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.
It's OK to Allow Room for Failure
Written by: Coach Alison Lake
As parents, we don't want to see our children struggle or fail in school. We do our best to protect them and provide all the support we can. It's a natural instinct to step in and help. Many of us sat up late helping with a last-minute term paper emergency because our child didn't start early enough or felt stuck.
But this approach can prevent growth. There's a fine line between providing parental guidance, which children truly need while growing up, and overprotective parenting. It's important for children to work independently, learn from their mistakes, and experience any consequences. These are important skills they will use in school and later in life.
What does this mean academically?
Long-Term Projects
Let's take long-term, multi-step assignments--the research project, the term paper, the science fair. It can be daunting to start a complicated task and see it through to the end. Students often don't know where to start, or feel overwhelmed by the magnitude. It might be tempting to dive in and work on the project together.
Put in some time at the beginning to map out a plan. Encourage your child to break the project down into steps well ahead of time and estimate how much time each portion will take. They could work on the project 20 minutes every day, for example. They should use a checklist and mark the steps in their daily planner, then review their progress on each step. That way, they are taking responsibility and ownership rather than depending on you to get it done.
Identify the Problem Source
Parents can help by asking questions to uncover the source of the problem. Ask where they feel stuck, if any portion of the assignment is confusing, and how much time they have been spending on it each day. Review their system of organization and how they are keeping track of assignments and items. Daily planner use and a binder divided into subjects and sub-tasks will help them easily see what they need to do that day and what's coming up.
Encourage Reflection
Let's say a student stayed up late working on a paper they left to the last minute. Or they forgot their homework binder one yet again and Mom or Dad didn't bail them out by driving to school to pick it up. Or they didn't listen in class when the teacher shared important details about an upcoming test, and did poorly on that portion of the test.
That's a good time to gently encourage reflection and ask your child what they learned from the experience. How did being late and disorganized make them feel? How was their motivation level? Did other things take priority? How would success look in this circumstance, and what steps would they need to take to get there next time?
Answers to these questions will provide information about where they fell short and help guide your child to a better approach going forward.
Of course, your child doesn't need to struggle alone if there is a chronic problem, such as consistently bad grades or lack of motivation. That is a good time to consider supplemental options such as an executive coach, subject-area tutoring, after-school help, or additional resources.
No one wants to see a child fail. But when they experience failure from time to time and learn from it, they will build a foundation of coping and project management skills that will help them succeed in the future. Children will become more resilient, and free to experiment and explore different ways of achieving their goals.
What are Executive Functioning Skills?
Written by: Coach Lauren Bachand
Executive functioning skills are those higher cognitive skills that are required to successfully plan and carry out various actions during the day. They include attention, planning, prioritizing, and organization. They are used for memory, reflection, and inhibition control. But what exactly is the big deal with executive functioning? And why get a tutor that focuses specifically on planning and organization instead of your child’s “problem” subjects and poor grades?
Well to start, the reason for academic failure normally has little to do with a lack of understanding the information and more to do with the processing and storing of the information. Executive functioning skills, or EF for short, are those skills controlled by the frontal lobe of the brain. This is the last part of the brain to develop and mature, but it is also the most influenced during childhood development. Just like academic subjects in school, EF skills are learned, however they are not necessarily intuitive.
Let’s take a look at our lives as adults to help conceptualize what they are, and role our EF skills play in our daily lives.
For many of us, our day actually starts the night before. We might set an alarm, or check to ensure our alarm is set for the right time. (And, if you are anything like me- set a second, and a third. Just in case.) The next morning when you wake up, you prioritize the first things to do without much thought. Maybe one child struggles with getting up in the morning, or has to be to school earlier than the others, so you wake them first. You get dressed, set out breakfast, create your children’s lunches, or pull aside cash for hot meals. When you arrive at work you check your emails. You effortlessly categorize and prioritize which ones to answer before your 10 o’clock meeting. That afternoon you use Google Maps to determine the best route to get to your children’s school in time for pickup. You notice there is an accident, adjust your route and call the school to let them know you may be late. Once you arrive home you realize you are out of milk and write a memo to pick more up the next day. You look in the pantry, problem-solve, and cook dinner. You usher your children to bed, and then it is time to start all over again.
