Using a Planner Effectively
A planner is the most important tool a student can use to help them manage their time and plan for schoolwork. Online school portals are not planners, but rather one resource for students to get information for populating their planners. Teacher announcements in class and assignments written on the board are other resources for information. Every student’s planner will look different based on their unique needs. Read the tips below for ideas on using a planner effectively.
Planner Suggestions:
The best planner is the one a student will actually use!
School planners are ideal because they include school-specific holidays.
If your school does not provide a planner, use any academic planner.
Students should carry their planners with them throughout the day.
Students should write things down in their planners immediately upon learning about assignments.
Students should check their planners right when they get home and dedicate 10-15 minutes to making an action plan for the day.
Students should check their planners again before bedtime to be sure everything has been completed.
6 Steps to Using a Planner:
Write something next to every class every day.
Write “none” if there is truly no work in a particular class.
Write the specific assignment rather than something categorical.
Break longer-term assignments into more manageable entries.
Star tasks that are due the next day.
Cross out items as they are completed.
When students learn how to use their planner effectively, they improve self-monitoring and organizational skills. This helps them plan ahead to turn in assignments on time and allot the right amount of time to study for tests and quizzes. Watch our video tutorial from Illuminos CEO & Co-Founder Evan Weinberger for more information on how to effectively use a planner.
Get the Illuminos Executive Function Planner
Could your student use help with:
Managing homework effectively?
Creating a study plan?
Setting SMART Goals?
Communicating and self-advocating effectively?
Then our Executive Function Planner is for you. Order yours today!
A Guide to Self-Evaluation
Measuring progress is one of the essential steps in building academic momentum. Although we often assess students’ progress via report cards and exam grades, there is usually more to the story. School success should be measured through quantitative and qualitative measures, similar to annual job performance assessments. Proficiency in test-taking and homework accuracy should be evaluated alongside the more nuanced soft skills like organization and time management. A clear picture of progress and potential comes into view only when we combine the dual natures of student performance.
Of course, measuring student progress comes with other challenges beyond the essence of scope. Another factor is perspective. Our perspective of our own progress is skewed one way or another. Some students are too hard on themselves, while others need to be more critical. Parents and teachers can also be biased. Parents sometimes have strict standards that either don’t fit their child or are missing other elements of students’ success. Teachers carry biases, too. Some measure student performance exclusively on empirical data compared to the class average, ignoring the better approach of measuring a student compared to that student’s past performance.
Even with our perspective biases, there are three dimensions to consider in a progress checking practice: timing, balance, and implementation. Even the slightest step in the right direction is progress. Any amount of improvement should be celebrated.
In assessing a student’s progress, timing is critical. We recommend self-assessments weekly, monthly, and quarterly. These assessments can be written or verbal, formal or informal. The goal is to check progress and course correct consistently enough to get to the intended destination. Parents, teachers, or coaches can facilitate initially, but the ultimate goal is for students to evaluate their progress independently.
Self-evaluations should be balanced and consist of a brief check of the following skills: organization, time management, learning skills, and impression management. Students need to self-assess for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
To evaluate a student’s progress, walk through each skill and apply the tools. For example, students can assess the strengths and weaknesses of their current study habits, as well as opportunities for growth and roadblocks that might inhibit these new habits. The same can be done for organization and time management. For impression management, students should consider how well or how poorly they control the impressions they leave on teachers, parents, and peers. Then, apply the four tools to complete a thorough analysis and course-correct as needed.
The steps laid out above focus on implementation rather than fruitless data collection. When students properly assess all four skill-sets/tools, action and implementation follow naturally. The evaluation produces the correction in one fluid motion, whether it be a minor tweak from week to week or a major overhaul to begin a new semester.
At Illuminos, we provide the customized scaffolding your child needs while he or she learns to master organization, time management, note-taking, study and test-taking skills, self-advocacy, verbal and non-verbal communication, and social skills. To learn more about executive function and how it can help your child, please read our other resources or schedule time to talk with us.
