Civility and Cognition - A Classroom Study

CBC’s The Current hosted a segment on the continued effect of COVID in Canadian schools – namely, the decline of students’ social skills and attention. It’s a trend not unique to Canadian classrooms.

"There is a growing sense that many of the problems facing students and schools today are rooted in a lack of civility, respect, and responsibility. As the classroom dynamics shift, so do the standards of behavior, and educators are faced with the challenge of teaching both content and character."

Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond, American educational researcher and policy expert

The closing statements of CBC guests were clear: civility must be taught, and learned.

For many educators this feels daunting – how can social skills be taught, while also teaching academic curriculum, meeting the needs of diverse learners, and perhaps most challenging –competing with distractions like social media, electronic devices, mental health issues, and attentional issues, to name a few.

Fortunately, the field of neuroscience has a lot to share with the field of education. Like all learning, social skill development occurs in the brain: specific processes directly responsible for emotional regulation, perspective taking, judgement and decision making. These are essential brain processes for learning and behaviour in school, and across life in general.

What neuroscience can also teach us – is that these brain processes can be targeted and improved through cognitive training. The capacity of our brains to change and improve, can be the ‘how’ in fundamentally addressing this school issue.

How Neuroscience can Shape Education

The brain plays a crucial role in civility, especially in school settings, as it governs the cognitive, emotional, and social processes that allow students to interact respectfully, manage their emotions, and engage in positive behaviors. Civility is not just about adhering to social norms; it involves complex brain functions related to self-regulation, empathy, communication, and decision-making.

The brain is made up of many billions of neurons and many networks. To understand how cognitive functions play a role in this issue, let’s examine 4 cognitive functions in particular and how they are involved in how students manage themselves and treat each others.

Symbolic Thinking is our capacity to think, plan, problem-solve, set goals, execute tasks, and maintain attention. In context of civility within a classroom environment, this function determines the degree to which students can:

• Problem-solve: be goal-oriented, approach conflicts and challenges intellectually, rather than emotionally
• Task Execution: stay on task and on target until completion, without disruptions
• Attention: be aware of the point of a given task or situation, sustain focus on what is essential, avoid distractions
• Plan: think ahead, anticipate problems, strategize

Students with strong symbolic thinking are more likely to make thoughtful decisions and to interact cooperatively.

Symbol Relations involves understanding and connecting ideas, as well as processing complex relationships and concepts. Within a civil classroom, this function shapes students’ capacity to have:

• Insight of diverse perspectives: recognize others' viewpoints, how it is different or similar from their own
• Adaptability: grasp abstract concepts, adapt to new situations, show flexibility and understanding
• Conflict resolution: navigate social conflict through processing complex information including the underlying causes and seeing the connections towards a resolution
• Engagement: engage with material in a deeper way, active participation

Essential to navigating social dynamics is understanding them. This is a key function of Symbol Relations.

Non-Verbal Thinking perceives and interprets non-verbal cues such as body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. It’s essential in our social and emotional development and therefore in behaviour. Within the classroom (and beyond) this function shapes:

• Awareness: “reading the room” ; perceiving and interpreting non-verbal cues and clues in the environment
• Communication: Understanding body language and facial expressions to communicate even without words – both own communication and others.
• Problem-Solve: using perception and interpretation to adapt behaviour appropriately and dynamically
• Self-regulation: aligning behaviour with social norms and what the situation requires

By being attuned to non-verbal signals. Students with secure Non-Verbal Thinking can navigate social interactions with sensitivity, be leaders within the space, and create harmonious environments.

Predicative Speech involves the understanding of sequential logic (e.g. "if this, then that") and using internal speech to guide actions. It’s part of the executive function network and helps students think critically, organize their thoughts, and predict the outcomes of their actions. Within a classroom, students’ capacity here underlies:

• Decision-Making: predicting the consequences in advance of actions.
• Communication: expressing ideas through logical sequencing.
• Conflict resolution: working out issues step by step (sequential thinking) to engage collaboratively
• Self-regulation: internal speech for self-guidance, focus and self-management.
• Compliance: grasping classroom rules and routines

By recognizing the "if this, then that" logic in social situations, students are better equipped. A strong Predicative Speech enables students to make thoughtful decisions, communicate more clearly, and engage socially with consideration.

A Cognitive Solution to a Civility Problem

When students’ brains are functioning optimally in these areas, they are more capable of learning – and applying – social skills and dealing with challenges in and out of the classroom.

Cognitive programs have been proven to enhance the very brain functions that impact how students engage in the classroom. These exercises enhance the brain’s capacity to think, understand, be aware, and communicate. Schools can use these programs within their own communities, and are the impact is widespread:

“The fact that Arrowsmith trains the brain processors that make possible reasoning and rationality, is arguably one of the most important positive developments one could imagine for our world, with its complex problems.”

Dr. Norman Doidge, Researcher and Author of “The Brain That Changes Itself”

“As an administrator in a school that runs Arrowsmith, I have read many articles about Arrowsmith, and initially was skeptical about the results being reported. I am now convinced that Arrowsmith can significantly change the way students feel about themselves, how they interact with others, and how they perform in and out of school.”

Rabbi Eliyahu Teitz, Associate Dean, USA

There are many issues in education today, and many problems still to be solved. But one of them – the students’ capacity to learn, whether it be academic skills or social ones – can be solved through neuroeducation.

Neuroeducation offers an alternative to traditional approaches to behaviour like restrictions, punishment, or simply tolerating the problem. Strengthening the brain, the very processes responsible for sustained attention, social interactions, and critical thinking can be improved, changing the classroom environment within which they learn, and the trajectory of their lives.

Teachers can feel overwhelmed by the increasing incivility, or they can empower themselves through understanding and action.

Why neuroeducation? So generation of students who can better cope with the disruptions and distractions of the recent and current state of the world, and thrive in the complexity of life, with a strong and attentive brain.