Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
03/072017
Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
You Have lacrosse at 3:30 today. You need to start getting ready!
Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP
Yep! I know!
Speech and Language Pathologist
Co-Director: Cognitive Connections Faculty: Department of Communication
Sciences and Disorders School of Health and Rehabilitation Science, MGH Institute of Health Professions
Mark it is Tuesday!
Space
Time
Read the Room
Get on the Timeline •Pace
What's going on? Expected? Unexpected? Wide Angle Zoom In
If Then
•Time of day •What is happening at this Moment in Time •What is coming up? Predictable sequence
Organization/ People Objects
Read the Person
Read the Organization of the Space
Objects Parts Location Purpose
Face Body Appearance Mood Pace
Saying
Situational Intelligence
The Role and Order of Working Memory
Nonverbal Working Memory
If….then
Verbal Working Memory Self Talk
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Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
03/072017
The Role and Order of Working Memory If….then
“ So I better go to my locker (space). I only have a few minutes before the ell rings (time)
Verbal Working Memory Self Talk
I need to get my poetry journal (object) and then I have science class next (time) so I better get my lab goggles too(objects). Mrs. Smith is a tough teacher (people) I better turn my journal in on time so I do not lose points.
If Then
Situational Intelligence + Nonverbal Working Memory = MIME So we can shift from Now to Next
NonVerbal Working Memory + Situational Intelligence=
Mimetic-Ideational Information Processing
Space Time Objects People
(mental trial and error simulation)
Mimetic Ideational Information Processing (MIME) • • • • • •
If Then
Elements of Future Thinking
Be a Future Thinker: “Mind MIME iT’
M I M E i T
Being a “Mind Mime”- Mime the Idea in Your Head Mental Pre-Simulation of How the Future Will Play Out It is a Mental Dress Rehearsal… A Mental Trial and Error without the Risk of Error You can try it out and Pre- Experience the Emotion of a Situation Without Risk You can Run Plan A and Plan B and Pre-Experience How Those Feel
Schematic Future Thinking: Make an Image: STOP What will it look like? Episodic Future Thinking: What do I Look like? Self Projection into the Future Mental Time Travel (Temporal - Spatial ): How am I Moving to achieve this? The Future Emotion: How will I feel? Emotional Physiological State
If …..then Self Talk
It is ‘experiencing the self in time’ and talking yourself through that experience so you are efficient and successful
360 Thinking™ Cognitive Connections, LLP | www.efpractice.com © Copyright March 2017, Kristen Jacobsen, M.S., CCC/SLP & Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP. All Rights Reserved. 2
Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
03/072017
Science Chap3 and Q’s 1-6
Goggles
Spanish chap 5 Math read chap 2
Turn in HW
Finish Poster
Lab Notebook
Development of the Time Horizon How Far into the Future can they Anticipate? 2 Years Old: NOW 3-5 Years Old: 5-20 Min 1st Grade: Several Hours 2nd to 5th grade: 8-12 Hours Middle to Early High School: 2-3 Days Late high school to college: 2-3 Weeks 23-35 Years Old: 3-5 Weeks
Temporal – Spatial Capacity/Window
Operational Definition of the Executive Function Skills
Plan Backwards (Plan My Work) 3. Get Ready
What Materials will I need?
2. Do
What do I Need to do to Match the Done Picture? How long will each step take? Move /Sequence?
Brain functions/skills that allows us to . . .
1. Done
Make and Image: What will it/I Look Like?
• Demonstrate situational awareness – Read the Room • Predict possible outcomes and Recall past experiences • Generate a plan to achieve that outcome (even if it is a novel event)
MIME iT STOP
• Initiate appropriate actions and or responses to achieve this outcome
Self Monitor
• Monitor in an ongoing manner the success or failure of one’s behavior (planned vs. actual)
Execute Forwards (Work My Plan)
• Modify performance based on self monitoring and situational awareness of expected and unexpected outcomes
Done
• Shift flexibly between activities
Stop, Clean Up, Review
6. Stop
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Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
03/072017
The Get Ready *Do *DONE Model Plan Backwards to Move Forwards Stage 1: Task Planning
Remediating EF Skills
Repeatedly practice: Self-monitoring, self-STOPping, seeing the future, saying the future, feeling the future, and playing with the future so as to effectively “plan and go” toward that future. (Barkley 2012) Barkley, Russell A. Executive Functions: What They Are, How They Work, and Why They Evolved. New York: Guilford, 2012.
