COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Superior cognitive skills are what have made countless intellectual achievements, innovations and discoveries possible. They enable us to correctly judge situations, grasp  their implications and see their significance. They provide the opportunity to make the world a better place. However, scores on reading comprehension and maths have been dropping over the years. Does this mean we are not as sharp as we used to be? Do your research and find out why we are losing some of our cognitive skills and what can be done about it.  It is suggested that you do this research over a couple of days. When you are ready, write your essay.

Familiarize yourself with the issue

·         Cognitive function: definition and assessment https://study.com/academy/lesson/cognitive-function-definition-assessment-quiz.html  (Register for the full video; it is a wonderful site)

Reading material to make notes on

·         Nutrition and early brain development http://www.urbanchildinstitute.org/articles/updates/nutrition-and-early-brain-development

·         Air pollution causes huge reduction in intelligence, study finds https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/27/air-pollution-causes-huge-reduction-in-intelligence-study-reveals

·         Air pollution linked to decline in cognitive performance https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/air-pollution-linked-to-decline-in-cognitive-performance-64725

·         Preserving deep reading in a digital world https://www.uis.no/news/interview-with-maryanne-wolf-preserving-deep-reading-in-a-digital-world-article125661-8865.html?articleID=125661&categoryID=8865

·         What you read matters more than what you might think https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/prime-your-gray-cells/201606/what-you-read-matters-more-you-might-think

·         Skim reading is the new normal https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/25/skim-reading-new-normal-maryanne-wolf

Videos to take notes from

  Maryanne Wolf on the reading brain https://vimeo.com/16368111
Refer to my second blog, The Essay Archive, for sample essays: https://theessayarchive.blogspot.com/