ABSTRACT
During the secondary school years, pupils develop their knowledge and understanding of a wide range of subjects and also their ability to perceive, reason and solve problems. All of these are aspects of cognition (literally ‘knowing’). A key feature of cognition is that it involves us as learners in making sense of the world around us. As such it is unlike more basic forms of learning such as memorizing a song or rote learning multiplication tables. It includes skills that involve understanding, such as map reading, following instructions to make something and solving problems. Making sense, knowing, understanding, thinking and reasoning develop into adulthood and so cognitive development is an important feature of pupils’ mental growth during the secondary school years.
