Cognitive Learning & Teaching-Emotion & Cognition blog part 2

What first thought comes to mind when you hear the term emotions? Most people will tie it to something negative such as emotional eating, facial expressions, body language, etc. One thing for sure is that everyone perceives and experiences emotions differently. Can emotions impact learning or the ways students process thinking? To answer this question, let us investigate some of the answers found through research.

Firstly, let us define the term emotion. "Emotions are conscious mental reactions (such as anger or fear) subjectively experienced as strong feelings usually directed toward a specific object and typically accompanied by physiological and behavioral changes in the body" (American Psychological Association, 2021). The article titled The Importance of Emotions in Learning noted that "an emotion can be defined as an organism's reaction to an external event, which has physiological, cognitive and behavioral aspects" (Meulleur, C. 2009). The article further states that all emotions are useful, positive or negative. Emotions can be difficult to control, which can impact learning. However, one should not suppress emotions since they can lead to adverse effects such as anxiety and physical illnesses. It is important to remind learners/students, encourage them to express themselves on what destabilizes them in their learning process, and give them the necessary resources to help (Meulleur, C. 2009)."

Secondly, let us define cognition. "Cognition refers to processes such as memory, attention, language, problem-solving, and planning (Pessoa, L. (2009). Cognition helps generate new knowledge through mental processes and also helps to use the knowledge that people have in daily life" (Difference between cognition and metacognition, n.d.). With learning comes motivation as well. "Motivation is not only important in its own right; it is also an important predictor of learning and achievement. Students who are more motivated to learn persist longer, produce higher quality effort, learn more deeply, and perform better in classes and on standardized tests" (Hulleman & Hulleman, 2018). Please view this video for further information about the impact of emotions and learning.

As we described and now understand the meaning of cognition, let us also view the term metacognition. According to the article, Difference Between Cognition and Metacognition, the term is defined as thinking about thinking, which allows individuals to complete a given task well through planning, monitoring, evaluating, and comprehending. It means that metacognition will enable students to be more aware of their cognitive processes and take learning to a higher level. With that said, metacognition is extremely important for students and teachers. "Teaching metacognitively, which involves teaching with metacognition and teaching for metacognition, is critical for learners of any age. Teaching with metacognition enables teachers to gain awareness about and control over how they think and teach by planning, monitoring, evaluating, and adjusting their instructional goals and teaching strategies in accordance with their students' needs and the sociocultural context" (O'Hara et al., 2019).

As I reflect on my learning about cognition, emotions, metacognition, and learning, it is vital as an educator that I understand how these terms can impact children's memory, skills, motivation, and behavior. It was interesting learning about how positive emotions can impact learning. I thought that only negative emotions would impact students' behavior and learning. "It is not because an emotion is positive, in the broad sense, that will necessarily make it beneficial to the learning process. To be useful, it must be related to learning or a specific task; otherwise, it can impair attention and affect performance" (Meulleur, C. 2019). One area I have been working on as a homeschool teacher (which I did not do before) is allowing my children to identify their feelings/emotions. I introduced the concepts of feelings and emotions by describing what feelings are by reading the book 'The Great Big Book of Feelings by Mary Hoffman. It has been very effective in allowing my children to identify their feelings daily and work through any negative emotions they might be experiencing. Taking breaks, doing breathing exercises, counting, and playing games are some tools I use with my children. As an educator, I plan to implement more social-emotional lessons to benefit my children's and future students' learning. I will utilize what I have learned in my lesson planning. Here is a learning exercise from ABC mouse that I plan to utilize with my children.

In conclusion, understanding how emotions can impact students' thinking processes and learning is vital. Learning about the difference between cognition and metacognition increased my knowledge and understanding of the cognitive science behind children learning.

References

American Psychological Association. (2021). Emotions. Apa.org. https://www.apa.org/topics/emotions.

Difference between cognition and metacognition. (n.d.). DifferenceBetween.com.

Hulleman, C., & Hulleman, T. (2018, January 10). An Important Piece of the Student Motivation Puzzle. FutureEd. https://www.future-ed.org/reversing-the-decline-in-student-motivation/#:~:text=Motivation%20is%20not%20only%20important

Meulleur, C. (2019). The Importance of emotions in learning. Knowledge One.

O’Hara, S., Pritchard, R., & Pitta, D. (2019). Teaching with and for Metacognition in Disciplinary Discussions. In www.intechopen.com. IntechOpen. https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/67544

Pessoa, L. (2009). Cognition and emotion. Scholarpedia, 4(1):4567.