Integrate executive function skill training in various academic areas.Some of the strategies we describe in the book focus on reading comprehension and writing which can prove helpful in all academic areas. These strategies can be taught in your language arts classes. We also share strategies to support learning mathematics facts. Some of your students may have difficulty remembering their mathematics facts. If they have a 504 Plan or Individualized Education Program (IEP), they may have the accommodation of using a calculator when completing mathematics problems. It is helpful, however, for all students to have problem-solving skills that include finding the correct answer to problems requiring math facts without using the calculator. One of the approaches we describe in the book is skip counting to give the student an opportunity to find the answer without the calculator. In this case, we used it as a compensatory strategy.Academic areas requiring students to complete a long-term project or paper can be challenging in terms of executive function skills involving planning for project completion, considering content selection, organizing selected content, developing a method for reporting selected content, and time management. Strategies for supporting these executive function skills are included in this book. Although we have found high-achieving students who are interested in improving their executive function skills, it should be noted that strategies should not be forced on students who are already proficient in their executive function skills.
Integrate executive function skill instruction as needed.For instance, some of your students may stand out as in need of help self-regulating their behavior, organization, and planning. This help can be provided in terms of looking at priorities in terms of behaviors endangering their path to academic success. When using this approach, you and the student will identify the executive function areas in which the student is demonstrating the most difficulty and teach strategies to the student based on his or her individual needs. Our 7-Step Model or the modified version provides a process for that instruction.
Offer enrichment and/or credit classes in executive function skills.You may not have a time in your schedule to teach enrichment classes; however, a promising practice in some schools allows social workers, psychologists, or guidance counselors in your school to offer classes teaming with teachers, focused on executive functions. It is important to refer students demonstrating difficulty in any of the executive function areas for opportunities that address the difficulties they are experiencing.
Work with families to help them understand that their son or daughter needs to ultimately learn to self-regulate their academic, behavioral, and social/emotional activities to be successful.Telling a student to just try harder may invalidate the fact that the student has a deficit in an executive function area. Early intervention is vital to the student’s understanding that there are strategies they can use to improve opportunities for academic, behavioral, and social success. When efforts to involve family members or guardians fail, continue to correspond with them providing examples of progress their child has made academically, behaviorally, and socially. Although this practice might not result in guardians’ or family members’ participation, it maintains an open line of communication.
Conversation with: Meredith Julius, MA and Laura Beck, LMSW
Grade: High School Front-Loading Program
Executive Function Addressed: All Categories
Executive Function Skills Program Designed for: At-Risk Students
Laura Beck
A promising approach to teaching students-at-risk study skills with an emphasis on executive functioning is in its third year in Oxford, Michigan. School administrators requested that Meredith Julius, a licensed school psychologist, and Laura Beck, a licensed school social worker, design a general education initiative for at-risk ninth and tenth graders to reduce the disproportionality in special education referrals. Students at risk of being referred were identified and selected based on the need for intervention. This was a general education initiative to address disproportionality; therefore, no students receiving education services were included but some students with 504 Plans were enrolled. An elective course for ½ credit per semester was established so that students would receive grades and credit for the course. Julius and Beck teamed in the classroom with teachers to offer this class consisting of study skills including executive function skill instruction and assistance with current academic subjects. They created weekly lessons that were interactive using videos, modeling, and re-teaching that empowered students to self-advocate and take responsibility for their own success. Pre- and posttesting instruments were used to monitor student progress. For example, progress was monitored in terms of students handing in completed assignments. Pre- and posttest data point to promising results. Anecdotal data from teachers revealed that students have made progress in the executive function skill areas such as working memory and organization. In addition, teachers stated that students show more self-confidence since entering this program. Julius and Beck report that the extra time spent front-loading planning and instruction have resulted in a decrease in the number of referrals and subsequent evaluations for special education. The response has been well received by teachers and administrators.
FIGURE 1.12 Ideas for Implementing EF Training for Different Types of Classrooms
In the next six chapters, we will describe strategies and activities that can be used to improve or compensate for executive function skill difficulties.
Think About
Why should you offer your students executive function skills training?
What executive function difficulties have you observed your students experiencing?
Think of a student or students you feel would benefit from executive function skill training.
How would the strategy instruction be staffed?
Where you would hold the training (i.e., classroom, library, counselor’s office)?
When would you offer the training (i.e., Morning Meeting, Class Meeting, Daily Schedule Review)?
CHAPTER 2 Working Memory and Supportive Strategies
Reader Outcomes
☑ You will be able to identify factors that suggest problems in the executive function skill area of working memory.
☑ You will be able to identify how difficulties in working memory impact a student’s behavior, social/emotional well-being, and academic success.
☑ You will be able to identify strategies to use to address difficulty in working memory.
☑ You will be able to record student progress and make instructional changes based on the data.
What Is Working Memory?
Working memory is at the foundation for learning. According to Cooper-Kahn and Foster (2013) working memory is “the ability to temporarily hold information in one’s head to use it to complete a task” (p. 10). Working memory is sometimes referred to as short-term memory, but the problem is that short-term memory is linked more closely to long-term memory than what we previously thought. Kaufman (2010) defined working memory as “the cognitive mixing bowl in which new information is combined with background knowledge to allow for comprehension