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Supporting Strategic Learning with Executive Function

Collaborative Slide Deck for Educational Use Only

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What do Executive Function Skills that are developing look like?

What gets in the way of EF Development?

Stress and anxiety interfering with EF use.
The Righting Reflex - natural desire of helpers to set things right, to prevent harm and promote learner welfare.
Invalidation- not feeling seen or heard for their experience or ways of thinking.
Fixed Mindset - feeling as if they just “aren’t good at something or able to do the thing”.
Lack of confidence/ perceived support- May not feel understood or hopeful/able to make a change for themselves.
May get defensive, uncomfortable, justify why their way is fine or unable to change.
Disorganized or inconsistent environments.

Reid 2023

What gets in the way of EF Development?

Lack of exposure. Poor modeling.
Lack of explicit teaching.
Lack of practice across contexts and experiences.
Shame, fear, frustration, avoidance, and desire to be seen as competent.
Feeling like using strategies = ‘dumb’ or ‘not smart’ (“I should just be able to do it”)
Diagnosed learning differences or mental health challenges.
Unsupportive and/or inflexible environments.
All or nothing/ one-way approaches to problem solving or a situation.
EF skills are not emphasized or positively reinforced.

Reid 2023

Executive Function (EF)

Working Memory

Ability to stop doing or thinking to assess which path will be most efficient to take

Inhibitory Control

Ability to shift or adjust to progress along a productive path to accomplish a task or goal

Mental Flexibility

Diamond 2013; Nigg 2017

Reid 2023

What’s Possible?

Eagen: SL 5.3.23

Lack of gen ed teacher knowledge/understanding of executive functioning and how to work with kids-

Barriers:

Teachers have too much on their plate to learn something new
Teachers have so much new curriculum learning to do that this will get put on back burner or won’t be implement.
Won’t be done consistently

Jaimie Fons

Design and plan: Goals, Context, Variability

Can’t really “manage” time… We can change our self-management and navigation of time

Time inventory

Help to get started: Make a plan

Use the mood meter to refine educational language

Reflection: Need to do - List > Have learned - Learn > What’s next? - Plan

Priorities matrix

Mindfulness built in

Clear communication

Values as foundational to motivate purposeful action

“Recipe” for lesson with image of end product and key vocabulary supported