Cognitive Flexibility and Control is the ability to change what you are thinking about, how you are thinking about it and even what you think about it – in other words, the ability to change your mind. Cognitive flexibility is required in multiple ways throughout the school day. Does your child become stuck thinking about topics in only one way? Do they struggle to ‘switch’ their approach and use a different problem-solving strategy? Is it more challenging for them to do something differently than how they normally do it? Are they rigid in their thinking?
What is it?
Children have to switch mental gears when moving from one subject to another, abandon one way of thinking about a problem when it does not lead to a solution and adopt another way of thinking, and even give up erroneous information to accept new and correct information. Cognitive control is the ability to switch ways of thinking, either automatically or deliberately, in situations requiring flexibility. Cognitive control requires the ability to resist the impulse to perseverate and keep thinking in a previously active but no longer appropriate manner.
When it’s a problem:
Cognitive flexibility is all about context. Some behaviors or modes of thinking are completely appropriate in some settings, or academic disciplines, but not appropriate in others. Similarly, sometimes complex tasks require students to apply skills or concepts learned in one setting to the solving of a new problem in a different setting – applying an abstract understanding of basic addition and subtraction to actually handling money and making change. Students who have difficulty with cognitive flexibility may have trouble transitioning from recess to the classroom – or even between academic tasks.
Cognitive Training Tips:
1) When teaching new concepts or skills, try to represent the content in more than one way. For example, use puns and riddles when teaching new words that show different contexts and meanings; or in math, use number lines, charts, manipulables and real-world problems in addition to abstract written calculation strategies (like long division). This may initially present a challenge to these students but will help them once it comes time for them to apply these new concepts and skills.
2) Use lots of cueing to prepare these students for transitions. Give a 2-minute warning on the playground. Check in with students individually after giving a new assignment to ensure they understand the new directions and have transitioned accordingly. Use a lot of framing language, remembering the old adage “Tell them what you’re going to teach, teach it to them, then tell them what you taught them.”
3) Provide an itinerary of sorts- give students a written plan for the day, or any part of the day, on the board so they know what to expect and where they are in relation to the rest of the day.
4) Continue using ACTIVATE brain training software. The computer games in ACTIVATE™ exercise cognitive flexibility throughout the gameplay experience. In Treasure Trunk, for example, colors that are targets in one level must be avoided in the next – and in some levels the target colors change rapidly, forcing the brain to stretch itself to respond to rapidly transitioning contexts. ACTIVATE™’s child-centered design means that the difficulty changes in response to each child’s success.
When it’s a strength:
Students who exhibit strength in cognitive flexibility and control handle transitions easily, can shift between subjects and tasks in stride, and may have success in tasks that require them to apply learning in one arena to problem solving in another context.
Cognitive Training Tips:
1) Challenge these students with interdisciplinary assignments or projects. Bring terminology or strategies used in one discipline over to solve problems in another discipline. Create a series of math problems based off of a historical timeline. Create a science-themed artwork. Students who can manage the cognitive control needed to understand and use various concepts in different contexts should be prepared to take on these challenges.
2) Use them in peer tutoring strategies. Students who transition well from task to task may make excellent peer tutors for students who need a little help to keep on task. Given the task of keeping their peers up to speed on “where the class is” during a given lesson, these students will continue to build their own abilities to keep on task and organized.
Typically, children who demonstrate challenges like those listed have difficulties with cognitive flexibility. Cognitive flexibility is the ability to adapt our behaviour and thinking in response to the environment. When children are asked to think about multiple concepts simultaneously or change their approach to solving a problem, they need to demonstrate flexible thinking. Cognitive flexibility is considered a core aspect of executive functioning. Executive functioning includes the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions and juggle multiple tasks simultaneously. Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Learning Disabilities/Disorders commonly show challenges with their executive functioning.
Cognitive flexibility occurs in two main ways:
- The ability to think about multiple things at the same time
- The ability to modify thinking based on a change in expectations and/or demands
Let’s think about a typical example. Imagine the teacher has asked students to see how many ways their class can be sorted into different groups. Your child might say, “they all belong to the same grade!” Does your child also consider that they can be sorted by age, height, gender, favourite animal, sports, number of siblings, hair colour, and so on? Whether the problem is in real-life or an academic task, your child needs to look at situations from multiple perspectives. This is an aspect of cognitive flexibility! Here is another example. If your child is attempting a challenging math question, do they try to solve the problem using different strategies? Students will frequently attempt to solve a problem using the method they know best. If they can’t solve the problem with that strategy, they may state that the problem is impossible.
