Executive Function Skills Kara Scott Loftin - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Executive Function Skills

Kara Scott Loftin loft8606@bears.unco.edu kara.loftin@wasatchacademy.org PhD Candidate in Special Education, University of Northern Colorado, Dean of Parent & Students Support Services, Wasatch Academy

LEARNING TARGETS You will be able to…..

• 1. Define and understand executive function

skills knowing the executive function deficits related to specific learning disabilities.

• 2. Identify students who struggle with

executive function skills and know how to use effective accommodations, modifications, and instructional strategies.

• 3. Create opportunities for executive function

coaching programs and initiatives in your school.

Have you ever had a student who…….?

• Completes homework assignments but consistently forgets to turn them

in,

• Opens their backpack and papers, pens, old rotten food, and garbage

spilled out everywhere,

• When asked to research a topic online are instead found playing video

games,

• Doesn’t know how to start a project 99 % of the time,
• Gets stuck on one piece of an assignment and gives up,
• Asks you what you said directly after you just said it, and
• Can focus for the first 10-15 mins of class but after that has a hard time

keeping on task.

฀ Increased dropout rates ฀ Low self-esteem ฀ Low achievement ฀ Lower achievement scores in math and reading ฀ Highest level completed ○ 1 year lower ฀ College GPA ○ Lower ฀ Grade repetition ฀ Low academic grades ○ C’s ○ D’s

Why does this matter?

Students will know how to learn. Students will increase self-confidence and independence. Students will increase grit (and hence, success). Students will empower themselves to “own their learning.” Students will discover their untapped learning potential and ability to positively contribute.

Why should I teach Executive Function Skills?

Executive function refers to brain functions that activate, organize, integrate and manage

• ther functions. It enables individuals to

account for short- and long-term consequences of their actions and to plan for those results. It also allows individuals to make real-time evaluations of their actions and make necessary adjustments if those actions are not achieving the desired result (CHADD, 2016).

Executive Function Skills

฀ Self-Regulation ฀ Stress Tolerance ฀ Time Management ฀ Planning & Prioritization ฀ Goal-directed Persistence ฀ Sustained Attention ฀ Grit ฀ Organization

฀

Task Initiation ฀ Flexibility ฀ Emotional Control ฀ Response Inhibition ฀ Working Memory ฀ Metacognition

Self-Regulation

Ability to manage thoughts and behaviors.

Stress Tolerance

Ability to stay even, to stay calm.

Brainstorm Go-To Solutions

Have them ready….

Problem

• Student can not find cell phone

Possible Solutions

• Retrace steps
• Look in the most likely places (look where you usually

are).

• Ask to borrow someone’s phone in order to call yours.

Time Management

Ability to estimate, allocate, and execute within time constraints.

Planning & Prioritization

Ability to create steps that lead to completion of a task. Ability to figure out what is important to focus on and what is not important to focus on.

Goal-directed Persistence

Ability to create a long term goal and see it through to completion.

Sustained Attention

Ability to keep attentive even when there are distractions, tiredness, or boredom.

Grit

Ability to see something through to completion with effort, attention, motivation, and purpose.

Problem Solving Worksheet

1. What is my problem? 2. What are some possible things I could do to solve the problem? 3. What will I try first? 4. If this doesn’t work, what can I do? 5. How did it go? Did my solution work? 6. What might I do differently the next time?

Organization

Ability to order or arrange items or tasks in a way that works for you.

Task Initiation

Ability to start a task without procrastinating.

FIRST…... THEN….

Flexibility

Ability to change plans, bounce back from

• bstacles, and adapt to changing

conditions.

Emotional Control

Ability to manage emotions in order to complete tasks or achieve goals.

Behavior Contract

*Takes both adult and student partnership and support*.*

• 1. Student agrees to…..
• 2. To help student reach goal,

parents/teachers will…

• 3. Student will earn….
• 4. If student fails to meet agreement,

student will...

Response Inhibition

Ability to step back, reflect, and then make a decision.

Working Memory

Ability to hold information in your mind while completing complex tasks. Ability to draw on past learning experiences to use in the situation at hand.

Metacognition

Ability to self-monitor and self-evaluate

(Nancy Joseph, Metacognition Needed: Teaching Middle and High School Students to Develop Strategic Learning Skills, N.d.)

Exit Ticket...

Behavior or Biology?

BOTH

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Flexibility, emotional control, metacognition. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Response inhibition, flexibility, planning, working memory, and emotional control.