Importance of Executive Function Skills
Written By: Isabelle Saunders
There’s no debate that school is a world-class juggling act: you’ve got extracurriculars, homework, your social life, studying- it can be a lot to handle. The older you get, the more important it is to develop executive functioning skills. Executive functioning is, quite simply, the skill instrumental in academic success. It’s been boiled down by educators to seven attainable attributes:
Adaptable thinking: ie, flexibility. As challenging as it may be, you have to keep trooping when you encounter a problem. Adapt to problems- find a way around them and exercise your problem-solving muscles. It’s an asset to accept the fact that what you think won’t always be right, and you have to be open to new ideas and ways of accomplishing things.
Planning: Foresight is nothing short of necessity. Whether it’s mapping out a busy week or setting up your after-school routine, planning cuts your to-do list into bite-sized pieces that you can visualize and accomplish. Planning out a project before you do it gives you a template do that you go into it with rhyme and reason instead of blindly hacking away at it.
Self-Monitoring: Introspection and self-evaluation! Only you know what your personal best is, and only you can make sure you’re giving it. Self-monitoring is to grasp what you’re doing wrong and have the agency to pivot to another strategy. It’s to realize how you’re doing on the task at hand, and to know how to improve.
Self-Control: To keep a firm grip on your emotions and behavior is crucial in any social setting. You have to be okay with receiving constructive criticism, and to keep trekking when something undesirable happens. A good way to maintain self-control is not to take school feedback to heart: what a teacher thinks about your essay is not a reflection on what they think of your character. And besides, you are fully capable of taking that criticism in stride and improving.
Working Memory: Sherlock Holmes always referred to his memory as a mind palace. Think of all this acquired knowledge like that: you’re storing away information to bring out and out to use later. Some of us have better memories than others, and that’s okay. If you’re someone with a naturally poor memory and nothing seems to help, no matter how closely you pay attention, there are ways to work with that. A few possibilities are to take detailed notes, try using mnemonic devices for memory, and use flashcards for a deeper form of concept association.
Time Management: This one’s for the chronic procrastinators. Time is a force that should be filled wisely. To get anything done, you have to be time-aware enough to do it. Be it in the classroom or at home, time won’t stop for you to complete your work.
Organization: For some of us, organization comes naturally. For others, it’s a learning process. Keeping your binders, desk, locker, and other school supplies neat and organized is the key to enhanced concentration and lowered stress levels. Is that last week’s math homework, Tuesday’s notes, or the drawing you made during lunch? No one wants to navigate their way through a storm of mixed papers- the front pocket in your binder is best used for current work only.
An anagram to remember these concepts is:
Adaptable thinking
Introspection
Retain information
Planning
Organization
Self-control
Time management
Responsibility and self-advocacy are not traits that sprout overnight. Like every other skill, they have to develop and be put into practice. The attributes covered, of course, don’t just apply to school: they’re necessary for a well-rounded and capable person.
Back to School Tips
Written by: Coach Nathaniel Jenkins
Summer is just ending and school is back in session. For some, there are feelings of joy that there is another opportunity to further their education, but for others there is a lack of motivation. Back to school anxiety is typical for all students, but the nerves can be heightened in students with executive functioning difficulties or ADHD. A student with ADHD in their daily life may feel like they’re struggling with school, whether it is a small homework assignment or a large project, more than their peers and that is NORMAL. Every new school year allows for a clean state for all students, but sometimes that isn’t enough. ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, may negatively impact a student’s life and outlook on a new school year. While it’s understandable to feel a sense of struggle, it doesn’t have to be that way. According to the Child Mind Institute https://childmind.org/article/back-to-school-tips-for-kids-who-are-struggling/, there are a few key points to understand when working with a student who feels like they are struggling or falling behind because of diagnosed, or even undiagnosed ADHD.