Teach the Foundation of the Forethought Mindset: Students Understand All Tasks Have 3 Phases [Context Dependent]
The Get Ready *Do *DONE Model Plan Backwards to Move Forwards Stage 2: Task Execution Get Ready
Do
Done
Get Done 4. Start: What materials do I need to do the steps? Prepare my Space
5. Check: Sketch the time, create time markers and ½ way checkpoint. Set timer to alert ½ way point. Do My Work! Check in at the ½ way point and Determine if there are any time Robbers: Identify/Remove/Replan
6. STOP: Know when to STOP. Close out the Task. Review: What Worked? What did not Work?
Worksheet Class Notes Text Book Colored Pencils
Identify the Parts of the Cell Label Color cell parts the same color
Turn in, Sci 11:10
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360 Thinking ™ Get Ready * Do * Done ©Copyright September 2015. Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP & Kristen Jacobsen, M.S., CCC/SLP. All rights reserved.
Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
Do
Get Ready
03/072017
Done
WHY DON’T WE START WITH GET READY?
Clean the basement Get my sleeping bag and pillow Stuffed Animal
“Get Ready for School!”
Popcorn Sundaes: Ice cream Sprinkles Whip cream Cherries
Sleep in the Basement! Watch a movie Paint our Nails and do Nail Art Make sundaes!
“Honey We need to leave for school at 7:30. Time to get ready!”
Sleepover
Nails: Nail Polish Remover Nail Polish Pens Paper Towels
Sleepover Host
Get Ready * Do * Done © Copyright Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Kristen Jacobsen, M.S., CCC/SLP. All Rights reserved.
“I know!”
Get Done
Clean Up the basement Put away sleeping bag
Role/Order of Working Memory in Executive Function Skills
“Get Ready for School!”
If…..Then
Ugh..it’s 7:15 (time). I need to go upstairs(space) and quickly brush my hair and get dressed (time and pace). My lunch is on the kitchen counter (space). I need to remember to put my book in my backpack.
Creating Episodic Future Memory vs Semantic Memory
“Get Ready for School! Tell Me Your Plan!”
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Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
03/072017
A Cool Idea! Ask the parents to take a picture of the child showing a side profile of what they look like when they are ready to go home at the end of the day? Print and laminate and place in the cubby to “match the picture”.
Use your Language to Coach the Student to Independently MIME
Great Apps for Making Visuals to “Match the Picture”
Job Talk!
• Strip Design
Turn the Verb/Action word into a Noun label (add –er)
Trick: Turn the action into a “job” and name for the child their “job title” • • • •
• Skitch
Develops Nonverbal Working Memory (What will I look like?) Creates Immediate Structure for the Child Accesses Procedural Memory (How am I moving?) Limits Emotional Reactions
Situation: Student has a math worksheet to do and is not initiating the task. Action (Verb Label)
Job (Noun Label)
360 Thinking™ Cognitive Connections, LLP | www.efpractice.com © Copyright March 2017, Kristen Jacobsen, M.S., CCC/SLP & Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP. All Rights Reserved. 7
Job Talk: Politicians wanted to increase voter turnout and turned to psychological research for help. It worked! Researchers framed voting as either a personal identity label (e.g. “be a voter”) or as a simple behavior (e.g. “voting”). This change in phrasing to a personal identity label significantly increased interest in action and a substantially larger percentage of individuals voted! Research has shown that people want to feel like they are a part of something and take ownership of something rather than being told what to do. Children are no different! Motivation to complete a task is increased by invoking one’s sense of self. Subtly manipulating the verb form of a behavior (“Brush your teeth please”) to feature a noun label (Annie is a toothbrusher!) creates an essential part of one’s identity. In other words it creates confidence and a positive sense of self that this is “What I can do!” This subtle change in language can change an occasional behavior of helping around the house (“Please set the table.”) into a child who has confidence in their permanent trait or skill (I am a tablesetter!). When packing for a ski trip, being asked to be a ‘packer’ is a positive thing and requires the child to imagine in their mind “what does a packer do? What tools will a packer need?”. On the other hand just asking a child to “Please pack the car with your warm clothing, boots and poles.” Just asks the child to do something, does not invoke their reasoning of what is required and likely does not fire them into action except perhaps to make excuses for why they can’t! Using the declarative noun form (clothes gatherer) creates psychological essentialism and develops in children a positive attitude, a strong and stable sense of self and generalizes to how they perceive themselves and their essential role over time.
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Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Kristen Jacobsen M.S.,CCC/SLP have translated this research into a simple trick to help our children to take ownership of and participate in various tasks. They advise to turn the child’s task into a “job” and add “er” to the action that you are asking the child to do which gives them the “job title” such as “Washer", “Wiper", "Tooth brusher", “Listener”, etc. Give it a try, it’s amazing! Declarative Job Talk (Noun Form) Please be a handwasher!
Imperative Verb Form Wash your hands.
Be a counter wiper!
Wipe the counter off.
Time to be a toothbrusher!
It is now time to go upstairs and brush your teeth. Please take out your homework and start your math.
You are getting ready to be a mathematician!
