What is EF?
Executive Functioning covers many skills. The three core EF skills are working memory, inhibition control, and cognitive flexibility. These three skills offer the building blocks for the complex EF skills, including critical thinking, reasoning, problem solving, goal setting, prioritizing, and planning.
You cannot learn to drive by reading the manual alone. You need to get behind the wheel.
Executive functioning is vital for managing daily life in both adolescence and adulthood. As a secondary teacher and parent, I have witnessed a dance between adolescents and adults. Adolescents want more freedom to make choices but resist taking the responsibility that comes with that freedom. Adults expect adolescents to take more responsibility but are reluctant to give them the freedom to choose. I theorize that improving students' EF skills will make students feel more competent to recognize and take on the responsibilities of choice.
There are high academic and behavioural expectations of students. Students are expected to know what to do and how to do it. One of my objectives when working with a student is to make learning expectations explicit. I help develop the student's metacognitive knowledge about the learning task and themselves as learners. I will help them discover the steps needed to study productively and efficiently. I strive to integrate EF skill development into existing learning activities because research conclusively states that executive functioning can only advance when students practice in authentic learning contexts. Research also shows that EF skills are diminished in times of stress and in new learning environments. That means students tend to lose the skills they already have, and why transitioning to high school and university is so difficult for some students.
Details
WORKING MEMORY
We will use variations of the chunking strategy to remember a list of items, and follow steps of a plan. We will help students devise a strategy that works for them to keep track of their belongings.
INHIBITION CONTROL
We will work with the students to support focus on a task. We will encourage students to discover a mindfulness practice that reduces their learning anxieties. We will develop students social-emotional competencies so they can moderate their own behaviour during learning activities.
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY
We teach students the value of reflecting on their effort vs results and how to better meet their learning goals for next time. We know that reflection leads to understanding and growth. We coach the student in perspective taking, which enhances their social awareness and relationship skills. Perspective taking also teaches students to become creative problem solvers.