1. Make organization a priority
2. Address how to handle situations if things don’t go according to plan
3. Set up morale boosters
4. Don’t surprise students with questions about school
5. Allow space for trying, failure, and trying again
Firstly, it is highly important to approach the struggle head on and create strategies for how to move forward with an approach that works for the student: instilling organizational skills in the student will promote a sense of achievement. Next, developing a support system for the student will go a long way in academics and life in general, but this is something the student must be willing to ask for and accept when offered; unfortunately, a lot of students are afraid to ask for help. Knowing how to help the student through these times with morale boosters, or ways of boosting the students’ outlook, will help the student stay on track and keep from becoming defeated. It is important to keep in mind as a parent, teacher, coach, etc. that school is meant to be challenging for students. The goal of receiving an education is so a student can form educated opinions, learn problem solving, and communication skills, but asking about the progress in all of these unexpectedly can be overwhelming for a student. Setting up a schedule for times to discuss questions and concerns with the student about school is very beneficial for both parties. By doing this, the student doesn’t feel like they are receiving criticism and it will allow for the student to start becoming independent and confident in their own abilities. Allowing the student to try one method, potentially not succeed, then try a new method will be far more valuable for handling obstacles in the way during life and academics.
Students with ADHD have incredible opportunities for success. ADHD or not, there is more to life than school, but sometimes it may not feel that way for the student. School is very important and understanding how to coach the student to handle struggles and obstacles is priceless. Nerves before the start of the new school year are completely normal, but nerves and potential struggles don’t define the outcome, the amount of work and willingness to succeed are what define the student. As a coach, understanding the student is imperative to help them succeed in life and academics. The best tip for those who feel they struggle with school in general is to approach the new year with the mindset that they will succeed and do whatever it takes to do so.
Building a Support System for Students
We know that it takes a village to raise a child, but I would argue that the same holds true for shepherding a student through K-12 education – and even beyond. The Heckscher Foundation estimates that there are over nine million youth in the United States without a caring adult in their lives, and while the foundation advocates mentoring specifically from the private sector, I assert that the most effective web of support for a student is three-part: parents, teachers, and a mentor.
Parents
Parents play the most crucial role in the development of a child – they are the most consistent and long-term relationship the student will have. A parent’s role in their child’s education is to provide the longstanding perspective. Parents can identify their child’s needs and communicate them with the other members of the support system.
Children also need to feel that their parents are interested in the various aspects of their lives. This means carving out fun family time as well as monitoring the student’s academic performance. If the only message that a child hears from his parent is the berating message “Have you finished your homework?” This will risk creating an uneasy dynamic in the relationship or inducing anxiety that will show its effects in grades or emotional health.
Nonetheless, parents are well-placed to play the role of the authoritative monitor to keep their children accountable. The limits they set for their children with screen time and curfews can also promote a responsible sense of scheduling, workflow management, and a healthy work-life balance. They also have the luxury of having their relationship with their children evolve over time.
Teachers
Although teachers change every year, at six or more hours per day, they are the person a student has the longest daily contact with. Teachers also have the most training out of the three parties and can astutely assess areas in a student’s life to strengthen as well as make recommendations on how to do so. However, while most teachers are competent and well-meaning, the reality is that they are often responsible for more than twenty pupils at any given time and cannot meet the individual needs that a student may have.
On the other hand, students that show initiative and engagement with the subject matter are rarely turned away. Students having a particularly hard time in a class should set up an individual appointment with the teacher after school or during lunch to discuss the issue, whether it be with the curriculum itself or the modality of evaluation. This proactivity will likely gain extra empathy from the teacher and lead to creative problem solving or accommodations to address their concerns . Ultimately, the teacher is someone that the student has a vested interest in having on their side.
Mentors
Mentors are the last piece of the puzzle of student success. These mentors could take many forms: tutors, volunteers from the private sector, or coaches. Whatever title that the mentor may have, their niche in the student’s life remains the same; they are neither a peer nor an authoritative figure. This means that the mentor can – and must – build an organic relationship with his mentee all the while providing advice informed by life experience.
