What Is Cognitive Education?

Abstract
Cognitive education is education that seeks to improve the cognitive (mental) skills of the student in order that the students can lead constructive and satisfying lives. There are many different models for cognitive education, but I have constructed a career doing cognitive education through a “theory of successful intelligence” (Sternberg, 1997, 2010; Sternberg & Grigorenko, 2007; Sternberg, Jarvin, & Grigorenko, 2009; Sternberg, Kaufman, & Grigorenko, 2008)—a theory that can be used in teaching not only on a small scale but also on a large scale.In this article, I first describe the theory of successful intelligence. Next, I describe how the theory has been augmented in recent years through the addition of wisdom. Then I discuss an even more recent addition, the role of ethical reasoning and behavior. Finally, I draw some conclusions.