Resources: Bryan, C. J., G. M. Walton, T. Rogers, and C. S. Dweck. "Motivating Voter Turnout by Invoking the Self." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108.31 (2011): 12653-2656. Gelman, S. A., & Heyman, G. D. (1999). Carrot-eaters and creature-believers: The effects of lexicalization on children’s inferences about social categories. Psychological Science, 10, 489-493 Heyman, G. "Talking about Success: Implications for Achievement Motivation." Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 29.5 (2008): 361-70.
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Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
03/072017
Make Social Learning Stick by Elizabeth Sautter
Situation: Student is Not Engaged in Packing for the 2 day Outdoor Adventure Camp Action (Verb Label)
Job (Noun Label)
Managing Materials:
Need Help Around the House?
Is your Bag packed?
Create A Help-Wanted Bulletin Board
Sweeper
Organizer
Back Deck
Kitchen Junk drawer
$2.00
$2.00
Wrapper
Have Older Students Create an ‘album’ of Materials
Organizer Pantry Shelves $2.00
Event Manager: Set table, Set out Food, decorate $3.00
Birthday Presents
To Easily Mark Up and Print Pictures Try the App:
Skitch
$1.00
Make Backpack Tags!
Managing Materials: Have Students Use Devices to Create an Album of Materials
Pencil Bag
Agenda
Books
Binder
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Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
03/072017
Teach the Process of HOW to Make a Checklist
Task Planning Happens in a Different Space than Where you Execute the Plan
Pack Backpack Make Lunch Grab a Water Bottle Wear Sneakers Bring HW, Binders, Books
Create a Map of the Space Dining Room
Bathroom
Our "map tapper" is more focused when heading downstairs to accomplish tasks on her own and both kiddos are now "time managers" with their morning and homework routines. What simple approach is to solve so many issues!
Hallway
Kitchen
Bedroom
Mudroom
Garage
Get Ready – Do - Done
Desk
Chair
Drop Zone/ Entertainment
Sleep Zone
Bed
Dresser Closet
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Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
03/072017
Start with The End in Mind What does Time look like? The Wall Clock • Have Analog Clocks in the Room – Make sure they are not Roman Numeral! • Make sure they are at eye level of the child!
See and Sense the Passage of Time MIME – What does Time look like? What do I look like? How am I moving across time? Emotion of time
Planning Time: Create Time Markers Shade, Mark, Check
MIME iT: Make time Visible
Draw How Much Time The Student Has
The WORKING Clock
Identify/Sketch The “Future Picture Image” [Fixed vs Flexible Time] Factor in time to ‘Get Ready’ and ‘Close out’ task
Sketch the Volume of Time The Student Has Always Start in the center of the Clock Draw out the Minute Hand in a Clockwise Direction
Create Time Markers: • Start Time • Stop Time • Mid Point
MIME iT People Think in Time Markers Brush Teeth/Pack/Out the Door
Finish Breakfast
Start Getting Ready
Be out of the Shower
Dry Hair/Dress/Makeup
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Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
The Time Tracker Program www.efpractice.com
03/072017
Creating Visual Time Markers Tracknets™
Use Code lect10 for a 10 % discount
www.cognitiveconnectionstherapy.com
TRACKNETS: Individual magnets with prompts for tracking start, check and stop times for up to 3 different tasks or parts of task in one hour. A Time Robber magnet to identify and remove distractions that might be “stealing” one’s time from a task.
My Power Clock: An easy set count down timer. Can be set on music or vibrate modes to reduce sensory overload.
The Analog Clock: A magnetized, non –ticking analog clock to plan and selfmonitor time to complete tasks
Use a Timer and Set it to the Half Way Point of the Duration of Time Blocked to Work
The Mid Point Check In
At the “Mid Point Check In” the Student Can Self Monitor to See That They are Still on Track and If They are Not, Determine if They Have Any Time Robbers and How to Change their actions to Stay on Track
• How am I doing at this Mid Point time Marker? • Am I still focused on the goal? • Has my priority changed? • Am I still answering the question?
• Do I have any time robbers? • Identify • Remove • Re-Plan
• What are my Time Savers? • Do I need to change my pace?
Available at www.efpractice.com
Create Time Markers!
If a student has 40 minutes to study 16 history terms, have her create a checkpoint at the 20-minute mark to see that the pace of memorizing at least 8 terms has been achieved. Many students report that this process gives them confidence and makes them feel more in control.
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Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
03/072017
360 Thinking Time Tracker App
Students can mark checkpoints on their work that match their midway checkpoints on the clock. For example, this student shades in the 30 minutes on the clock that she plans to spend reading 5 pages in her text book. A post it note is placed on page 3 of the assignment to mark her mid point goal. She places a corresponding post it note at the 15-minute checkpoint on the clock. When the timer sounds at the 15-minute checkpoint, she can compare her mid point plan with her actual performance to self monitor her pace.
Wondertime Clock: For Directions and a Video on How to make this clock: executivefunctiontherapy.com This clock can be created and used as a pre-cursor to learning how to read an analog clock. It is especially terrific for Pre K -3rd grade students.