Mood Regulation, Depression, Anxiety Time management, organization, planning and prioritizing, working memory, sustained attention, task initiation, goal directed persistence, stress tolerance, and metacognition. Sleep Disorders Emotional control, flexibility, stress tolerance, and working memory.

Drug or Alcohol Use/Addiction Working memory, metacognition, planning and prioritizing, emotional control, and response inhibition.

“Developmental impairment of the brain’s self-management system, its executive functions” (Brown, 2013). Disruptive Behavior Disorder

฀ Weakness ฀ Sustained Attention ฀ Goal-Directed Persistence ฀ Planning and Prioritizing ฀ Organization ฀ Working Memory ฀ Emotional Control ฀ Response Inhibition ฀ Task Initiation ฀ Time Management ฀ Strength ฀ Stress Tolerance ฀ Flexibility ฀ Metacognition (sometimes)

ADHD: Inventors, Innovators, Entrepreneurs

Developmentally “Normal” variations in executive skills.

Dawson & Guare, 2013

Laziness...Motivation?

“The chance to do what adults do, make their own choices, have their opinions valued, and decide what rules will apply and how.” (Dawson & Guare, 2012, p.80) “Motivation enables us to do to the best of our ability what we already are capable of doing.” (Levoie, 2004)

EF & Impact on the Classroom

• Recall, math facts,
• Getting started, paying attention, completing work,
• Handling frustration, thinking before speaking and acting,
• Complex problem solving and analytical thinking.

(Brown, 2013)

Activity: 1. Stand up! 2. Turn to the person next to you and share with them

• ne take away

from the first part of the presentation that you can apply to your classroom today or something that was new information (60 secs.)

Executive Function Interventions

1. Gather assessment materials on student a. Observation b. Work samples c. Parent and student interviews d. Formal assessments i. Brown ADD Scales - Adolescent Version ii. Comprehensive Behavior Rating Scale for Children iii. Child Behavior Checklist

• Teacher Report Form

iv. NEPSY v. Delis-Kaplan Executive Function Scale vi. Cognitive Assessment System

Step 1 Assess

Step 2 Review & Choose

1. Review data 2. List specific executive function skill weaknesses and strengths 3. Select one or two skills to target a. Use information from parents/teachers b. Use information from student

Step 3 Plan & Evaluate

• 1. Create a plan and identify:

a. skill b. environmental modifications c. procedure used to teach skill d. conditions for the skill to be displayed e. what demonstrates skill success, and f. rewards or incentives

• 2. Evaluate
• a. Was it effective?
• b. What are the next steps?

Assessments: Teacher/parent interview, observation, and Brown ADD Scales. Specific Weaknesses: Response Inhibition 1. Talks out of turn in class. 2. Blurts out inappropriate things to peers without thinking first. Target Skill & Objective: Response Inhibition 1. Suzy will use a “safe” zone with peers of one arm’s length. 2. Suzy will use self-talk tools: “Stop & Think.” 3. Suzy will raise hand in class to speak. Skill Procedure: Response Inhibition: Teacher Role 1. Explain the skill. 2. Model the skill. 3. Give positive and constructive feedback. 4. Cue student to use the skill at other times, not just in the classroom. Skill Development Incentive/Reward: Response Inhibition 1. Verbal praise. 2. Choice in next activity.

Response Inhibition Ability to think before you act.

Academic Coaching Program for High School Students

WA’s Academic Coaching Program

• 1:1 Student/Teacher ratio
• 1 hour each day (2, 3, 5 day programs)
• Weekly skill focus for all students in program
• Individualized short, medium, and long term executive function skill

development

• Focus on executive function skills development through everyday

tasks for courses

• Direct work with faculty
• Weekly report to parents
• Advocate, Champion, Cheerleader

ACADEMIC COACHING PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Academic Coaching features a 1:1 student-to-teacher ratio, receiving direct instruction

• n identified executive function skills, brain-based skills that individuals must have to

effectively solve problems and execute tasks. These skills include but are not limited to the following: prioritization, sustained attention, organization, task initiation, response inhibition, flexibility, and metacognition. Academic Coaching is offered as a two, three, or five-day per week program, depending

• n the student’s need or request. Academic Coaching is ideal for students who have

chronically underachieved as learners, with or without diagnosed learning differences. Our Academic Coaching program is not content-specific tutoring, it is explicit 1:1 instruction on skills necessary for lifelong success. These newly acquired and developing skills are applied in the current academic tasks asked of the student.

Where We Started...