As an academic coach, I often tell my students, “Part of being a good friend is helping you think through the consequences of your actions.” This means that when a student doesn’t invest enough time in their time management, organization, studying, or behavioral problems, I help them draw the line between these causes and their stress, late nights, poor results, and/or punishments. However, a good mentor shouldn’t leave his student in a state of despair by only pointing out the negative but offer practical solutions on improvement for the future. And as with the parents, there must be more of a message being transmitted than, “Do this” and “Don’t do that.” This means taking the time to listen to the student about their day, friends, and interests.
Mentors also provide the student with the advantage of having a relationship tailored to their needs.
The Network
Student success is facilitated when all the moving pieces of the machine are working in harmony and communicating with each other. Parents should be voicing their child’s needs; teachers should offer their observations and expertise; and mentors should relay relevant information that a student may not feel comfortable sharing with an authoritative figure. Practically, having periodical check-ins with the different parties in person or over email is a good habit to adopt.
The common belief a student needs to have in parents, teachers, and mentors is that they want him to succeed. On top of providing subject support and demanding excellence, a student’s support system must be just that – supportive. The adults must be the student’s biggest cheerleaders and believe in his potential.
Academic success transcends the boundaries of the classroom and the bubbles of a scantron – it requires building an entire environment that is monitoring and addressing a student’s academic and socio-emotional needs from tutoring to mental health. It may take a village, but all the village needs to be is attentive and supportive.
Written by: Coach Daniel Aste
Benefits of Art
Art projects are a great way to keep kids occupied in a healthy way. Something as simple as coloring, has been part of early childhood education for as long as we can remember.
Parents and educators sometimes are not aware of the real long term benefits to arts and crafts. Art is a way for children to be creative, however, it not only has a positive impact on core subjects but helps with executive functioning and neural development.
In this blog we’re going to focus on how art can affect academic performance and executive functioning,
EARLY DEVELOPMENT
Creativity
Creativity is key when it comes to problem solving. Not only is it helpful in the early stages of life but has been shown to help students excel far beyond college and provide more opportunities. Research has shown that students who have been exposed to art from an early age have a greater ability to come up with different ideas and solutions as they get older.
Fine Motor Skills
From an early age, fine motor skills are important to develop coordination. Learning how to hold a marker or a paint brush can help lead to good penmanship. Tracing, cutting and coloring inside the lines, help improve coordination.
Sensory Input
Varied stimulation is a great way of engaging students brains with touch, sight, smell, and sound. This variety keeps their brains occupied and thinking without relying too heavily on one specific sense, which can be overwhelming, especially to younger students. Aside from being entertaining, a number of studies have found that this kind of stimulation helps kids’ neural functions develop better.
Executive Functioning
Since art is an open ended project it provides an opportunity for students to consider options, make choices, and evaluate results. These are essential to help develop executive functioning skills. Giving students a safe outlet for experimenting can help them get more comfortable with situations where there are no clear step by step directions.
OTHER BENEFITS
As the years go on, art has become a major part of therapy for children. Sometimes when a child has been through a traumatic event it is difficult for them to speak about their emotions. Not only regarding a traumatic event, but being a child in general can be difficult and facing or talking about those emotions can become overwhelming. However, giving children a piece of paper and a crayon to show how they feel allows for a safe space for the child and a way to communicate without using words.
Every day, students absorb incredible amounts of new information. While this is normal, they still need to be able to process what they learn in a way that works for them. Through artwork, students get to approach feelings and ideas in a “scaled-down” or more manageable way. This is often easier than finding the words to express how we are feeling, and can also be a good segue to other forms of open communication.
Art also allows us to connect with others. Working on an art project with a friend or a teacher can help strengthen or create a new bond.
Regardless of how much value you place on art as a cultural goal, the academic benefits are clear.
To learn more about how art can be great for students of all ages, check out these links:
https://artfulparent.com/the-benefits-of-art-for-kids/
https://www.studentartguide.com/articles/reasons-to-study-art