Task Planning Using the Get Ready * Do * Done (Get Done) Model Executive Function Skills – Does the student have a future picture? Find the Wondertime Clock pdf to Print Out at:
http://tinyurl.com/wondertimeclock
Ancient Egypt Time Line Landmarks On an index card carefully draw a colorful picture representing your topic. At the top of the card write the “topic” and date. Below the picture write two or three sentences explaining your topic. Your sentence should state who or what the card is about and describe what’s most important to know about this person, place or event.
Topic
Sketch costumes for at least three characters in the novel. Each character needs 2 costume changes. For each drawing, explain why the outfit, accessory, color is appropriate to its owner. How is the apparel useful or necessary in particular settings or situations?
Date
Who/what this is about What’s most important
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Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
03/072017
Write a well-structured, multi-paragraph essay summarizing three Greek myths (you may choose ones we have read together) and describe what natural phenomenon they explain.
Sketch costumes for at least three characters in the novel. Each character needs 2 costume changes. For each drawing, explain why the outfit, accessory, color is appropriate to its owner. How is the apparel useful or necessary in particular settings or situations?
Future Sketch: This is what it will look like… Introduction
Phenomenon explained : To Calm a Fear Greek Myth #3 - Summarize
Book Class Notes Pencil Paper Colored Pencils Laptop
Choose 3 characters Identify 2 impt. Settings or situations Sketch costumes & Color Write up Why and How Paragraphs
Greek Myth #1 - Summarize
Phenomenon explained: Good Vs Evil
Turn In on Thursday
Greek Myth #2 - Summarize
Write a well-structured, multi-paragraph essay summarizing three Greek myths (you may choose ones we have read together) and describe what natural phenomenon they explain.
Allows for more opportunities to pre-experience the prospective intention.
Complex Task: A Complete Project Plan
Phenomenon explained : Answer a science question
Conclusion
• Great for Gestalt Thinking • Prioritizing • Learning to Meet the Task Demands
Edit/Revise Hand In on Friday October 30
Episodic imagery reduces impulsivity in intertemporal decision-making.
Long Term Social Studies Project In this long-term project students will be asked to interview members of their families to learn about their ethnic heritage. Students will • construct a family tree, • compose a report, • craft a poster board, • make a n oral presentation to the class.
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Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
03/072017
Sunday
Breaking Large Projects into Manageable Pieces
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
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Managing Long Term Work Packets
Photocopy And Reduce The Packet To 25% Of It’s Original Size
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Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
03/072017
Done
D Research: 5 Sources (at least 2 print sources: book, encyclopedia or magazine
Cover Sheet
Works Cited
Introduction
Online Resources
Body Paragraph #3 Title Author Block
Body Paragraph #1
Magazine?
Conclusion Body Paragraph #2 50 Note cards: correct Format
Double Spaced Size 12 Font Time New Roman Font
Outline in Correct Format
1. Rough Draft 2. Then Revisions
5 Works Cited Cards In Correct Format
Get Done: Turn In: Notecards, Work Cited Notecards, Outline, Rough Draft, Final Paper
Get Ready 1 packet (100 cards) lined 3 X 5 index cards Container for the Index cards Guide to writing index cards
5 Sources of Information Guide to Writing a Research Paper Outline Packet MLA Style Guide for Middle School Packet COPS Edit Worksheet
Thanksgiving Break!
Thanksgiving Break
50 Cards 5 works cited Outline Due!
Rough Draft!
Completing Homework
Paper Due!
using the Get Ready * DO *Done Model
Executive Function Skills – Does the student have a future picture?
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Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
03/072017
Paper Management: The Younger Student
When Homework is Not Being Done • Academic—work is not understood, is too hard or too lengthy for the student’s working speed
At an early age support the student in making decisions about how to organize and manage the materials that come home from school
• Organizational— getting it home, getting it done, getting it back • Motivational—burnout, overload, too much failure, frustration with tasks • Situational—unable to work at home, too many other activities, no materials available at home for the assignment • Personal—depression, anxiety, family problems, etc.
Test I need to keep this.
Treasure
Trash
Think on It
Something Special
Papers that i did but there is no reason at all to keep them
I don’t need it for a test but I don’t want to throw it away yet!
(A book report, Special Project)
Elementary Homework Folder – Try a 4 Pocket Folder
• • • •
Pocket 1: Graded Work Pocket 2: Homework To Do Tonight Pocket 3: Homework to Hand in Tomorrow Pocket 4: Homework Due Later
Paper Management: The Older Student
Middle & High School: A Homework Pocket in 3 Ring Notebooks
Storage Binder
Working Binder
Everything Binder
The Working Binder, Everything Binder & The Storage Binder System
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Test I need to keep this. (A book report, Special Project)
Something Special
Treasure
Papers that i did but there is no reason at all to keep them
Trash
I don’t need it for a test but I don’t want to throw it away yet!
