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The Blog Series
The Cognitive Lens is a multi-part blog series in which I examine how generative AI intersects with cognitive science to shape the future of learning. Through research-informed reflections, I analyze how AI tools can enhance core cognitive processes such as attention, memory, problem-solving, and metacognition.
The series highlights practical ways AI can support clearer thinking and more personalized learning, while also addressing the ethical considerations and boundaries needed to protect human judgment, motivation, and wellbeing.
Grounded in my interest in psychology, neuroscience, and education, The Cognitive Lens offers a student perspective on how technology can enhance learning responsibly—and why the human mind must remain at the center of any innovation in education.
All Posts
Cognitive Load & Clarity — How Generative AI Helps Students Avoid Overwhelm
Towards the end of the semester, my workload increases significantly. Exams, assignments, and summatives for multiple subjects require a lot of dense reading and comprehension of subjects with complex explanations. Sometimes I get a bit overwhelmed and don’t do as well as I like. It’s not that I’m bad at the topic; it’s just delivered in a way that overloads my memory. I recently listened to a podcast discussing the Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), and I recommend you take some t
Yasemin
9 hours ago4 min read
Thinking in Patterns — How Generative AI Supports Cognitive Schema Building
As part of my schoolwork, I watched a series on revolutions that changed history. We compared and contrasted the French, Russian, and American revolutions, with a quiz at the end of the lesson. I found it easier to retain information when I saw that all these revolutions shared similar causes, allowing me to see a pattern or structure behind them, instead of just memorizing hard facts. Our brain is wired to notice patterns. That’s why we can finish incomplete sentences or ma
Yasemin
May 53 min read
Teaching the Mind to Reflect: How Generative AI Can Foster Metacognition
This past week I’ve been rewatching old podcasts and TEDs. I came across Dr. Katy O’Brien’s old talk about Metacognition , and one thing really stood out to me. She asked us to imagine being asked to go to the grocery store and get a certain number of things, then she asked the audience to put up their hand if they would write it down as a list. As the number of items increased, so did the hands being put up; I caved on her third list. She revealed to us that our instinct to
Yasemin
Apr 223 min read
Inside the Attention Layer: How Generative AI Reflects the Brain’s Selective Focus
Technology is pretty great, but it can get overwhelming. We are constantly connected through the internet, and it’s hard to maintain focus with so many distractions: phone notifications and multiple tasks happening simultaneously result in overstimulation and an ineffective use of our time. With so much going on at the same time, all the time , how does our brain decide what to pay attention to, and how can we use AI models to study it? A good place to start is the brain’s ab
Yasemin
Mar 133 min read
Beyond Recall: How Generative AI Mirrors the Brain to Strengthen Memory
In an era where ChatGPT can recall anything in seconds, what value remains in memory? AI has the ability and resources to “remember” massive amounts of information, whereas our own capacity for recall remains dependent on learning, creativity, and identity–subjective experiences that differ with each individual. As it stands, the human memory seems limited, and the AI, limitless . Does that render our brain obsolete, or is there a way to use generative AI to understand and im
Yasemin
Feb 254 min read
Designing the Future Classroom: How AI Can Strengthen Memory, Focus, and Metacognition
I’ve discussed previously how AI can help personalize learning through curated resources and adapting to the individual’s learning style. I’ve also discussed the ethics of using AI and what developers and educators need to be aware of. Today, I want to posit this question: “Can AI help train the mind itself? Can we remember more, focus more, and reflect on how we learn?” To answer these questions, first understand the three pillars of cognitive learning: memory, focus, and me
Yasemin
Jan 153 min read
Exploring Cognitive Learning Through AI: Curated Research, Podcasts, and Talks
Today, I would like to mix it up a little and talk about some resources that I find helpful and interesting relating to my subjects of curiosity: AI, cognitive processes, and their relationship to learning and education. I regularly visit popular sites such as AI For Education and ISTE - staples in the tech-education community - to keep up-to-date on current developments, and I find that reading, listening, and watching expert insight not only helps me connect theory to pra
Yasemin
Dec 16, 20254 min read
Balancing Benefits and Risks: The Ethics of AI in Education and Cognitive Learning
I have friends who hate AI. Despise it. Abhor the thought of using it for anything. However, I also know people who use it for practically everything from school essays to their latest profile picture. However, there are aspects of AI I know could support my peers. However, conversations with my “hater” friends gave me insight into why they reject it and how it can unintentionally harm the students it aims to help. I find it interesting that the rise of AI seems to coincide
Yasemin
Nov 15, 20252 min read
Rethinking Learning: How Generative AI Personalizes Cognitive Learning for Students
Can learning only be defined by a state of stasis, unmarred by “distractions”? In today’s education system throughout the world, students are burdened with far more subjects, extracurricular activities, and take-home assignments compared to their predecessors, and yet educational institutions have not adapted their teaching methods accordingly. This gap—between how one learns and how rigidly the system is constructed—is nothing short of exhausting. Growing up, my fascination
Yasemin
Oct 16, 20253 min read
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