1. Executive Functions what are they how do they affect a student how can we help students with vulnerable EF skills JMB 4/09

2. What does executive functioning mean to you? What are two broad categories of ways to help students with vulnerable EF skills? What skills are included under EF? What signs are indicative of a student with vulnerable EF skills? Can these skills be taught? When are EF skills developed? Let’s see what we know about EF….

3. EF skills Graphic of Brain and its Functions

4. “Executive skills allow us to organize our behavior over time and override immediate demands in favor of longer-term goals. Through the use of these skills, we can plan and organize activities, sustain attention, and persist to complete a task. Executive skills enable us to mange our emotions (referred to as “hot” EF skills vs. the other skills referred to as “cool”) and monitor our thoughts in order to work more efficiently and effectively. Executive skills help us select and achieve goals or to develop solutions to problems. These skills include: planning, organizing, time management, working memory, and metacognition (self- monitoring and self-evaluation). To reach a goal, we use skills to guide and modify our behavior as we move on the path towards reaching a goal. These skills include: response regulation, self- regulation or affect, task initiation, cognitive flexibility (this includes making transitions), and goal-directed persistence.” From: and Adolescents Dawson and Guare, Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents EF…..the brain’s CEO, or the orchestra conductor of all our cognitive skills General Definition of Executive Function

5. Preschool - run simple errands; tidy bedroom/playroom; perform simple chores and self-help tasks; inhibit behaviors (don’t touch hot stove, don’t run into the street) K-2- run errands; two/three step directions; tidy bedroom/playroom; perform simple chores; do self-help tasks w reminders; bring papers to and from school; complete hw assignments (20 mins max); decide how to spend money/allowance; inhibit behaviors (raise hand to speak, keep hands to self, don’t swear) & follow safety rules Gr 3-5 - run errands (may involve a time delay); tidy bedroom/playroom; perform tasks that take 15-30 mins; bring materials to and from school; keep track of belongings when away from home; complete hw (up to 1 hour max); plan simple school project; keep track of changing daily schedule; save money for desired objects; inhibit & self regulate-behave when teacher leaves classroom, refrain from rude comments Developmental Tasks Requiring EF Skills

6. Gr 6-8- help w chores in home; baby sit younger siblings; use a system for organizing schoolwork (inc. planner, notebooks); follow school schedule; plan and complete long- term projects; plan time inc. for after-school activities, homework, family responsibilities; inhibit rule- breaking when authority not visible Developmental Tasks Requiring EF Skills

7. High School- manage schoolwork effectively on a day-to-day basis: complete & hand in assignments on time, study for tests, create & follow timelines for long-term projects make adjustments in effort & quality of work in response to feedback establish & refine a long-term goal and make plans for meeting that goal (ie college) select appropriate courses & maintain GPA for college acceptance maintain extra curricular activities inc SAT/ACT prep complete college apps make good use of leisure time (employment & recreational activities) inhibit reckless & dangerous behaviors Developmental Tasks Requiring EF Skills

8. What specific skills are included in EF? Depending on whose work one reads, the skills included in EF vary. Learning Works For Kids, a website, lists 12 executive functions that may be useful in clarifying a child’s executive strengths and weaknesses: Planning – The ability to develop a set of strategies in order to accomplish a goal; the ability to create a roadmap to reach a goal or to complete a task; it involves being able to make decisions about what’s important to focus on and what’s not important to focus on. Organization – The ability to use a systematic approach for achieving goals; the ability to arrange or place things according to a system. Time Management (prioritization) – The ability to respond to things in a timely fashion; the capacity to estimate how much time one has, how to allocate it, and how to stay within time limits and deadlines; it also involves a sense that time is important.

9. Working Memory – The ability to remember something while performing an activity on this memory; the ability to hold information in mind while performing and completing a complex task; it incorporates the ability to draw on past learning or experience to apply to the situation at hand or to project problem-solving strategies into the future Metacognition – The ability to self-monitor, self-evaluate, and observe oneself; the ability to stand back and take a bird’s eye view of oneself in a situation; the ability to observe how oneself problem solves Response Inhibition (self-control) – The ability to stop or delay an action rather than display impulsive behavior; the ability to think before one acts; this ability (to resist the urge to say or do something) allows time to evaluate a situation and evaluate how one’s behavior may impact the situation Regulation of Affect – The ability to manage one’s feelings effectively for decision-making, task-completion, achieve goals, or control and direct behavior And…..

