How Does College Affect Cognitive Development?

College environments characterized by face-to-face interaction struggle to promote the level of cognitive development necessary for success in adult life. Alternate forms of interaction in distributed learning environments hold promise for promoting cognitive development. Educators have yet to determine the effectiveness of various forms of interaction between educator and learner and among a community of learners. The challenge for educators is to identify new opportunities inherent in distributed learning to promote cognitive development and use those in combination with face-to-face interaction to ensure that college graduates are adequately prepared for the complexity that awaits them.

In college, ...