Towards a Practical Framework of the Remediation of Cognitive Skills at Primary Level

Abstract

In this article, the remediation of pupils’ cognitive skills is studied and a practical framework for educational and remedial work at primary level is introduced. This article is based on a doctorate research that studied by means of action research the development and enhancement of the most low-grade school entrants’ reasoning and cognitive skills. Those first grade students (N = 43) who performed the worst in the cognitive skill measures comprised the test and control groups. The pupils in the test group were trained with the methods described in this article for 27 teaching moments during two school years. The results showed that the poor cognitive skills can be rehabilitated. Based on the results, a practical framework is constructed for educational and remedial work at the primary education. In this framework, the nature of cognitive skills and various different factors affecting educational situation are presented. With the help of these factors, the development of cognitive skills can be supported. The development of pupils’ cognitive skills is individualistic, which should be noticed also in teaching. The principles and references are presented, which can help the teachers with their own actions to repair the defective cognitive processes and, at the same time, support the pupils’ learning and working skills.