Good executive functions are vital for navigating our daily lives for both children and adults. Executive functions develop slowly throughout childhood and research has shown that they may be not fully in developed until about the age of 25. However, they do not always develop evenly and for people with a learning difference, some areas can be underdeveloped. Students with ADHD in particular may have a lot of difficulty with executive functions. This can be confusing for both parents and teachers when an able student struggles with organisational skills, emotions or just remembering where they left their coat!
So what are executive functions? There are 8 key areas: Impulse control, Emotional
control, Flexible thinking, Working memory, Self-monitoring, Planning and
prioritising, Task initiation and Organisation skills. The importance of these
key skills can be underestimated and overlooked, but they can make such a huge difference
to everyday life and performance at school.
These are all skills that can be taught and developed over time with the
right support.
Task initiation can be challenging for some students. We have the idea that if a task is clearly explained and the students have the prior knowledge, they should be able to complete it independently. However for some students, they simply cannot start a task without further assistance from a parent, teacher or peer. This is not due to lack of understanding or motivation but quite simply their brain does not know the first step to take. As adults, we worry that if we help too much that the child will not develop independent skills, but for many this is simply not the case. We also do not always appreciate that task initiation is a genuine difficulty which the student cannot overcome without support.
The first step in helping is to model how to approach tasks and longer projects. 'Thinking aloud' can give students an insight into what is involved. Through showing students how to break a task into steps and writing a checklist, we model how a task can be tackled. If the student is taught to use a checklist this helps them to see what the first step should be. The student may still need someone to work through the first question or help write the first few sentences. This is not giving too much help and will not be damaging in the long run. We would not take the 'training wheels' off a bicycle before a child has developed balance and confidence. However, well meaning teachers and parents often want students to develop study skills much more rapidly than they are able to. Once the child has started, usually they will successfully work through the task with no further support. This builds up the child's confidence and allows them to experience success. This small piece of assistance in helping a student get started means that class work is completed and learning takes place.
Teachers and parents with good intentions often get too caught up in the idea that students need to do everything for themselves for them to learn anything. They lose sight of the fact that scaffolding enables learning rather than hinders it. For example: giving sentence starters usually triggers a child's thinking and helps them select a relevant idea and then to turn their idea into a coherent sentence. Without a sentence starter the child can feel overwhelmed by the task and be confused about how to use the facts they know. This then leads to negative feelings and a sense of failure, when the child watches their classmates get started and they simply do not know how to begin. They may also resort to task avoidance like going to the toilet or clowning around to hide their inability to get started. The teacher may get frustrated and perceive the reluctance to get started as laziness or lack of ability and so a negative spiral begins. This can often lead to underachievement in students who are capable of learning with the right support.
Independence can be a long term goal but careful consideration needs to be given to how long this may actually take and the smaller steps that need to worked through to get there. The skills needed for each task should be evaluated and smaller steps need to planned for those who may not yet have these skills. Over time we can teach a student how to work out the first step of a task themselves and use the information given to get started. The biggest step forward comes from understanding that task initiation is an area that needs adult support and is not easily learned without specific guidance.
Emotional regulation is another area which teachers are not always comfortable to consider and make allowances for. While some children have a calm temperament which means they can cope with the ups and downs of life, others can find it challenging to keep their emotions in control. Being open about how we feel as adults and how we manage our emotions can be very helpful for children. Discussing the range of emotions that can be felt and strategies to regulate them can be a positive way forward. Some students do not understand that having a range of feelings about new learning or new situations is normal. They perceive that everyone finds learning easy and fun. They miss the fact that learning can be challenging and we also learn a lot from making mistakes.
When children engage in problem solving tasks, they are likely to experience ups and downs. There is the initial excitement of trying something new or tackling a challenge. This can be short lived when a student's first idea or attempt does not work. Some students will immediately feel like a failure and want to give up. This is where they need to be taught that first attempts typically do not work and this is just part of the process. Understanding that it is 'ok' to feel uncomfortable for a short time and that when we push through these negative feelings often we can find a solution is important.
It is also important to create a safe environment for students to learn. Teachers can do this though discussion and thinking about the feedback they give each day. Simply praising someone for persevering or attempting a task again rather rewarding the student who finishes first or gets all the answers right. This will shift the students' view of learning and overtime can change the 'atmosphere' of a class. Students need to understand that making mistakes is part of the learning process. We can actually learn more from making mistakes than when we complete an activity without any errors. This is because our brain is more 'alert' when we make mistake but can almost be in 'autopilot' when we do something routine or easy. Teaching students about how the brain works and learning to learn (metacognition) is hugely beneficial.
Learning to understand and manage stress is also crucial. If we feel stressed for whatever reason, it is very difficult to learn or complete tasks well. Our body can quickly go into ‘fight or flight’ mode which protects us, but stops us from working through a task logically or learning new facts. This can have a huge impact of some students' performance in tests and exams. Again open discussions about the practical steps we can take to manage stress should be part the school life. Breathing techniques and positive self talk can be helpful strategies to teach and explore.
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