process, you need to reflect on the information and figure out how it fits into the bigger picture.

Get to know the different types of cognitive learning and how they work:

• Implicit learning: When you retain new knowledge or develop skills without actively trying to do so. This is learning that comes naturally to you, such as when you learned how to first talk.
• Explicit learning: When you actively try to retain knowledge or develop new skills. For example, those who try to learn a second language later on in life use this type of learning.
• Cooperative and collaborative learning: When you learn a new skill or process in a group setting. Group members actively participate and interact with one another to facilitate learning.
• Meaningful learning: When you relate new knowledge to your previous experiences and information. These connections use motivational, emotional, and cognitive features to help you deepen your understanding.
• Non-associative learning: This type of learning is divided into categories. The first is habituation, which means that you learn by habit. When exposed to a stimulus for a long period, you may find you have a lowered reaction. For instance, you may learn to ignore your coworker’s annoying habits after a while. The second is sensitization, which is the opposite of habituation. The more you’re exposed to something, the more you react to it. So this annoying coworker may be increasingly bothersome as time goes on.
• Discovery learning: When you make an effort to gain more knowledge. Examples include researching new topics or actively thinking of unfamiliar subjects.
• Observation or imitation learning: When you learn by watching. For instance, watching an instructional video and then trying it yourself is one way to practice this kind of learning.
• Emotional learning: When you learn how to improve your emotional intelligence, which means that you can control your emotions and understand the emotions of others. This is helpful for building interpersonal relationships and showing empathy.
• Experiential learning: When learning takes place as a direct result of your experiences. Since everyone reacts to experiences differently, this type of learning is quite subjective.

When you try to retain knowledge through cognitive learning, you may start to see these benefits:

• Improved critical-thinking skills: The cognitive learning approach helps people improve both their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Both of these skills are an integral part of flourishing in your career.
• Better comprehension: Using your senses, thoughts, and experiences to learn new material leads to better retention. By taking a hands-on approach to learning, you tend to absorb more information.
• Enhanced future learning: Once you understand how to use cognitive learning, you may feel more excited to learn new skills and material. Since you’re retaining more knowledge, you have a better foundation to build upon too.
• Increased openness to challenges: When you learn how to retain information better, you may feel more confident when presented with a new challenge. This is especially helpful when trying to take on new responsibilities at work.

The cognitive learning process is different than simply trying to memorize or passively learn information. It consists of the following components:

• Comprehension: In order to truly master a subject or skill, you need to understand why it’s important for you to learn. Think about how it fits into the big picture. Trying to deeply comprehend new information will help you retain in better.
• Memory: Rather than trying to learn as much information as possible at once, you need to understand each new subject on a deeper level. Surface-level memorization is not a part of this learning process. When information becomes a part of your long-term memory, you will be able to recall and use it more efficiently. You must build upon past knowledge in order to understand new information.
• Application: Along with thinking through material, you need to find ways to actually apply it. By using what you learned to solve problems or think of innovative ideas, you may be able to retain this knowledge better. The key is to create new connections with the material you just learned.

Here are some examples of cognitive learning you may see in the workplace:

• Attending educational workshops
• Taking part in group brainstorming sessions
• Preparing a presentation on a specific topic
• Teaching your coworker something you just learned
• Participating in a group discussion
• Practicing a new skill every day
• Experiencing a crisis and learning how to avoid it next time
• Reflecting on a client meeting
• Watching a video tutorial
• Reading through instructions and then discussing them with a coworker