Essay

Increasing Cognitive Flexibility in Your Students

By Sandra S. Szczygiel, MS, LPCC

Cognitive flexibility is a crucial skill for students to develop as it enables them to adapt to new information, shift their thinking, and solve problems creatively. Some examples of how cognitive flexibility can help in various life situations include:

The ability to adapt quickly to new situations.

The patience to tolerate changes and accept them as the new normal.

The ability to see things from multiple points of view.

The mental strength to move from one activity to another instead of focusing intently on one task or challenge.

Teachers can help students increase their cognitive flexibility by adapting their instructional practices, such as:

Encouraging Perspective-Taking

Implement activities that require students to step outside their own viewpoints and consider alternative perspectives. When students practice viewing situations from multiple angles, they strengthen neural pathways that support flexible thinking and develop greater empathy for others.

Incorporating Open-Ended Problems & Puzzles

Present students with complex, open-ended challenges that mirror authentic problems. These experiences teach students that problems can have multiple valid solutions.

Promoting a Growth Mindset

Create a classroom culture where mistakes are normalized and viewed as valuable parts of the learning process. Explicitly teach students about neuroplasticity and how the brain physically changes when we learn new things.

Applying Cross-Disciplinary Learning

Design integrated lessons that naturally blend multiple disciplines. This interdisciplinary approach builds neural connections that support more flexible thinking strategies and encourages students to draw from diverse knowledge bases when solving problems.

Teaching Strategy Switching

Teach students to recognize when a particular approach isn’t working and how to pivot alternative strategies. Present problems that intentionally lead to dead ends, requiring students to backtrack and try new methods.

Using Productive Ambiguity

While clarity is important in education, students also need practice working through uncertainty. Design learning experiences with intentionally ambiguous elements where students must define parameters themselves or work with incomplete information.

Cultivating Diverse Thinking

Vary your instructional approaches regularly, alternating between visual presentations, hands-on activities, discussions, and independent exploration.

Reference: Teaching Strategies, December 31, 2019 with a 2025 update, Amanda Dodge>>