Why Does Cognitive Flexibility Matter?
Life is full of examples of times when we must examine situations using differing perspectives. To be successful social beings, we need to be flexible. We will have to face social problems, problems in our relationships, work-place conflict, or many other scenarios! Let’s think about an example of this in real life. Your child might have a playdate arranged at a friend’s home. But, as you are heading out the door, you get a text saying that the friend is sick and they will have to reschedule. For many of us, we would think, “Ok, when does it work for us to reschedule?” Or “What else can we do today that’s fun?”. But for those that struggle with cognitive flexibility, this may not be as easy. Often kids who struggle with flexible thinking don’t respond the same way to changes. They may freeze and do nothing. They may ruminate on the fact that their playdate was cancelled. Or, they may become emotional and distressed as they struggle to understand that they can reschedule and do something different that day instead. By practicing being flexible in our thinking with our students and children, we can help them reach their full potential.
How Do We Improve Cognitive Flexibility?
- Incorporate the concepts of rigidity and flexibility through play. Practice modelling flexible thinking in fun and silly ways to help your child better understand it.
- Label rigid thinking patterns in a non-judgemental way in yourself and your kids to help them identify them. Helpful talking techniques can include explaining rigidity as a tightly pulled elastic. By contrast, flexible thinking is a loose, flexible elastic. We want to practice flexibility so that we can bend with whatever life throws at us and not break!
- Talk about scenarios that have multiple ways to solve a problem. For example, if your child needs to get from school to home, what different routes could they take? What modes of transportation could be used?
- Help your child examine their triggers for rigidity and work to identify them. For example, do they need things done a certain way? Celebrate how those behaviours can help them, but also teach them how to distinguish between helpful versus harmful inflexibility.
- Read a social story (e.g., Superflex by Social Thinking) that emphasizes flexible thinking patterns. You can also create your own story with your child as the main character. Getting your child involved in creating the story, or incorporating their interests, can support their buy-in towards learning the concept.
- Emphasize that there are different strategies they can try, especially in math.
- Model skills for flexibility/frustration tolerance in daily activities, and model how you practice cognitive flexibility.
- Reflect on your behaviours that may model rigidity. We all demonstrate rigidity at times! Being patient with yourself and practicing looking at other perspectives will model the learning process for your child.
- Explicitly remind your children of other concepts they should consider. You can do this by supporting them to develop a mind map, asking them leading questions or having them complete the same problem twice, using different strategies each time.
- Incorporate small changes to help build their tolerance/skills. Some examples include driving a different way home, switching the typical family seats at dinner or watching tv, doing a regular daily routine in backwards order, or making up new rules for a game (e.g., going up the snakes & down the ladders)). Get your children to help choose a way to change their everyday tasks to help give them a sense of control over the situation.
- Talk out loud and model how you examine scenarios in your daily life by explaining all the points of view to consider. You can even pause a movie or TV show to ask your child to hypothesize what might happen in the next scene.
- Prepare your child for a situation that may require cognitive flexibility. Remind them that there may be different solutions to solving a problem and that they may have to employ these different strategies.
- Create a problem-solving wheel that shows your child the alternate strategies they can attempt to solve a problem.
- Complete a new activity with your child. Learning new things and being adventurous can help you expand your ideas.
- Recognize that anxiety is a part of rigid thinking styles. You can support your child to deal with their anxiety when they have to change something. For example, they can use deep breathing or other mindfulness techniques. Be empathetic to their challenges.
These strategies are particularly important now during the global pandemic. Children have been forced to adapt their daily living, learn school lessons in a new way, and socialize differently. Practicing the ability to solve problems in new ways, consider multiple concepts at once, and look at the bigger picture will support their cognitive flexibility skills.
In summary, cognitive flexibility skills allow us to switch gears and find new approaches to solve problems in our daily lives. Many children with ADHD and Learning Disabilities struggle with cognitive flexibility and may require more assistance in developing these skills. There are many ways to help your child develop these skills, including modelling, explicit instruction, and experiential learning.
Culled from Foothills Academy