EXECUTIVE FUNCTION November 2023
SEL@
To help support your children’s mental health as part of our Middle School’s Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) program, throughout the school year I will share strategies to help them better navigate the challenges they face and offer ways to support them at home. — Atara J. Berliner, Ph.D. Director of Guidance and Learning Center
EXECUTIVE FUNCTION Skills for Learning and Life November 2023 Executive functioning involves the brain’s frontal lobe and helps us pursue goals, solve problems, and regulate behavior. It has been compared to a musical conductor, whose job it is to organize, activate, focus, and integrate the musicians as they play, enabling the orchestra to produce complex music.
There are two key components to executive functions. The first is thinking skills to select and attain goals and problem solve. The second involves modifying our behavior as we move towards attaining the goal. Lynn Meltzer, an expert in teaching executive functions to children, conceptualizes these as choosing a destination and selecting the route and then managing the types of problems encountered along the route (e.g., emotional self-regulation).
Strengthening Executive Functioning at Home Work environment is key. Providing the materials needed to be organized (paper, pencils, ruler, tape, scissors, colored pencils, sharpener, etc.) and a place to study with a desk that has enough surface space and is free from distractions such as radio, TV, electronic devices and siblings will go a long way.
Read Directions. We can’t emphasize enough how many students have difficulty following directions and therefore inaccurately complete assignments. Encourage your child to carefully read directions, highlight key words, and wait until they receive and review all directions before beginning. Ask your child to summarize the directions and then work on the first problem with your child to check for understanding.
Help create flashcards. For example, after reading a history chapter, your child will be able to answer “Who, what, when, where or why” about each topic on a different flashcard.
Check assignments for completion and/or accuracy. This does not mean sitting side by side with your child. Rather, help by reviewing new concepts each day for even just a few minutes. This can be more effective than less frequent review for longer periods.
Break down homework into shorter tasks. This is especially helpful for tasks that do not require extended focus; follow a less desirable task with a more desirable one (“after you summarize the main points of your science homework aloud, take a ten-minute snack break.”)
Monitor your child’s time allocation each night. This improves preparation and avoids cramming - which generates anxiety. Have your child begin studying as soon as feasible after coming home from school to prevent procrastinating all evening. You can sit with your child while studying or allow a friend to come over to study.