10. Task Initiation (getting started) – The ability to initiate a task without procrastination Flexibility – The ability to be adaptable, improvise, and shift approaches to demands; the ability to revise plans in the face of obstacles, setbacks, new information, or mistakes; it involves adaptability to changing conditions Goal-Directed Persistence -The ability to persevere on tasks that require sustained effort; the capacity or drive to follow through to the completion of a goal and not be put off by other demands or competing interests Social Thinking– The ability to respond appropriately to social conditions From: http://www.learningworksforkids.com/executive.html and Dawson and Guare, Executive Skills in Children and Adolescentshttp://www.learningworksforkids.com/executive.html And still more….. Sustained Attention – The ability to maintain one’s focus and attention in the presence of distractions

11. Behaviors Found in Students with Executive Function Issues: Starts assignments/tasks without necessary materials Does not leave enough time to complete tasks Skips steps in multi-step tasks Has difficulty relating to a story chronologically “Jumps the Gun” socially Wastes time doing a small project and fails to do the big project Written work is poorly organized Has difficulty identifying what material to record in note-taking When given three or more things to do…remembers only the first or the last thing to do

12. Typical Behaviors Found in Students with Executive Function Issues: Fails to turn in completed work Loses important papers or assignments Has difficulty getting started on tasks, which may appear as oppositional behavior Appears distractible and/or impulsive Picks smaller, immediate reward over larger, delayed reward Runs out of time before completing assignments/tasks Has good ideas but doesn’t get the job done Has difficulty making transitions and/or coping with the unforeseen Doesn’t check to insure that each step is completed Over-estimates or under-estimates time on needed tasks

13. Typical Behaviors Found in Students with Executive Function Issues: Doesn’t check work before submitting it Exhibits inappropriate or over-reactive responses to situations Starts tasks but may not finish Cannot find clothes, shoes, toys, books, pencils, etc. Doesn’t realistically evaluate performance in school From: http://www.rnbc.org/execfunct.asp Rush University Medical Center; Rush NeuroBehavioral Centerhttp://www.rnbc.org/execfunct.asp

14. Two principles to consider when thinking about helping students with EF vulnerabilities 1. Start with external changes/structures and then move to internal changes 2. Students can be supported by intervening with environment and/or intervening with student - think of ways to change the environment change the physical or social environment change the nature of the task change the way cues are given change the way adults interact with students - think of ways to change students’ skills by motivating them and/or directly teaching them to develop their EF skills to perform tasks and achieve goals According to Kahn & Dietzel, parents and teachers have two primary roles in helping children with EF vulnerabilities: help them be successful in their daily lives & teach the skills and strategies/ approaches that allow the children to be independent in the long run. By providing only temporary supports, we may reinforce overdependence and learned helplessness.

15. Set a goal Create a checklist to reflect the procedure or steps to reach the goal Supervise the student following the procedure Evaluate the process and make necessary changes Fade the supervision Remember, the ultimate goal is to help students develop their own EF skills so they can function independently Process to teach EF skills to students: Identify the problem or problem behavior We must maintain a balance between support and skill building; if we only accommodate, without attempting to strengthen EF skills, we may promote dependency and helplessness. In collaboration with the student:

16. How to Change a Behavior Teach, using specific behavioral terms, what is expected of the student vs. punishing Collaborate with the student Focus on the desired outcome Raise the stakes…….use a reward system Reward small steps in the right direction Maintain reasonable expectations and decide when to let the student experience natural consequences for his/her behavior Remember, change does not occur in a smooth, steady, uphill manner From: Late, Lost & Unprepared; Kahn & Dietzel

17. What can teachers do to help students with vulnerable EF skills? Use checklists Use rubrics for assignments Create and use “how to lists ” or “tool kits” for procedures Use calendars Break up long-term assignments Check that students use their assignment book Teach study skills Teach highlighting/taking margin notes Inform students how long assignments should take Teach 2-column note-taking

18. What can teachers do to help students with vulnerable EF skills? Establish daily routines for : handing in homework, gathering necessary work materials, planning to accomplish the day’s tasks, writing down homework, gathering necessary materials for homework, reviewing directions for assignments (at first use a checklist each student or pair completes, then fade by cuing students to use checklist independently) Make class rules, teach the rules explicitly, practice the rules, cue students, then fade As a problem arises during year, discuss with class, identify it, & come up with a process to solve it. Having students help develop a plan incorporates EF skills. Create organizational systems; a grade-wide system possibly, to maintain consistency so internalization occurs (hopefully)

