Cognitive flexibility (or cognitive shifting) refers to the ability to adapt and switch between different cognitive tasks, mental sets or perspectives in response to changing situations or demands. It involves the capacity to think flexibly, generate alternative solutions and adjust thinking when considering new information or conditions.
Thinking games can be valuable tools for improving cognitive flexibility. Here’s how they can help:
Task Switching: Many thinking games require individuals to switch between different types of tasks or mental processes. For example, a game may involve switching between solving puzzles, categorising information and making strategic decisions. By repeatedly engaging in such games, you exercise the mental processes involved in cognitive shifting, improving your ability to switch between different tasks and mental sets more efficiently.
Rule Adaptation: Thinking games often have varying rules or conditions that change throughout the game. Adapting to these changing rules and adjusting your strategies accordingly can foster cognitive flexibility. You learn to recognise and respond to new information, update your mental models and shift your thinking to optimise performance within the given context.
Problem-Solving and Creativity: Thinking games frequently present players with complex problems or challenges that require innovative solutions. Engaging in these games encourages you to think outside the box, explore alternative strategies and generate creative approaches. This process enhances cognitive flexibility by broadening your thinking and increasing your willingness to consider different perspectives and possibilities.
Pattern Recognition: Many thinking games involve pattern recognition and analysis. By practising pattern recognition tasks, you train your brain to identify and switch between different patterns quickly. This ability to identify and shift attention between various patterns supports cognitive flexibility.
Cognitive Stimulation: Engaging in thinking games provides mental stimulation and challenges your cognitive abilities. Regularly exposing your mind to novel and diverse tasks helps keep your brain flexible and adaptable, improving your overall cognitive flexibility.
Mental Agility: Thinking games often require quick decision-making and rapid information processing. By practising these skills in a game context, you enhance your mental agility, allowing you to shift your attention and thinking rapidly when encountering new information or situations.
Feedback and Learning: Thinking games often provide immediate feedback, allowing you to learn from your mistakes and adjust your strategies. This feedback loop promotes learning, encourages reflection on your performance and helps develop cognitive flexibility by refining your approaches based on the outcomes.
Transferable Skills: The cognitive flexibility developed through thinking games can extend beyond the game context. The skills and strategies you practise in games can be applied to real-life situations that require adaptive thinking, problem-solving and flexible decision-making.
By regularly engaging in thinking games that challenge your cognitive processes and require cognitive shifting, you can enhance your cognitive flexibility. These games provide an enjoyable and stimulating way to exercise your mental abilities, expand your thinking skills and promote adaptability in various contexts.
CARS & STARS Online is a digital reading comprehension program based around the repeated application of twelve core reading strategies to make students better readers who can analyse and interpret any text at a high level of understanding. The multi-level program is designed to be entirely paper-free, with all student answers being entered directly into the software, and results being instantly recorded and corrected automatically, requiring no teacher marking.
CARS & STARS Online is always on and always accessible, freeing students and teachers alike from the absolute necessity of set times for instruction. Lessons can be undertaken at any point without the need for a formal class structure. While the format of the program itself is established and consistent across every level, the ways in which it can be used and taught are fluid and up to the teacher themselves. Equally useable in both a classroom environment or for at-home learning, and accessible from anywhere with an internet connection, CARS & STARS is perfect for the classroom of tomorrow – or the classroom, bedroom, kitchen table, backyard, waiting room or indeed anywhere of today!
If you are interested in learning more about the CARS & STARS Online subscriptions and how they can help children to achieve better results, then sign up for a free trial to be an integral part of your child’s reading success.