Think on It
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LD OnLine :: Newhall
1 of 2
http://www.ldonline.org/article/25179?theme=print
Organizational Skills for Students with Learning Disabilities: The Master Filing System for Paper By: Patricia W. Newhall (2008) Think of it: Electricians arrive at a customer's home to do work and ask if they can borrow tools. A lacrosse team runs onto the field for the big game without their helmets or chest pads. Paramedics respond to a 911 call but leave the first-aid kit at the fire station. Unacceptable? Of course. The electricians would go out of business. The lacrosse players would be benched. The paramedics would be suspended. To do their jobs, these people need instant access to specialized equipment and tools. So do students. Yet we often hear: "I forgot my book." "I lost my binder." "I didn't print out my homework." "Can I borrow a pen?" Students who have learning disabilities and weaknesses in executive function frequently struggle to keep track of the tools they need for schoolwork. Notebooks, handouts, homework—even pencils and pens—seem to vanish inexplicably. Why is it so essential that students learn to manage their materials? First, efficient access to needed materials allows more time-on-task for learning. Second, good organizational skills contribute to students' feelings that they are in control of their learning. The Master Filing System for paper is one effective strategy that helps students with learning disabilities manage their materials. Though the research on the effectiveness of teaching materials management skills is slim, the work that has been done indicates that these skills are essential for academic and career success. The success of an organizational system depends on its usefulness to students in relation to their specific learning challenges. The point of keeping materials organized is to help students with learning disabilities keep all their classwork and homework papers in one place that provides easy, logical access. Thus making their learning more efficient and effective. If materials are accessible, students can learn how to manage time and assimilate information more effectively. Classroom activities should reinforce these connections. For instance, teachers might allow students with learning disabilities (or the entire class) to refer to their materials during a pop quiz. Students who use the system to stay organized will do well. Once a system that works for most students is consistently implemented, educators can make changes to suit individual needs, because no single system works for every student. Teachers need to help students create a system that works for them and help them use it consistently.
Getting started: Materials The first step is to assemble necessary materials.The master filing system requires a master student binder or a master student folder plus a master student file.
The master student binder is a full-size, sturdy, three-ring binder, preferably with a zipper around the edges. It includes dividers for each class, plastic page protectors, looseleaf paper, and a three-hole punch designed to fit into the three-ring binder. An alternative approach is the master student folder. For each class, students have one plastic report folder with storage flaps, page protectors, and looseleaf paper. Ideally, each class folder is a different color. The practice of color coding materials is particularly helpful for visual learners. To engage students in the organizational process, a good project is to have them purchase or make book covers that match their folders. Students should keep a three-hole punch in their desks or backpacks. The master student file is a sturdy accordian file or a container for hanging files, such as a file cabinet or crate. It should have enough sections or hanging files to hold a full year's schoolwork and be at least 12 inches deep. This file may be kept at home (a bit risky) or in the classroom. 20
1/31/2011 12:43 AM
LD OnLine :: Newhall
2 of 2
http://www.ldonline.org/article/25179?theme=print
Steps to creating a master filing system Teachers begin by explaining the master filing system to students, and showing them a sample system. Teachers reinforce that the master student binder or folder goes back and forth to school on a daily basis. The binder or folder is required for all schoolwork and homework, from referring to notes or reference information in class to filing completed homework so it is ready to turn in. Once students have their materials, they label their binder dividers or folders for each class. They place note-taking paper in each binder section or folder as well as a few page protectors for important reference information (e.g., periodic table, multiplication facts, frequently misspelled words, and homework buddy lists). In class, teachers remind students to take notes on paper from the appropriate binder section or folder. Teachers also remind students to write down the class and date for easy filing should papers go astray. Students file handouts, returned quizzes, and the like in the section of the binder or folder that corresponds to the class. Once a unit test or project has been scheduled, teachers can guide students to start using the materials in their master binder or folder to create a study guide (e.g., summarizing main ideas, listing vocabulary, generating questions, etc.). By the day of the test or project deadline, students should have a complete study guide in the appropriate section of their master student files. When teachers return the unit tests or projects, students attach them to their study guides. This process gives students with learning disabilities a comprehensive reference to review for midterms and finals, conveniently stored in their master files. It also empties students' folders, leaving them ready to be refilled with the next unit's papers.
Mastering the routine As with any routine, consistent use and guided practice are the keys to success. Students need to develop good habits, including promptly three-hole punching and filing their handouts. Teaching students routines to manage their materials empowers them to develop the organizational skills critical to academic success. The key is for students to clean out their binders or folders regularly. Ideally, the clean-out becomes part of preparing for a unit test or project. If teachers assign projects that require students to use all of the information from a unit, students begin to see how the system benefits them. While organizational routines develop intuitively for some students, students with learning disabilities need explicit instruction in how to initiate a system, and guided practice using it. Encourage students to use the system, and acknowledge their successes. The sense of control that these students feel when they are organized contributes to their confidence that they can succeed in school. Managing materials is one of the three key categories of study skills that contribute to students' ability to organize, remember and apply their knowledge. The other categories are managing time and managing information. To do well in school, students with learning disabilities must develop strategies that make them efficient, effective managers in each of these areas.. Unfortunately, many students do not develop these strategies intuitively. They need educators who are willing and able to provide them with explicit instruction, guided practice, and ongoing opportunities (and motivation) to hone the strategies they've learned.
About the article This article was adapted from Study Skills: Research-Based Teaching Strategies, Published by Landmark School's Outreach Program. It was written by Landmark staff exclusively for LD OnLine. Newhall, P. W. (2008). Organizational Skills for Students with Learning Disabilities: The Master Filing System for Paper. Adapted from Study Skills: Research-Based Teaching Strategies. Prides Crossing, MA: Landmark School, 21-22. http://www.ldonline.org/article/25179?theme=print ©2008 WETA. All Rights Reserved.
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Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
03/072017
Teach Student the Process of How to Manage their Papers. This also Significantly Increases Students Awareness of the Temporal Shift in the Curriculum
Working Binder
Paper Management: The Older Student The “Everything” Binder
Where’s My Stuff? Ultimate Teen Organizing Guide, by Lesley Schwartz
Paper Management: The Older Student
The “Homework Office” – Elementary
Now the Materials in the Storage Binder are Organized and Match the Content for Mid Year and Final Exams
Storage Binder
• Create Portable Dashboards with Cardboard presentation boards
The Get Ready*Do*Done Homework Space Late Elementary, Middle and High School
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Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
03/072017
Turning In Homework • Bookmark Teacher Websites for Easy Access ELA 1:00
• Bookmark Teacher Websites for Easy Access • Create a Homework Recording Sheet for Web Based Homework Postings
• Create a Homework Recording Sheet for Web Based Homework Postings
Cognitive Connections Academic Planner Available for Purchase at www.efpractice.com
Handout | Textbook | Binder | Class Notes | Google Driv e
Handout | Textbook | Binder | Class Notes | website
Handout | Binder | Class Notes | w ebsite
Handout | Book | Binder | Class Notes | Website
Handout | Textbook | Binder | Class Notes | Google Driv e
Handout | Textbook | Binder | Class Notes | Google Driv e
360 Thinking™ Cognitive Connections, LLP | www.efpractice.com © Copyright March 2017, Kristen Jacobsen, M.S., CCC/SLP & Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP. All Rights Reserved. 23
Today is……. Get Ready
Time
Do English
Due:
Math
Due:
Social Studies
Due:
Science
Due:
Done
Read: Do: Study:
Read: Do: Study:
Read: Do: Study:
Read: Do: Study: Due: Read: Do: Study:
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Cognitive Connections, LLP for 360 Thinking™ | www.efpractice.com | All Rights Reserved. © Copyright October 2016, Kristen Jacobsen, M.S., CCC/SLP & Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP.
Get Done
Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
03/072017
Executive Function & Mindset Motivation and Executive Function
Mindset and Executive Function Skills
Growth Mindset
Fixed Mindset
Carol Dweck: MindSet http://www.mindsetworks.com/ http://www.mindsetonline.com/
Learner Objective Parenting/Coaching
http://www.thespartanissue.org
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Look at what the student is doing. ACTION
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State the OUTCOME of that action.
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Now that this outcome has been achieved, make an EXCLAMATION: o what they have learned or o What action/event can happen next (teaches forethought) o How you felt o The Job Title they demonstrated
Improve Motivation: Focus on the objective of the learner. State the Observed Action the Outcome… then Make an Exclamation! Performance Goal Based Communication
Learner Objective Communication
What a beautiful dancer you are! I am impressed!
Wow! I really saw how you used your arms to balance! Your spins looked so strong!! What a dancer! I like how the colors have so many different shades. It makes the ocean look so deep. I want to go for a swim there!
Fantastic picture! Your drawing is gorgeous!
Action: Outcome: Exclamation:
360 Thinking™ Cognitive Connections, LLP | www.efpractice.com © Copyright March 2017, Kristen Jacobsen, M.S., CCC/SLP & Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP. All Rights Reserved. 25
Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
03/072017
Mindset Coaching Practice
Mindset Coaching Practice
Action: Outcome: Exclamation:
Action: Outcome: Exclamation:
Mindset Coaching Practice
Mindset Coaching Practice
Jack is working on handwriting and how to form cursive letters. He has written an upper case ‘G’ and does not like how it looks. Angrily, he pushes hard on his pencil and makes holes in the paper and then rips it up. You say “It’s ok. You are a good writer. Let’s take a break.”
Anne gets an A on her science test and you tell her “You are sooo smart! I am so proud of you!”
Action: Outcome: Exclamation:
Action: Outcome: Exclamation:
360 Thinking™ Cognitive Connections, LLP | www.efpractice.com © Copyright March 2017, Kristen Jacobsen, M.S., CCC/SLP & Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP. All Rights Reserved. 26
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The Effort Effect http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2007/marapr/features/dweck.html By Marina Krakovsky According to a Stanford psychologist, you’ll reach new heights if you learn to embrace the occasional tumble. One day last November, psychology professor Carol Dweck welcomed a pair of visitors from the Blackburn Rovers, a soccer team in the United Kingdom’s Premier League. The Rovers’ training academy is ranked in England’s top three, yet performance director Tony Faulkner had long suspected that many promising players weren’t reaching their potential. Ignoring the team’s century-old motto—arte et labore, or “skill and hard work”—the most talented individuals disdained serious training. On some level, Faulkner knew the source of the trouble: British soccer culture held that star players are born, not made. If you buy into that view, and are told you’ve got immense talent, what’s the point of practice? If anything, training hard would tell you and others that you’re merely good, not great. Faulkner had identified the problem; but to fix it, he needed Dweck’s help. A 60-year-old academic psychologist might seem an unlikely sports motivation guru. But Dweck’s expertise—and her recent book, James Yang Mindset: The New Psychology of Success—bear directly on the sort of problem facing the Rovers. Through more than three decades of systematic research, she has been figuring out answers to why some people achieve their potential while equally talented others don’t—why some become Muhammad Ali and others Mike Tyson. The key, she found, isn’t ability; it’s whether you look at ability as something inherent that needs to be demonstrated or as something that can be developed. What’s more, Dweck has shown that people can learn to adopt the latter belief and make dramatic strides in performance. These days, she’s sought out wherever motivation and achievement matter, from education and parenting to business management and personal development. As a graduate student at Yale, Dweck started off studying animal motivation. In the late 1960s, a hot topic in animal research was “learned helplessness”: lab animals sometimes didn’t do what they were capable of because they’d given up from repeat failures. Dweck wondered how humans coped with that. “I asked, ‘What makes a really capable child give up in the face of failure, where other children may be motivated by the failure?’” she recalls.
Students for whom performance is paramount want to look smart even if it means not learning a thing in the process.
At the time, the suggested cure for learned helplessness was a long string of successes. Dweck posited that the difference between the helpless response and its opposite—the determination to master new things and surmount challenges—lay in people’s beliefs about why they had failed. People who attributed their failures to lack of ability, Dweck thought, would become discouraged even in areas where they were capable. Those who thought they simply hadn’t tried hard enough, on the other hand, would be fueled by setbacks. This became the topic of her PhD dissertation.
Dweck and her assistants ran an experiment on elementary school children whom school personnel had identified as helpless. These kids fit the definition perfectly: if they came across a few math problems they couldn’t solve, for example, they no longer could do problems they had solved before—and some didn’t recover that ability for days. 30
Through a series of exercises, the experimenters trained half the students to chalk up their errors to insufficient effort, and encouraged them to keep going. Those children learned to persist in the face of failure—and to succeed. The control group showed no improvement at all, continuing to fall apart quickly and to recover slowly. These findings, says Dweck, “really supported the idea that the attributions were a key ingredient driving the helpless and mastery-oriented patterns.” Her 1975 article on the topic has become one of the most widely cited in contemporary psychology. Attribution theory, concerned with people’s judgments about the causes of events and behavior, already was an active area of psychological research. But the focus at the time was on how we make attributions, explains Stanford psychology professor Lee Ross, who coined the term “fundamental attribution error” for our tendency to explain other people’s actions by their character traits, overlooking the power of circumstances. Dweck, he says, helped “shift the emphasis from attributional errors and biases to the consequences of attributions—why it matters what attributions people make.” Dweck had put attribution theory to practical use. She continued to do so as an assistant professor at the University of Illinois, collaborating with then-graduate student Carol Diener to have children “think out loud” as they faced problem-solving tasks, some too difficult for them. The big surprise: some of the children who put forth lots of effort didn’t make attributions at all. These children didn’t think they were failing. Diener puts it this way: “Failure is information—we label it failure, but it’s more like, ‘This didn’t work, I’m a problem solver, and I’ll try something else.’” During one unforgettable moment, one boy—something of a poster child for the mastery-oriented type— faced his first stumper by pulling up his chair, rubbing his hands together, smacking his lips and announcing, “I love a challenge.” Such zest for challenge helped explain why other capable students thought they lacked ability just because they’d hit a setback. Common sense suggests that ability inspires self-confidence. And it does for a while— so long as the going is easy. But setbacks change everything. Dweck realized—and, with colleague Elaine Elliott soon demonstrated—that the difference lay in the kids’ goals. “The mastery-oriented