Cognitive Competence and Academic Performance

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Cognitive Competence and Academic Performance There are many types of people around our life; different individuals possess different traits that make themselves unique in certain aspects, for instance in academic aspects, some people may obtain an offer from famous university meanwhile some people cannot graduate from secondary school successfully. Cognitive competence has been predicted as one of the most significant factors that make people academic unique. (Leeson, Ciarrochi & Heaven, 2008) In this article, the first part will mainly focus on the definition of cognitive competence based on my comprehensive academic research. In the second part, a self-reflection on what extent of cognitive competence I am will be provided in view of my own life experience. Finally I will analysis the relationship between cognitive competence and academic performance based on the definition and my life experience. What is Cognitive Competence? Our group mates have done a lot of research on other psychologists’ definition of cognitive competence. The academia understandings of cognitive competence are mainly formed three factions in this essay. The three factions have different directions and focus when study the concept of cognitive competence. I will demonstrate and discuss the three different concepts first and summarize a comprehensive understanding about the cognitive ability. Cyclical process - Piaget According to Piaget (1977), cognitive competence consists of the cyclical process of assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation here means the process whereby new things (unacquainted knowledge, culture) gradually adapt to our own understanding and become our private things. Accommodation means organizing and handling these new things. The two links - assimilation and accommodation collaborate to form the ‘cyclical process’. It means that assimilation and
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