Executive Function Skills

Executive function skills are high-level mental processes that allow us to regulate behavior over time in order to achieve longer-term goals.  Nurturing these skills from a young age can have a bigger impact on your child’s education and long-term well-being than other factors -including IQ, school choice, or delaying kindergarten.  
It’s that important.  
Picture
As an educator and father, my interest in this topic stems from the observation that it is increasingly difficult for young people to reach college age with this skill set on track. In schools, whatever “study skills” instruction exists typically plays a backseat to reading, writing, and other curricular priorities. Pervasive screen time, coupled with hectic, structured schedules and highly organized play reduce opportunities for kids’ executive skills to develop naturally. Years of work in independent schools leads me to believe that strong transcripts can mask real deficiencies in executive skills.
"It sounds crazy that students can spend half their waking hours in school and not be taught how to learn,
but that is often the case. Teachers teach content, such as math and science, but rarely how to learn such content.”  
-Ken Kiewra, Teaching How to LEARN
My approach is informed by researchers in the fields of education, psychology, and over 20 years teaching experience in both public schools and K-12 independent schools in San Francisco. I provide learners with tailored recommendations and hands-on training using both assistive technologies and other, traditional learning tools and organizational strategies. Given the strong influence of the home environment, I strongly encourage parental involvement.

​My framework consists of the following:
  • Self-regulation. Executive function skills are all about self-regulation; the ability to delay a behavior and decide on a response is the cornerstone of goal-directed behavior. Self-regulation skills are shaped by both heredity and the home environment. As such, it is most helpful when parents or other care-givers properly structure home routines, interactions, organization, expectations, boundaries, etc.
  • Working memory: Like a mental “sticky note,” working memory holds new, important information. It helps us create a mental model of a problem and envision an orderly path forward -a goal and a plan. It also helps us predict the consequences of our actions.
  • Navigating procedures: Some students struggle because they have not been taught how to accomplish tasks in ways that work for them. Like pilots who use checklists to guide their actions and keep cool under pressure, students benefit from helpful learning tools that structure challenging academic and organizational tasks.
  • Time management: As David Allen states in Getting Things Done, managing time and commitments requires an organized system. This typically involves a combination of technology and paper/pencil approaches.
  • Emotions: Sometimes students can get so frustrated that they risk shutting down. Negative responses can become a lens through which they interpret their efforts, challenges, abilities, teachers, etc. When students have systems for juggling the complex demands of school -organizing materials, completing tasks, and managing time- they experience less stress and greater feelings of control. Armed with an effective problem-solving toolkit, emotions can motivate and sustain effort.

Resources: