by contributing blogger, Yaco

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In a workshop that I attended today on the topic of trauma-informed teaching, the presenter explained that the absence of executive function (EF) in human cognition was like driving a Ferrari without brakes. This analogy really stuck with me. If executive function can be the difference between life and death, it’s critically important, but I wonder how well it is understood.  What do educators, administrators, school counselors, social workers, parents, and others that contribute to educating today’s youth really know about executive function? How is executive function taught in schools? How does our knowledge of executive function affect how we work with children at different ages and stages throughout their K-12 education?

Understood, a digital resource for learning and attention issues (you can learn more about their story here) defines EF as “a group of three skills that allow kids to manage their thoughts, actions, and emotions in order to get things done. They also enable kids to plan, manage time and organize.” Understood goes on to label the three groups of skills as 1. Working Memory, 2. Cognitive Flexibility, and 3. Inhibitory Control.  Understood provides a handy infographic that goes into greater detail about each skill set.

Okay, so EF helps us pay attention, critically think, and regulate a whole host of necessary life functions. Now that we have a better understanding of what EF consists of, how can we support its development?

The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University provides a number of resources that can help us gain a better understanding of EF as it relates to development. One particular resource by the Center on the Developing Child, What Is Executive Function? And How Does It Relate to Child Development? explains that EF is a set of skills that must be learned throughout one’s childhood, adolescence and early adulthood.

Stop right there. Put on the brakes (…in that dream Ferrari…that has brakes). EF is a set of skills. Okay, we get that. But what else did they say? EF is a set of skills that Must. Be. Learned.

Are they saying Piaget had it all wrong? Cognitive development does not happen in the same way as biological maturation?

Okay, okay, I’ve heard this critique of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development before. Social interaction is crucial for cognitive development. Of course children need to learn from parents, teachers, coaches, mentors or “More Knowledgeable Others” as another famous developmental theorists once put it (thank you, Vygotsky), but don’t we all kinda believe that as kids grow older, the mere act of maturing plays a role in their ability to pay attention, organize, plan, regulate emotions, and generally just keep track of what their doing?

I’ll be the first to admit it- I did.

The Center on the Developing Child addresses three popular misconceptions of science related to EF:

1. Contrary to popular belief, learning to control impulses, pay attention, and retain information actively in one’s memory does not happen automatically as children mature, and young children who have problems with these skills will not necessarily outgrow them.
   
2. Contrary to popular belief, young children who do not stay on task, lose control of their emotions, or are easily distracted are not “bad kids” who are being intentionally uncooperative and belligerent.
   
3. Contrary to the theory that guides some early education programs that focus solely on teaching letters and numbers, explicit efforts to foster executive functioning have positive influences on instilling early literacy and numeracy skills.

These misconceptions highlight how a lack of understanding of child development, EF, or both can contribute to a whole host of barriers that will prevent children from obtaining EF, because we simply might not understand the importance of teaching EF skills, or worse yet, mistakenly believe that EF does not have to be taught at all. This seemingly simple mistake may contribute to the over-diagnosis of attention deficit disorders among children (wondering what the difference is between ADHD and Executive Functioning Issues? Understood has you covered for that, too.) Equally as alarming, this lack of understanding could even be attributing to the school-to-prison pipeline as “bad kids” receive less instructional time due to consequences for misbehavior that remove them from the classroom.

So now what?

Join me in building a toolkit to support teaching and learning about EF.

Understood and the Center on the Developing Child have lots of helpful resources. Another great resource with surprisingly practical tips for supporting students who struggle with EF is the Child Mind Institute. The University of Wisconsin-Madison has developed four modules to assist students in increasing self-awareness and improving the ability to pay attention and focus, which are related to the skills of EF. Also, The Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota is researching ways in which EF in children can be assessed to gain a better understanding of its relationship to learning and development. You can learn more about the Minnesota Executive Function Scale that has been developed by researcher, Stephanie Carlson, PhD at the U of M in this quick video:

All of these resources provide us with a greater understanding of EF, and the more we know about it, the more we will be able to teach the skills necessary for children to develop EF.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on executive function and the resources you may already have in your toolkit. Post your comments below.

Sources:

Understood for Learning & Attention Issues. (2014-2019). Our Story. Retrieved online from https://www.understood.org/en/about/our-story

Understood for Learning & Attention Issues. (2014-2019). 3 Areas of Executive Function. Retrieved from https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/executive-functioning-issues/3-areas-of-executive-function

Understood for Learning & Attention Issues. (2014-2019). The Difference Between ADHD and Executive Functioning Issues. Retrieved from https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/executive-functioning-issues/difference-between-executive-functioning-issues-and-adhd

Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University. (2019). What Is Executive Function? And How Does It Relate to Child Development? Retrieved from https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/what-is-executive-function-and-how-does-it-relate-to-child-development/

The Child Mind Institute. (2019). For Educators. Retrieved from https://childmind.org/audience/for-educators/

University of Wisconsin-Madison. Modules for Executive Functioning [PDF File]. Retrieved from https://www.uhs.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/modules-for-executive-functioning.pdf

McLeod, S. (2018). Lev Vygtosky. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html

McLeod, S. (2018). Jean Piaget. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html

Each week we have new guest bloggers, follow us to stay in the loop – just click the follow button on the lower righthand side.