19. Incorporate EF skills strategies into daily instruction--ask questions that require EF skills e.g.. “how can you remember to …..” ; “since this is a big assignment, please write down the steps you need to follow”; “how will you study for this quiz/test” In order for class-wide strategies to be effective…. the strategy/process must be taught explicitly the strategy/process must be monitored daily for a LONG time before fading begins the strategy/process must be designed, described, and taught carefully *if the strategy/process fails, redesign the strategy/process for those students What can teachers do to help students with vulnerable EF skills? Set goals…each student sets a goal (academic or behavioral) and teacher and student meet routinely to check how student is progressing towards meeting goal. If a group goal is established, use advisory to have each student report progress (e.g.. how to study for quiz/test, time management)

20. Coaching is the process in which teachers work with students to set important school-related goals, ensure that the students’ behaviors and actions on a daily basis are consistent with those goals, and bring them closer to achieving those goals. What is coaching? 1. Set a goal, identify possible obstacles, write a plan to reach goal 2. Hold daily sessions (5-10 mins) - review/evaluate the plan for previous day - make a plan for that day

21. Vignette 1: Joan, a 9 th grader, continually loses assignments & worksheets Along with losing assignments and worksheets, Joan works slowly. Therefore, at the end of class, she often was still taking notes, rushing to write down her assignments, and gathering her materials. As a result, she stuffed her papers into her book bag without paying attention to where she was putting them. This led to lost assignments and affected her grades. How would you coach this student?

22. How can we help Joan? 1. Analyze what she was doing/using currently—she was using a large 3-ring binder with a envelope at the beginning of each section. Although she tried to put the appropriate papers in the envelope, due to her slow pace and rushing, she failed to do this. 2. Design a plan---together Joan and her coach came up with a simpler plan. Use two folders- color-coded; a green one for papers she was given during the day, and a red folder for completed assignments. At home, she was to put any notes /handouts into the appropriate section of her notebook, and complete her homework. As she finished an assignment, she immediately put the completed assignment in the red folder, ready to hand in. At the beginning of every class, she pulled out both the green and red folder. She looked in the red folder to see if there was work to hand in, and she kept the green folder on her desk in preparation for any handouts/assignments she may receive. She met with her coach daily, and they discussed whether she followed the organizational system and modified if necessary.

23. Vignette 2 Fred, an 11 th grader, was always getting work done at the last minute or asking teachers for extensions to deadlines. What can we do to help Fred? Together with his coach, Fred decided he needed to better estimate how long it took to complete things. They met each day, looked at Fred’s assignments, and Fred wrote how long he thought each task would take to complete. When Fred did his homework, he jotted down the actual start and finish time and compared the reality to his estimate. Over time, Fred realized that it took him about 25% longer than he predicted. With this knowledge, he improved his estimates and better planned his time. During this process, he and his coach realized that Fred over-committed himself to extra- curricular activities. Together, they decided on what activities Fred wanted to keep and those he should give up. While this was difficult for him, he found that giving up some activities made a difference.

24. * efficient time-management * improved organizational proficiency *sustained motivation * effective planning and scheduling practices * development of proactive behaviors * goal setting and clarification activities * academic and social balance * increased self knowledge of learning styles * development of self-discipline * reduction of fear of failure * skills for coping with ADD/ADHD and other learning differences * personal and academic growth * renewed excitement and curiosity for learning From: http://www.rnbc.org/execfunct.asp Rush University Medical Center; Rush NeuroBehavioral Centerhttp://www.rnbc.org/execfunct.asp Through coaching and teaching students to improve their executive function skills, the students will gain knowledge of:

25. Wrap up Has this presentation helped you identify students who may have EF vulnerabilities? Do you have at least two or three strategies to help these students? Bibliography: Cooper-Kahn, Joyce & Dietzel, Laurie; Late, Lost, and Unprepared; Woodbine House; 2008 Dawson, Peg & Guare, Richard; Smart But Scattered; Guilford Press, 2009 Dawson, Peg & Guare, Richard; Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents; Guilford Pr. 2004 Meltzer, Lynn; Executive Functions in Education; Guilford Press, 2007 Can you envision ways in which you can coach your advisees? What information will you share with your department members? Remember, the ultimate goal is to help students develop their own EF skills so they can function independently