Strand 3: GRIT Demonstrate alertness, follow through, and ability to gather and use information needed to complete a task even when the task is difficult or takes a long time to complete.

• 1. Goal-Directed Persistence: The ability to keep attention on a long-term goal and perform

the daily steps needed to reach that goal, while keeping in mind what happens when there is inaction. 1.1. Build a sense of accomplishment by making daily plans and action steps. Check off each step as you finish it. 1.2. Set a long-range goal related to schoolwork and if it is not met, set a new smaller goal that can be reached. Slowly add longer and more complex goals as appropriate. 1.3. Create a visual of the goal and put it somewhere it will be seen each day. 1.4. Self-Talk: “Don’t give up now,” “eye on the prize,” and “will this help me reach my goal?”

Creating Standards....

What are other ways this would work?

฀ Peer mentors ฀ Advisor ฀ Homeroom teacher daily check-ins ฀ After/Before school coach (15 mins).

Executive Functions & General Classroom Modifications

First Thoughts….

If you tend to teach from a position of authority, your student is likely to react very differently than if you teach from a position of negotiation and choice. *no demands/no ultimatums*

The Do’s and Don’ts of Communication

• Do:

State the issue, Take turns, Note good and bad, Calmly disagree, Say it short and straight, Pay attention, Talk in a normal tone, Say what you feel, Accept responsibility, and Use emphatic but respectful language.

• Don’t:

Insult, Interrupt, Get defensive, Criticize, Give lectures, Use sarcasm, Go silent, Yell, or Swear.

Students will not remember anything that they hear…..At least not in the detail necessary to apply it. Anything you want them to apply, WRITE IT DOWN! Use checklists and steps. Be explicit!

General Best Practices for Effective Instruction

1. Make sure you mean what you are saying. Don’t just be “noise” / follow-up is necessary 2. Give the direction as a statement NOT as a question or favor. 3. Do not give too many directions at once; keep directions simple. 4. Tell the student WHAT to do not what NOT to do. 5. Avoid distractions when giving directions.

Expect vague directions to be followed vaguely

Any consequences need to be: Specific, Immediate, and Consistent. (Barkley, 2016).

Adjusting ANY Classroom for Students with EFD

• Have predictable routines & schedules
• Allow the use earphones to block out sounds (one or two ears) or

permit a student to listen to music with earphones

• Schedule out assignments into timed segments
• Warn students of transition times (ex. playground)
• Positive comments 3:1 ratio
• SOP: Post rules/procedures for visual daily reminders
• Use lots of eye contact
• Most challenging classes should be scheduled in the morning
• Set a goal, praise, and re-direct
• Use checklists

Adjusting the Classroom (Cont.)

• Use timers
• Have a “quiet/chill out zone” for when the student is emotionally triggered

and needs to re-direct

• Allow student to pace up and down the hallway or back of classroom
• Allow student to take breaks
• Implement swift and immediate consequences
• Use participatory teaching
• Eliminate timed tests
• Consider giving tests orally, and
• Assign a homework study partner or encourage your students to pair up

with a classmate for homework.

Adjusting the Classroom (Cont.)

• Either touch a student lightly on the shoulder or look

student in the eye to get him to re-focus attention.

• A series of directions are difficult; give one direction

at a time and write them down.

• Decrease the student’s total workload - quality over

quantity.

• Pay attention to connectedness.

BIG TAKE AWAY

Your objective is NOT to maintain control over or demonstrate the inadequacy of the student, it is to boost skill development. Provide just enough support for the student to learn the skill. Understand that the skill will come with practice.

Students with EFD can NOT figure this out on their

• wn.

They need help and monitoring. Please guide them.

What supports/tools can we use? Ginny, 10th Grade student

Observations:

• Excellent oral reading, but limited comprehension.
• Difficulty getting homework started.
• Tends to make quick decision without thinking things through.
• Forgets to turn in completed homework.
• Once working on a task, she takes a long time to complete it and is easily

distracted.

Kara Scott Loftin loft8606@bears.unco.edu PhD in Special Education Candidate, University of Northern Colorado, Dean of Parent & Students Support Services, Wasatch Academy

QUESTIONS?

• n. pag. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.

• Teachers. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

• 1982. Print.

• the-troubled-brain

• ParentingWeb. "ADHD Students Learn Differently. Try These ADD Classroom Strategies." Child Development Institute. N.p., 2011. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.
• Parents. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2017, from http://ldanatl.org/

• Classroom. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.