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Introduction

During our years of working with P–12 students as teachers ourselves and our experience as observers of teachers, we found that many students had problems in executive functioning (EF) and, therefore, did not respond to general methods of teaching. They seemed anxious at the start of a new school year, yet expressed hope that things would be different in the year to come. Unfortunately, these students continued to face the same difficulties year after year because the root of their difficulties was not identified, and they did not receive interventions that specifically targeted executive function skills. We decided to write this book based on those experiences and especially as a response to results we saw in students following Project Boost, as a week-long skills camp session for students ages five to sixteen prior to the start of school.

Project Boost was designed to build students’ self-confidence as they approached the new school year, and the focus was on teaching strategies that would boost their executive control. The idea was to give students a “jump start” or “boost” by introducing them to strategies that could make a difference in how they approached learning. The strategies for improving executive function skills were taught over a short period and were the focus of the week. During this period, we used the strategies and technology described in this book. Students learned basic home keys and a system for keyboarding. They each completed a short research project to practice the strategies they learned for conducting research using technology. We found that all students learned the strategies at a faster pace than we thought possible and left Project Boost with self-confidence in their new skills as they approached the upcoming school year.

The response from parents, teachers, and students was overwhelmingly enthusiastic, and all students started the school with a “Success Plan” (see chapter 1 for more information) to be shared with their teacher(s). We followed up with students intermittently throughout the school year and found that, while many of them were continuing to use the strategies they had learned during the one-week camp, the carry-over was greatest when their parents and teachers reinforced the use of the strategies. In addition, we had the opportunity to work with some of the students weekly throughout multiple academic years. With these students, we were able not only to review the skills they had learned but also to connect the strategies to their academic program working with their parents and teachers. We quickly saw that the students who made the most progress were those who had follow-up throughout the academic year. Some students returned to the summer skills camp for multiple years and eventually became peer tutors for new students.

The takeaway from that experience and our many years as educators is that students do benefit from explicit teaching of executive function skills. In recent years, we have presented our strategies at various national and local conferences, and our feedback from teachers indicated a desire and need for more information and guidance.

We wrote this book to provide teachers and others with strategies for teaching and improving students’ executive function skills. The book applies to teaching students of all ages. The primary intended audience includes elementary, middle, and high school teachers, teacher educators, teacher candidates, executive function skills coaches, school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, teacher assistants, tutors, and other related service personnel. A secondary audience is parents, who may want to reinforce the learning of the strategies.

Recognizing the daunting workloads of most teachers, every effort has been made to make the text as accessible and easy to use as possible. Chapter 1 provides a background and overview as well as tools to assist the reader in utilizing the strategies and activities described throughout the book. Subsequent chapters start with a discussion of the specific topic followed by strategies, checklists, and templates that are easily adapted to best suit the reader’s students and teaching environment. A companion website, http://resources.corwin.com/ExecutiveFunctioning, is available for downloading and reproducing strategy cards, forms, and templates (see chapter 1 for more information). The Reader Outcomes provided for each chapter will assist professionals in determining their knowledge of teaching executive function skills.

Strategies have been selected to help students find academic and behavioral success, and different types of strategies will be covered in this book. Strategies used exclusively by the teacher are referred to as teaching or instructional strategies. For example, a teacher may provide a graphic organizer as a teaching or instructional strategy, or he or she may seat a student with a short attention span in close proximity to the teacher away from distractions to help. We also provide multiple learning strategies for many executive functions that teachers can teach their students to help them learn skills like spelling new words, decoding words, or writing paragraphs. Other strategies described in this book include those for regulating behavior. Some of the strategies are designed to improve executive function skills while others are compensatory strategies as they are being used as part of the scaffolding process for instruction. We realize that not all strategies work for all students. In addition, we identify supportive technology for the student.

Throughout the book, the importance of assessment is emphasized. To that end, a sample self-assessment tool for students, teachers, and parents is included. A record-keeping component is also included to assist teachers and others in determining whether a given student’s use of the strategy, and ultimately executive skill functioning, has improved. There is also a blank data sheet for a group or whole class included at http://resources.corwin.com/ExecutiveFunctioning. Case studies are used as examples in each chapter to illustrate executive function strategy instruction and steps to follow when that instruction needs revision for a student. Case studies include elementary, middle, and high school students. A seventh chapter provides information regarding EF considerations when teaching students in early childhood and students who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The information and checklists presented in this book are available as presented or as adapted according to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) considerations made for individual students. We are not neuropsychologists; we are educators with advanced education in special education. Between us, we have more than eighty years in the field. We have taught students with and without disabilities; students in private schools, public schools, general education settings, self-contained settings, and resource settings; and we have co-taught within inclusive settings. We have also taught students in P–12 and teacher candidates at both the undergraduate and graduate levels (both pre- and in-service teachers). Finally, both of us have served in administration for a period of time.

Children begin developing executive functions, which we define as a group of processes that allows individuals to self-regulate the ways in which they interact with their environment, while still in the crib. These skills continue to develop into young adulthood. As situations occur that require executive function skills, parents have opportunities to reinforce appropriate responses and teach skills as needed. For instance, impulse control is necessary for the safety of a child; however, it is difficult for some children to control their impulses. As these children grow into adulthood, problems with impulse control can lead to danger physically, emotionally, and academically. As students advance from grade to grade, learning becomes more complicated, and students must make advancements in how they approach learning. It is necessary for students to use metacognition to set goals, make a plan to reach those goals, implement the plans, make necessary changes to the plans, and conclude with a successful product.

It is difficult to determine how many students have executive function deficits, as there is no formal diagnosis, only a description. However, as we have looked at executive functions and how they are developed in each student, we have found a correlation between having difficulty with executive function skills and academic and social struggles in school. For example, a student having difficulty with attention and focusing may also be unable to self-regulate and may be disruptive in class.

As knowledge of the brain continues to expand, an increased amount of information about how students learn and behave has become available. More and more cases of struggling learners describe executive function deficits, yet there are no clear guidelines for addressing those deficits in the classroom. Educators are starting to accept the fact that executive functioning does underlie behavior and learning, and it is imperative that resources be made available to meet the needs of students from early childhood through postsecondary who exhibit these deficits. Also, with an increased emphasis on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in meeting the needs of all students, it is imperative that teachers merge the selection of appropriate strategies and technology when planning lessons using UDL.

About This Book

Teachers today are faced with meeting a plethora of rigorous curricular demands to prepare students for college or a career. Such demands are often impacted by time challenges and constraints to keep the instructional process moving forward. The idea of adding executive function skill instruction to this list of demands can be daunting. However, it is imperative that we provide students tools that will help them learn before we attempt to teach them content. Executive function skill training provides students with a set of tools that helps build the foundation of how to learn. The notion of addressing executive function skill training within the instructional process is not new. Both the Common Core Curriculum (IDEA Partnership, 2013) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) (Center for Applied Special Technology [CAST], 2011) note the inclusion of executive function skills. In this book, we will address questions regarding the who, what, when, and how of our 7-Step Model. The who component represents all students. Implicit instruction of strategies to assist with self-regulation addresses the what component. When speaks to the sample schedule templates we provide. Where focuses on suggested venues where the strategies can be taught. Lastly, the how attends to the manner in which teachers, paraprofessionals, school counselors, and psychologists can integrate our 7-Step Model of executive function instruction into their teaching and counseling schedule. The 7-Step Model as described here will be presented as a fluid tool that can be used in part or as whole thus providing flexibility to address class size, student needs, and type of instructional setting.

We look forward to sharing our process with you in this book.