This is a paper I wrote in RDG 533. Being in the high school, I see too very often, kids that struggle with forgetting to complete homework, with no knowledge of how to study for a test or how to successfully complete all of the part of a long-term
project.
The state needs to have a for-credit, elective course on study skills. It is
my firm belief, that if we had a class that offered to teach these skills, we would
see standardized test scores go up because kids would be learning, doing the practice of homework and studying with a purpose. This is my research to support that belief.
Tonya Dagstani
RDG 533
Dr. Peter Edwards
ERIC Report
January 19, 2011
Executive Function Skills and Their Relevance to Academic
Success
One purpose of the
No Child Left Behind Act(NCLB; 2001) is to ensure that all students learn basic
skills and perform at or above mandated proficiency levels. The basic skills referenced in the act
are executive function skills.
Executive function skills are mental skills that people perform, usually
without conscious thought, each day throughout life. “Executive functioning involves activating, orchestrating,
monitoring, evaluating, and adapting different strategies to accomplish
different tasks…It requires the ability to analyze situations, plan and take
action, focus and maintain attention, and adjust actions as needed to get the
job done.” (Stanberry, 2010)
Problems in the
Classroom
In the classroom,
these skills translate into what can make or break a student’s high school
career. Executive function skills
are required in the classroom for the student to be successful. Specific executive function skills are
what Dawson, P. and Guare R,.(2009) refer
to as the ‘hidden curriculum’.
Skills that students are expected to know and use, but are never
specifically taught. “Teachers
tend to hold students accountable when they don’t have executive skills but
fail to recognize that the skills can be taught the same way that students are
taught to perform geometry proofs, outline a book chapter, and write an essay.”
In
a classroom, executive function skills are, for example, working memory,
emotional control, sustained attention, task initiation, planning/prioritizing,
organization, time management, goal-directed persistence, flexibility, and
metacognition. Dawson, P., and Guare,
R., (2009)
It
is frustrating for both high school students and their parents, as well as
educators, to ride the roller coaster of academic struggle and disorganization
throughout school when seemingly bright and competent children cannot complete
the simplest of tasks, such as taking complete notes, turning in assignments on
time, or maintaining a
notebook. It may be helpful for
students and parents to take a look at what may be the cause of this ‘disorganization.’
Possible Causes of Executive ‘Disfunction’
Most
high school students are expected to manage at least seven different classes
along with any extracurricular activities in which they may participate. It sounds simple until it is broken
down into what needs to be managed.
To many, it always comes together neatly planned, but for those students
that have never been taught solid executive function skills, the cost is
exorbitant. And students pay in
their lower grades.
A
schedule with seven classes means, math, science, government, English, a
language, health/p.e., and an elective.
Within each of those classes, there are notes to be taken, directions to
be followed, chapters to be read, problems to be solved, steps to adhere to,
time to manage, projects to begin, tests to be taken, questions to be answered,
homework to be turned-in, quizzes to remember, and essays to write, etc. If a student doesn’t know how to manage
their time and prioritize assignments or ‘chunk’ a project into smaller more
manageable bits, then their learning of content material will be impeded,
assignments will not get turned in, and it will be assumed by parents or
educators that the student either doesn’t care or just doesn’t have the
knowledge of content to be successful.
When, in fact, the student does know the content, he/she just doesn’t
possess the skills necessary to organize it all to produce what is expected. Oftentimes, this ‘disorganization’ can
become so overwhelming that the student will just give up.
A Possible Solution
Just
like many of the basic milestones that children learn from birth by mimicking a
parent’s behaviors, like speech or smiling or waving, so may executive function
skills be learned in the same way.
“Executive function skills are essential if students are to master the
curriculum that is already in place, and they can be incorporated into
instruction with relatively small modifications for the vast majority of
students.” Dawson, M. and Guare,
R.,(1998)
Content
area teachers can utilize strategies to help students overcome their weak
executive skills in the classroom:
put into place structures, routines, and organizational schemes, making
steps more explicit, providing prompts, reminders and cues as well as incentives
to encourage students to use the executive skills they are learning. Jacobsen(2010)
In addition,
executive function skills can be directly taught by the implementation of an
Executive Functional Skills Class, which covers a specifically designed
curriculum to teach students how to be successful. The curriculum should cover topics ranging from learning
styles, time management, notebook organization, note-taking skills, reading for
a purpose, study strategies, listening skills, making inferences, evaluating
information, self-discipline, motivation, self-monitoring, initiation of tasks,
to planning and organization.
The
teacher would be responsible for directly teaching the executive function
skills in each category and model what expected at each skill level. The skills should be woven into the
students’ existing classes and curricula using students’ notebooks, textbooks,
tests, assignments, projects and schedules.
Students
would be able to self-evaluate in regards to their progress in their content
area courses. Content area
teachers would also be able to give feedback as to how a student is improving
in content courses.
“It’s
not just a matter of managing the student-which is what most people do-but
rather teaching the child self-management skills, and then reinforce those
skills, and reinforcing the process of carrying out those skills.” Tarnow, J.,
M.D.,(2010)
Conclusion
All
students would fare better in high school and college if given a few simple
tools with which to be successful-executive function skills. “If you give a man a fish, you can feed
him for a day. If you teach a man
to fish, you can feed him for life.”-unknown. If we accommodate a student throughout
high school, he can get through the four years. If we teach a student to use executive function skills, he
can be successful in high school, college, and life.
Meltzer, L. (2010). Promoting executive function in the classroom. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No.
ED509969). New York, NY: Guildford
Publications.
Kaufman, C. (2010). Executive function in the classroom:
Practical strategies for improving performance and enhancing skills for all
students. (ERIC Document
Reproduction Service No. ED512213).
Baltimore, MD: Brooks Publishing Company.
Dawson, P. and Guare, R. (2010) Executive skills in children and
adolescents: A practical guide to
assessment and intervention.
2nd Edition. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED509906). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Houde, O., Rossi, S., Lubin A.,Joliot, M.
(2010) Mapping numerical, reading and executive functions in the developing
brain: An fMri meta-analysis of 52
studies including 842 children. Developmental Science 13(6),
876-855. (ERIC Document
Reproduction Service No. EJ903053)
Locascio, G., Mahone, M.E., Eason, S. H.,
Cutting, L. E. (2010) Executive dysfunction among children with reading
comprehension deficits. Journal of Learning Disabilities 43(5)
441-454. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No.(EJ896980).
Stanberry, K., (2010). Executive function: A
new lens for viewing your child. Great
Schools. Retrieved from http://www.greatschools.org
Tarnow, M.D., J., Tarnow Center for Self
Management. (2010). Identifying and addressing
executive function problems in your child. Retrieved from http://www.cogmed.com
Dendy, M.S., C., (2002). Executive function… what is it anyway?. Retrieved from http://www.chrisdendy.com
Jacobsen, P. Autism Society (2010). Surviving the executive functioning demands
of high school. Retrieved from http://education.com
Balduf, M., (2009). Underachievement among
college students. Journal of Advanced
Academics 20(2), 274-294.
Dawson, P., Guare, R., (2009). Executive
skills: The hidden curriculum. Principal
Leadership.
Congos, D., (2007). Top 12 study skills & strategies necessary for academic success.
http://www.learningassistance.com
No comments:
Post a Comment