How can middle school and high school students benefit from executive function skills?

Executive function skills can support students who are struggling learners and improve confidence. Executive function skills are the processes in our brains that assist us in accomplishing daily tasks, including homework assignments and work duties. They include our abilities to organize materials, prioritize work, stay focused during activities, and work hard through obstacles and challenges. As second nature, children and adults often use these skills numerous times every day. Part of executive functioning includes attention, time management, planning, short-term memory and long-term memory skills.

Children and adults who struggle with executive functioning skills might:

●  Have trouble beginning or completing tasks.

●  Often lose or misplace materials.

●  Have difficulty staying organized.

●  Forget directions or steps of a task.

●  Have difficulty focusing, or switching from one task to another.

●  Act in impulsive ways (acting without thinking it through)

●  Often finish work at the last minute.

●  Not make good use of time

Time management skills are an important piece to succeeding in the classroom, especially for middle school and high school students in math, science and English classes. With technology, google classroom and online classes as common components of teacher expectations, it is more important than ever for students to check school websites for upcoming assignments and plan their calendars on a daily basis to prepare for upcoming tests and projects. Working with an in-person tutor who teaches executive function and time management skills can be a pivotal piece of doing well in school. A good tutor not only helps with academic subject matter but also teaches strategies such as the Cornell note taking method, color coding, cognitive mapping, and organization skills. Simple study strategies can turn overwhelming science projects into smaller more manageable tasks.

With personalized learning and study techniques, students will increase confidence and test scores. For example, biology and chemistry classes include daily organization skills by keeping handouts organized in binders, knowing when the next lab report is due, making study guides to include vocabulary for the next test, etc. An experienced tutor helps students feel confident, learn to implement time management skills, reduce stress and improve grades.

Writing essays in English classes can be planned out through time management strategies. Starting off the pre-writing process by using cognitive mapping strategies and leading into topic sentences and supporting details can make writing a 5 paragraph essay and easy and fun. Preparing for math tests can be improved with an executive function coach who helps students color code index cards and include formulas needed to prepare for an advanced algebra or geometry exam. Geometry classes involve memorizing postulates and theorems and linking them to visual aids. In summary, all K-12 subjects can be made easier with an academic executive function coach who builds rapport with students and helps them learn to love learning again.

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