By Betsy Hill and Roger Stark
As advocates of the Science of Learning, we wanted to explore whether there is a practical way to amplify its impact—something that makes evidence-based learning approaches more powerful and broadly effective. Think of it as a force multiplier: an intervention that raises the overall effectiveness of the Science of Learning so students learn faster, remember more, and apply knowledge more reliably.
Is that possible? Yes. To explain how, let’s first summarize key insights from the Science of Learning and then show how cognitive science and cognitive training can act as that force multiplier.
Understanding New Ideas
Learning begins by connecting new material to what students already know. Analogies and comparisons help, but they must be elaborated so students form meaningful links. Because working memory is limited, instruction should avoid cognitive overload: use worked examples, combine modalities, pace content explicitly, and focus on mastery rather than age-based assumptions.
Learning and Retaining Information
Practices that promote retrieval—such as frequent recall, asking students to explain ideas, or organizing information meaningfully—strengthen memory. Mnemonics and storytelling support understanding and retention. Spaced practice and interleaving different kinds of problems further improve long-term learning and transfer.
Problem Solving
Strong long-term memory for foundational facts supports higher-level problem solving. Instruction should teach essential facts and provide effective feedback that is task-focused, explanatory, and aimed at improving performance.
Transfer of Learning
To transfer learning to new contexts, students must grasp the underlying structure of problems and the relevant background knowledge. Teachers can encourage transfer by using varied examples and by explicitly helping students identify the general steps or principles that apply across situations.
Motivation to Learn
Beliefs about intelligence shape motivation. Praising effort, encouraging goal-setting, and promoting a focus on improvement foster motivation that supports learning. Self-determined motivation—where learners feel autonomy and purpose—produces better outcomes than motivation driven solely by external rewards or pressure.
Common Misconceptions
educators should correct several persistent myths: fixed learning styles, the idea that people only use a small portion of their brains, and simplistic left/right brain models. Cognitive development is not strictly tied to age-related stages, and novices can sometimes think in ways similar to experts. Recognizing and addressing these misconceptions helps align teaching with cognitive science.
Building on these principles, cognitive science offers additional tools to strengthen the learning process. When integrated with classroom practice, cognitive approaches can amplify learning outcomes across domains.
The Basics of Cognitive Science
Cognitive science describes the mental processes the brain uses to notice, interpret, store, retrieve, and apply information. Cognitive skills—such as attention, perception, memory, reasoning, and executive functions—support learning, problem solving, collaboration, and creativity. Understanding these processes helps educators design instruction that aligns with how the brain actually works.
Reception
Reception is the first step: sensing the world through sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Because sensory input is massive, the brain quickly filters information to focus on what seems relevant. This filtering is largely nonconscious and depends on skills such as efficient visual and auditory processing and focused attention.
Perception
Perception follows reception: the brain identifies and interprets selected inputs by integrating new information with stored knowledge. Rapid integration of visual and auditory cues, sequencing events, and spatial understanding all happen in fractions of a second and build meaning from sensory data.
Memory
Memory underpins every stage of processing. If information isn’t stored and retrievable, learning hasn’t truly occurred. Memory ranges from immediate sensory traces to short-term and long-term storage. Working memory—the conscious space where we hold and manipulate information—is the point where we become aware of material and can actively think about it. Only information engaged in working memory has a chance to be encoded into lasting memory.
Direction (Executive Functions)
Executive functions direct thinking. Working memory, inhibitory control (self-regulation), and cognitive flexibility (shifting perspective and adapting to new rules) coordinate mental activity much like a conductor guides an orchestra. These skills enable decision-making, goal-directed behavior, and effective learning strategies.
Thinking
Higher-order thinking—analysis, complex reasoning, planning, and problem solving—depends on the coordinated operation of these cognitive processes. The “thinking” stage produces outputs: comprehension, decisions, plans, and actions.
Non-Linear Integration of Skills
Although we describe processing in stages, the brain operates non-linearly: multiple processes interact continuously. Cognitive strengths and weaknesses influence learning across subjects. Research suggests cognitive skills explain a substantial portion of variance in academic performance—sometimes more than instructional factors alone.
Cognitive Science Led to Cognitive Training
Insights from cognitive science have given rise to cognitive training—structured activities designed to strengthen specific mental skills. Also called brain training, these programs target abilities like working memory, processing speed, attention, and reasoning. Cognitive training can be delivered through computer exercises, physical activities, paper-based tasks, or multisensory approaches.
Cognitive training differs from standard classroom instruction because it focuses on the processes the brain uses to learn rather than on domain content itself. Many cognitive skills operate nonconsciously and are not easily taught by direct explanation. However, evidence shows targeted, systematic practice can expand capacities such as working memory and processing efficiency—improving the brain’s overall ability to learn.
Like physical exercise, effective cognitive training builds mental capacity: strength, speed, flexibility, and stamina for thinking. Programs that address a broad, integrated set of skills tend to produce more durable and transferable gains than narrowly focused interventions.
Force Multiplication: Strengthening the Learning Process
Force multipliers magnify effort to deliver greater results. When education combines the Science of Learning with comprehensive, integrated cognitive skills training, the result is a practical force multiplier for instruction. Because cognitive processes are domain-independent, improving them benefits reading, math, science, reasoning, social-emotional learning, and even athletic performance.
Rather than training a single isolated skill, modern approaches emphasize the brain’s integrated nature: skills must be both strong and coordinated. Accurate cognitive assessment identifies individual strengths and weaknesses, allowing educators to prescribe targeted, integrated training that strengthens the underlying processes of learning.
With such training, content instruction becomes clearer and more accessible. Students gain confidence, manage stress better, and often show measurable improvements in academic performance as their capacity to learn increases.
About the authors
Betsy Hill is President of BrainWare Learning Company, which focuses on building learning capacity through applied neuroscience. An experienced educator, she has studied neuroscience and education with leading experts and has served on academic boards, taught strategic thinking in graduate programs, and received awards for contributions to learning and for sharing neuroscience practices in classrooms. She holds an MAT and an MBA and is co-author of the book Your Child Learns Differently, Now What?
Roger Stark is Co-founder and CEO of BrainWare Learning Company. He has led efforts to bring cognitive assessment and comprehensive cognitive skills training into practical use for learners, guiding the development of scalable, research-based tools for improving cognitive literacy. Roger is co-author of the book Your Child Learns Differently, Now What?