A guest post by Kathy Stacy and Nichole Dalzell
Does your child or the children you work with have a difficult time starting and finishing homework? Have they ever thought they would get a good grade on a test or project but have been disappointed? Do you ever wonder where all their study time goes? According to the Brown ADD Scales Manual “When executive skills are not working effectively, a child, regardless of their cognitive abilities, can experience significant problems in many aspects of learning, getting work done, social functioning, and self-esteem.” Executive functions skills help us decide what to pay attention to in our lives and are increasingly important aspect of every child's education especially in today's high-tech, fast paced world.
These skills cover a wide range of processes such as prioritizing, planning, organizing, managing time, goal setting, maintaining sustained attention, being flexible and accessing working memory. Each of these skills stands on its own as well as partnering with others to form a suite of learned behaviors that carry us successfully into adulthood. From our experience working with students, families and teachers we have found the three most prevalent needs to be in areas of time management, accessing and honing working memory, and planning and prioritizing.
1. It’s About Time:
Time management is an essential executive function skill that allows students to develop efficiency in how they begin tasks and stay on track until the task is completed. Honing this skill allows students to properly estimate how long a task will take to complete and gives them the ability to create accurate schedules that allow for realistic follow through. It is essential for parents and teachers to explicitly provide children with strategies that help them estimate and understand time, adhere to deadlines, manage technology distractions, and improve the use of calendar/agenda systems.
2. If Only I Could Remember:
Working memory allows children to hold information in their minds while performing complex tasks. It affords them a chance to examine their current situation in light of past experiences and decide how they might perform better. When effective note taking and study strategies are clearly taught, modeled and reflected upon children understand the importance of using these strategies across a variety of disciplines to be successful in and out of the classroom.
3. What Are You Going To Do and When Are You Going To Do It?
The executive functioning skill of planning and prioritizing gives students a “road map” to reach a goal or complete a task. It involves being able to recognize what is important, focus on that task first and move forward with a plan of action. Students need an understanding of how they can independently impose structure and order on ideas. Several strategies that might prove beneficial are: calendaring systems, chunking long term assignments, monitoring progress and goal setting.
Regardless of academic experience- students can employ strategies to make school work easier and allow them to earn better grades. The key is to learn a few strategies well and practice them until they become second nature! Practicing these strategies, systems, and routines Empowers students for Excellence. According to Richard Guare, PhD, author of Smart, but Scattered, "It's never too early or too late to help your child develop the skills for success. Learn how to build these skills and stay on track all year long and throughout your life."
Empowering Excellence, LLC offers customized webinars, one-on-one student sessions and group workshops on executive functioning skills to both parents and school faculties to help their students tackle schoolwork and life more efficiently and effectively.
Teacher staff development opportunities:
Our staff development training is designed to assist teachers in understanding and implementing instructional approaches and techniques to support the development of executive functioning skills in their classroom. In this workshop, we will illustrate what executive functioning deficits look like in the classroom and offer specific techniques for addressing those weaknesses that affect student performance.
Individualized coaching:
Executive functions let people plan, organize and complete tasks. Some of the most important skills a child needs are not taught in school. As academic coaches, we look at these important set of skills and develop a plan to address weaknesses that can affect a child's everyday life.
We help students build strategies to address their Executive Function weaknesses.
Helping the student to:
Kathy and Nichole are skilled educators with a combined 35 years of experience. They are committed to empowering students to unlock their academic potential and gain the tools necessary for success not only today, but for a lifetime. Their passion is helping students study smarter, not harder by developing the Executive Functioning Skills needed for LIFE!
Visit us on the web at www.empoweringexcellence.org
Does your child or the children you work with have a difficult time starting and finishing homework? Have they ever thought they would get a good grade on a test or project but have been disappointed? Do you ever wonder where all their study time goes? According to the Brown ADD Scales Manual “When executive skills are not working effectively, a child, regardless of their cognitive abilities, can experience significant problems in many aspects of learning, getting work done, social functioning, and self-esteem.” Executive functions skills help us decide what to pay attention to in our lives and are increasingly important aspect of every child's education especially in today's high-tech, fast paced world.
These skills cover a wide range of processes such as prioritizing, planning, organizing, managing time, goal setting, maintaining sustained attention, being flexible and accessing working memory. Each of these skills stands on its own as well as partnering with others to form a suite of learned behaviors that carry us successfully into adulthood. From our experience working with students, families and teachers we have found the three most prevalent needs to be in areas of time management, accessing and honing working memory, and planning and prioritizing.
1. It’s About Time:
Time management is an essential executive function skill that allows students to develop efficiency in how they begin tasks and stay on track until the task is completed. Honing this skill allows students to properly estimate how long a task will take to complete and gives them the ability to create accurate schedules that allow for realistic follow through. It is essential for parents and teachers to explicitly provide children with strategies that help them estimate and understand time, adhere to deadlines, manage technology distractions, and improve the use of calendar/agenda systems.
2. If Only I Could Remember:
Working memory allows children to hold information in their minds while performing complex tasks. It affords them a chance to examine their current situation in light of past experiences and decide how they might perform better. When effective note taking and study strategies are clearly taught, modeled and reflected upon children understand the importance of using these strategies across a variety of disciplines to be successful in and out of the classroom.
3. What Are You Going To Do and When Are You Going To Do It?
The executive functioning skill of planning and prioritizing gives students a “road map” to reach a goal or complete a task. It involves being able to recognize what is important, focus on that task first and move forward with a plan of action. Students need an understanding of how they can independently impose structure and order on ideas. Several strategies that might prove beneficial are: calendaring systems, chunking long term assignments, monitoring progress and goal setting.
Regardless of academic experience- students can employ strategies to make school work easier and allow them to earn better grades. The key is to learn a few strategies well and practice them until they become second nature! Practicing these strategies, systems, and routines Empowers students for Excellence. According to Richard Guare, PhD, author of Smart, but Scattered, "It's never too early or too late to help your child develop the skills for success. Learn how to build these skills and stay on track all year long and throughout your life."
Empowering Excellence, LLC offers customized webinars, one-on-one student sessions and group workshops on executive functioning skills to both parents and school faculties to help their students tackle schoolwork and life more efficiently and effectively.
Teacher staff development opportunities:
Our staff development training is designed to assist teachers in understanding and implementing instructional approaches and techniques to support the development of executive functioning skills in their classroom. In this workshop, we will illustrate what executive functioning deficits look like in the classroom and offer specific techniques for addressing those weaknesses that affect student performance.
Individualized coaching:
Executive functions let people plan, organize and complete tasks. Some of the most important skills a child needs are not taught in school. As academic coaches, we look at these important set of skills and develop a plan to address weaknesses that can affect a child's everyday life.
We help students build strategies to address their Executive Function weaknesses.
Helping the student to:
• Understand how to manage their time, study smarter, plan for tests, and design learning strategies tailored just for them.
• Break assignments down into workable “chunks,” and use technological and visual aids that keep them more organized.
• Manage their workspace and materials, keep up with assignments, and be proactive on long term projects.
Kathy and Nichole are skilled educators with a combined 35 years of experience. They are committed to empowering students to unlock their academic potential and gain the tools necessary for success not only today, but for a lifetime. Their passion is helping students study smarter, not harder by developing the Executive Functioning Skills needed for LIFE!
Visit us on the web at www.empoweringexcellence.org
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