As an adult, you used your EF skills naturally and unconsciously. You adapt, problem-solve, and overcome obstacles with little second-thought. A child, especially once with learning differences which create EF deficits, may run into numerous bumps in the road during your day. They might forget to set their alarm the night before and wake up late, take too long answering emails and miss the morning meeting, see an accident on the route and not adjust or call the school to warn about being late, or they might forget to write the memo for milk.
If we were to translate this information to your child’s everyday life in an academic setting, you might notice that they forget to write down the deadline for an upcoming project. They might spend too long working on a homework worksheet that is only worth five points, instead of studying for a test that is worth 50 points. They might pick a topic to research that is too challenging, but they do not adjust the subject or ask the teacher for help. Or, they might forget to bring their textbooks home to complete their homework.
While your child’s academic coach will work with them on developing these skills during their sessions, it is also important they are developed daily around the house. So what are some things you can do to help your child develop and mature their EF skills, maximizing their future success? Well, to start the best (and easiest) way is to model the behavior yourself.
Here are four easy ideas to do together with your child:
Create a wall calendar for you and your child
Calendars are a great way for anyone to stay organized and on top of their game. It is the perfect way to foster planning, time management, scheduling skills, and foresight.
Begin with buying one large dry erase calendar (22in by 18in) for yourself and one for your child. These can be found on Amazon. Then, set aside one night at the end of the month, like the last Sunday, to sit with your child and schedule out the month in advance. Add work deadlines, appointments, and reminders on your calendar, while encouraging your child to fill in the deadlines for large assignments, tests, and extracurricular activities such as sports practices and tournaments on theirs. Then, create the habit of marking off each day together before going to bed. Children are visual learners, and being able to see approaching deadlines help them prioritize and schedule appropriately.
Create a nightly checklist for you and your child
Checklists are a great way to foster organization and other skills needed to prioritize tasks. It provides a sense of accomplishment, and help reduce stress and anxiety.
Begin by having you and your child create two or three goals you would like to complete by the end of the next day. These goals can be work/academic related, or they can be broader goals like remembering to wash the dishes or making a doctors appointment. At the end of each day, sit with your child and mark off which goals were met. For goals that weren’t met, ask questions such as “what prevented me from doing this goal today?” This tip can be used to foster a sense of accomplishment, be used as an incentive for “screen time” or another “fun” activity your child enjoys. If you and your child are competitive, this can become a fun game to see who can complete all of their goals each day.
Set out clothes for the next morning with your child
Preparing for the morning the night before fosters skills related to time management and organization. It reduces stress, anxiety, and frustration during morning routines.
Begin by checking the next day’s weather with your child. Now, with smartphones and in-home devices such as Alexa and Google Home- this step couldn’t get any simpler. Once you have determined the weather, work with your child to put aside an outfit. If your child has a uniform, this is the time for them to ensure all of the parts are washed and accounted for. If your child does not have a uniform, this is their chance to put together a cohesive, dress-code and weather appropriate outfit that matches their personality. While they put aside their outfit, you also have the chance to ensure you have everything you need for the next morning, potentially putting a small load in the washer and dryer before bed or ironing a pair of slacks. Once each of your outfits are picked out, you can each place them on the back of the bedroom doors using a hook.
Involve your child in cooking or meal preps
Cooking uses every EF skill there is. It fosters organizational, time management, working memory, and attention skills. Children must learn to use foresight and create grocery lists, gather and organize ingredients, time manage and prioritize what to cook when based on varying cook times, and attend tasks while cooking. Even better, it develops self-confidence in your child and a sense of accomplishment when they serve the meal to the family.
Begin by scheduling one day a week that your child is responsible for making dinner. I encourage parents to have their child make dinner since it is a meal the entire family can enjoy together. Once the day has been scheduled, help your child select meals you know they can accomplish with minimal assistance. Encourage your child to do as much of the meal independently as possible. These do not have to be complicated meals. Spaghetti with meat sauce, club sandwiches, baked ziti, hotdogs, or hamburgers are all examples of simple meals children can create with minimal assistance.
For more information about Executive Functioning, click here: https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/executive-functioning-issues/3-areas-of-executive-function