Executive Function in the Classroom

Written By Katie Butler

Authored by Mrs. Emily Cudnik

You may have heard the teachers at Padre Pio Academy talk about teaching Executive Function (EF) in the classroom, but may wonder what that actually means. When boiled down, EF is easily summarized as the skills of self-regulation. EF skills give students the ability to give the best of themselves, and at Padre Pio Academy we link the development of executive function with the formation of virtue. To date, there is not an official list of executive functions that all neuroscientists agree on, but I will share my favorite list with you:

  • Attention – Perceive, Focus, Sustain

  • Engagement – Energize, Initiate, Inhibit, Stop, Interrupt, Flexible, Shift

  • Optimization – Monitor, Modulate, Correct, Balance

  • Efficiency – Sense Time, Execute Routines, Sequence, Pace

  • Memory – Hold, Manipulate, Store, Retrieve

  • Inquiry – Gauge, Anticipate, Estimate Time, Analyze, Compare/Evaluate

  • Solution – Generate, Associate, Plan, Organize, Prioritize, Decide

Copyright © 2015 George McCloskey, Ph.D.

Be honest, was the list longer than you thought it would be? For those who were counting, that’s seven categories with thirty-three sub-categories! Does it make sense that, given this (non-exhaustive, ever-changing) list, some children struggle to learn all of these skills naturally? One could propose a myriad of reasons as to why younger people are not learning these skills naturally but, whatever the reason, these difficulties absolutely need to be addressed.

It might go without saying that a deficit in any of the above listed executive function skills will affect a child’s ability to learn. Many parents ask what they should look for when they suspect a child is struggling with these skills. Unfortunately, it’s not a simple answer and, sadly, many children reach high school or even adulthood before their EF deficits are addressed. A parent or teacher, however, may notice some of the following, more common symptoms:

“Children with executive function needs may be delayed or disordered in speech and language development, unorganized, forgetful, inflexible, easily distracted, and/or frequently off-task. They may rush through assignments with poor self-monitoring and self-correction, or they may seem to take forever due to poor focus, pace, time sense, prioritization, and initiation. When tasks have multiple steps and require layers of planning to execute (they) may easily become overwhelmed. (They) may struggle with social skill development in areas such as turn taking, sharing, awareness of others, joint attention, and conversational skills.” (TeraSumpter.com)

Sound like anyone you know?

It can often be mind-boggling, however, when children with EF difficulties present us with such a paradox at times. They are able to function so effectively when playing video games, watching YouTube, or engaged in any other preferred activity, yet they seem woefully inept when asked to complete the simplest of household chores or classroom assignments. It is very tempting to think that these “sudden” incapacities are a matter of conscious choice – “a convenient sham to avoid the hard work and effort that is being required of them. In actuality, most of these observed inadequacies are not a matter of conscious choice, but rather are the result of undeveloped, underutilized, or ineffectively engaged executive functions.” (McCloskey, 2015)

So, this year at Padre Pio Academy, we are happy to announce that we will once again be helping students at all levels improve their EF competencies within our classrooms! Even if a child has very good EF skills, there is always room for improvement and more learning; even as adults we continue to refine our EF skills.

Below are some things you will notice this year, and hopefully you will hear your children talk about them!

Structuring the Environment - reducing visual clutter; keeping a simple, clean classroom

Structuring Time - providing aids for time management by posting consistent schedules for activities; using clocks and timers; and building time monitoring into activities

Providing Prompts – making lists of the steps to be completed for a task, and the specific order of completion of the steps; posting to-do lists where they are sure to be seen; providing and checking homework assignment books

Providing Rewards - people often argue that children should not be rewarded for doing what they are supposed to do. However, I would argue that their job is to be the best student they can be and that they should be rewarded for achieving this goal. Providing rewards that they must earn can be likened to an adult who works at an hourly job. You get paid for doing what you are supposed to do, and sometimes that paycheck is the only thing getting you out of bed in the morning.

Planning - I have found that when children help me make plans for the classroom, they execute the plan better. They have a vested interest in making sure that the plan is carried out and that everyone in the class performs well. Last year, we had several of these little plans: walking in the hall plan (WIHP), second graders entering the room plan (SERP), reading out loud plan (ROLP), and the SIMPLE plan (keep quiet, stay in your seat, raise your hand, it’s that SIMPLE!). The children absolutely thrived when I would ask them to carry out these plans to the best of their ability.

Visualizing - picturing yourself doing what you are about to do is a key factor in the success of a student carrying out plans or completing tasks. I usually walk them through this verbally: “Picture yourself completing the “lining up” plan. Are you touching anyone? Are you cutting in line? Or are you standing still, not talking, and waiting for me to tell you to walk to the gym?”

Executing - carrying out the plan to the best of their ability

Evaluating - I also verbally walk them through this as well: “How did WHIP go? Did you talk in the hallway? Did you touch anyone? Did you stay in a straight line? What would you do differently next time?”

Reflexive Questioning – When a child asks a question, the teacher can respond with a question back to the child instead of giving them the answer. (Student: “What page are we on in our spelling book?” Teacher, “Where do you think you can find this information?” Student: “I’m not sure?” Teacher: “Where do I usually write the page number?” Student: “Oh, on the board!” (turns to the correct page) Teacher: “You’re right! Great detective work.” In other cases, a child might be completely unaware of their behavior and the teacher can use reflective questioning in order to make the child aware of a need for a change in their behavior. Teacher: “What page are you supposed to be on in your spelling book?” Student: “I’m not sure.” and the conversation continues the same as above.

Of all of these, reflexive questioning is my absolute favorite and, I find, the most effective weapon in my teacher toolbox. Not only does it put the responsibility on the child and teaches them how to problem solve without disrupting the class, it is also how our Lord spoke in the New Testament. During His lifetime, answering a question with a question was the most polite way to speak to someone; especially someone who was considered an authority figure. If you do a quick Google search, you will see that Jesus asked 307 questions in the Gospels, but only directly answered 3 of the 183 questions that were asked of him. So, if my math is correct, Jesus asks about 100 questions for every question He answers directly! This is how the rabbis of His time taught in the synagogues. They asked thought-provoking questions. That is what we strive to do at Padre Pio Academy and I am excited to help grow our children’s executive function skills in the classroom!

 

More Resources

Tera Sumpter’s resources:

Other Books:

  • Smart but Scattered: The Revolutionary “Executive Skills” Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential by Dawson & Guare.

  • Taking Charge of ADHD, Revised Edition: The Complete, Authoritative Guide for Parents by Russel A. Barkley

  • Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence by Laurence Steinberg.

  • Assessment and Intervention for Executive Function Difficulties (School-Based Practice in Action) by George McCloskey

Katie Butler
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