By Betsy Hill and Roger Stark
Learning is a fundamental function of the brain. As we engage with our environment, neurons form and strengthen connections through experience and practice; unused connections may be pruned away. This ongoing adaptability of the brain—often called neuroplasticity—means our brains are continuously learning and changing.
While everyone can learn, individuals differ in learning capacity: some people find certain skills or subjects easier than others, and the same person may find learning easier at one age than another. For instance, young children typically acquire language with relative ease, whereas learning a new language later in life can be much harder. Importantly, learning capacity is not fixed. It can be developed far more than many assume.
We identify three keys to building an individual’s learning capacity.
Key 1: Assess cognitive strengths and weaknesses and use targeted, evidence-based strategies.
Cognitive skills are the foundation for learning. They are the mental processes we use to take in, organize, store, understand, and retrieve information and to make decisions and act. These skills include different types of attention, visual and auditory processing, short- and long-term memory, and executive functions such as working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. Each cognitive skill contributes to a learner’s capacity, and the interaction among these skills matters just as much as any single strength or weakness.
Knowing only that a student “struggles in math” or “reads slowly” is not enough. Those difficulties can stem from different cognitive sources: limited working memory, weak visual-spatial processing, sequencing problems, or other processing challenges. For example, effective reading depends on visualization, verbal reasoning, and working memory; math often requires visual-spatial reasoning and sequencing. When we assess which cognitive processes are supporting or limiting a student’s learning, we can select strategies that address root causes rather than merely treating surface symptoms.
Personalized strategies rely on understanding a student’s learning profile. For a student who writes disorganized essays and struggles to get started, a teacher might suggest an outline. But if that student has strong visual-spatial skills and weaker verbal sequencing, a graphic organizer or mind map will likely work better than a linear outline, helping them capture ideas, relationships, and necessary detail.
Key 2: Train cognitive skills comprehensively and in an integrated way.
Targeted classroom strategies can be effective in the short term, but they often compensate for weaker cognitive skills rather than develop them. For instance, giving directions one step at a time helps a student with limited working memory, but it does not increase their working memory capacity.
To expand learning capacity, cognitive skills themselves must be developed so they become reliable tools for learning. Cognitive training—sometimes called brain training—has a long history across disciplines such as speech and language therapy, vision development, and occupational therapy. Historically, these therapies often addressed specific skills in isolation. In contrast, effective cognitive training for learners should be comprehensive across a range of skills and integrated so the skills work together, much like physical cross-training.
Classroom teachers usually are not trained to provide intensive, individualized cognitive therapy and often lack the time for one-on-one interventions that build underlying processes such as working memory or visual span. This is where technology can help. Computer-based cognitive training, when well designed, can deliver comprehensive, engaging practice that strengthens multiple skills and integrates them so gains transfer to academics and daily life. Not all programs are equal; effective ones are broad in scope, adaptively integrated, and motivating to students.
Research shows meaningful gains are possible. For example, controlled studies of students with specific learning disabilities who completed a structured cognitive training program demonstrated significant improvements on standardized cognitive and achievement measures after a period of training, while similar students who did not train showed little change. These findings suggest that systematic cognitive training can substantially close gaps for struggling learners.
Key 3: Foster a genuine growth mindset.
Believing intelligence can grow is important, but growth mindset is more than a slogan. It describes how learners respond to setbacks—how they adapt strategies, hypothesize new approaches, and persist thoughtfully. True growth mindset involves experimenting with different solutions, learning from mistakes, and adjusting based on feedback.
Students are more likely to adopt a productive growth mindset when they understand their cognitive strengths and weaknesses and when they have effective strategies tailored to their profile (Key 1). Likewise, experiencing real improvement through targeted cognitive training (Key 2) turns the abstract belief that abilities can grow into a concrete, motivating reality. In this way, assessment and training propel a student’s capacity to embrace challenges and persist with productive strategies.
As Albert Einstein observed, intellectual growth should begin at birth and continue throughout life. If education emphasized developing individual learning capacity—combining accurate assessment, skill development, and mindset—students would be better prepared for both current demands and future opportunities.
About the authors
Betsy Hill is President of BrainWare Learning Company, an organization focused on building learning capacity through practical applications of neuroscience. An experienced educator, she has studied connections between neuroscience and education and has served in various leadership roles in higher education and professional development. She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching and an MBA.
Roger Stark is Co-founder and CEO of BrainWare Learning Company. He has led efforts to make comprehensive cognitive skills training and assessment accessible and affordable. He guided the development of an integrated cognitive training program designed to improve a wide range of cognitive literacy skills and has worked to translate clinical insights into scalable educational tools.
This article was originally published by The Learning Counsel, a research institute and news media organization focused on the transition to digital curriculum in education.