children are really hell-bent on learning something,” Dweck says, and “learning goals” inspire a different chain of thoughts and behaviors than “performance goals.” Students for whom performance is paramount want to look smart even if it means not learning a thing in the process. For them, each task is a challenge to their self-image, and each setback becomes a personal threat. So they pursue only activities at which they’re sure to shine—and avoid the sorts of experiences necessary to grow and flourish in any endeavor. Students with learning goals, on the other hand, take necessary risks and don’t worry about failure because each mistake becomes a chance to learn. Dweck’s insight launched a new field of educational psychology—achievement goal theory. Dweck’s next question: what makes students focus on different goals in the first place? During a sabbatical at Harvard, she was discussing this with doctoral student Mary Bandura (daughter of legendary Stanford psychologist Albert Bandura), and the answer hit them: if some students want to show off their ability, while others want to increase their ability, “ability” means different things to the two groups. “If you want to demonstrate something over and over, it feels like something static that lives inside of you—whereas if you want to increase your ability, it feels dynamic and malleable,” Dweck explains. People with performance goals, she reasoned, think intelligence is fixed from birth. People with learning goals have a growth mind-set about intelligence, believing it can be developed. (Among themselves, psychologists call the growth mindset an “incremental theory,” and use the term “entity theory” for the fixed mind-set.) The model was nearly complete. (See diagram, next page) Growing up in Brooklyn in the ’50s, Dweck did well in elementary school, earning a spot in a sixth-grade class of other high achievers. Not just any spot, it turned out. Their teacher, Mrs. Wilson, seated the students in IQ order and even used IQ scores to dole out classroom responsibilities. Whether Mrs. Wilson meant to or not, she was conveying her belief in fixed intelligence. Dweck, who was in row 1, seat 1, believes Mrs. Wilson’s intentions were good. The experience didn’t scar her—Dweck says she already had some of the growth mind-set—but she has shown that many students pegged as bright, especially girls, don’t fare as well. 31
Tests, Dweck notes, are notoriously poor at measuring potential. Take a group of adults and ask them to draw a self-portrait. Most Americans think of drawing as a gift they don’t have, and their portraits look no better than a child’s scribbles. But put them in a well-designed class—as Betty Edwards, the author of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, has—and the resulting portraits look so skilled it’s hard to believe they’re the work of the same “talentless” individuals. The belief that you can’t improve stunts achievement. Culture can play a large role in shaping our beliefs, Dweck says. A college physics teacher recently wrote to Dweck that in India, where she was educated, there was no notion that you had to be a genius or even particularly smart to learn physics. “The assumption was that everyone could do it, and, for the most part, they did.” But what if you’re raised with a fixed mind-set about physics—or foreign languages or music? Not to worry: Dweck has shown that you can change the mind-set itself. The most dramatic proof comes from a recent study by Dweck and Lisa Sorich Blackwell of low-achieving seventh graders. All students participated in sessions on study skills, the brain and the like; in addition, one group attended a neutral session on memory while the other learned that intelligence, like a muscle, grows stronger through exercise. Training students to adopt a growth mind-set about intelligence had a catalytic effect on motivation and math grades; students in the control group showed no improvement despite all the other interventions. “Study skills and learning skills are inert until they’re powered by an active ingredient,” Dweck explains. Students may know how to study, but won’t want to if they believe their efforts are futile. “If you target that belief, you can see more benefit than you have any reason to hope for.” The classroom workshop isn’t feasible on a large scale; for one thing, it’s too costly. So Dweck and Blackwell have designed a computer-based training module to simulate the live intervention. Their hip multimedia software, called Brainology, is still in development, but thanks to early buzz from a Time magazine article and Dweck’s recent book, teachers have begun clamoring for it, one even asking to become a distributor. 32
‘What makes a really capable child give up in the face of failure, where other children may be motivated by the failure?’
Unlike much that passes for wisdom about education and performance, Dweck’s conclusions are grounded in solid research. She’s no rah-rah motivational coach proclaiming the sky’s the limit and attitude is everything; that’s too facile. But the evidence shows that if we hold a fixed mind-set, we’re bound not to reach as high as we might.
Although much of Dweck’s research on mind-sets has taken place in school settings, it’s applicable to sports, business, interpersonal relationships and so on. “Lots and lots of people are interested in her work; it touches on so many different areas of psychology and areas outside of psychology,” says Stanford psychology professor Mark Lepper, ’66, who as department chair in 2004 lured Dweck away from Columbia, where she’d been for 15 years. “The social psychologists like to say she’s a social psychologist; the personality psychologists say she’s a personality psychologist; and the developmental psychologists say she’s a developmental psychologist,” Lepper adds. By all rights, her appeal should transcend academia, says New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell, who is well known for making psychological research accessible to the general public. “One of the most popular pieces I ever did relied very heavily on work done by Carol Dweck,” he said in a December interview in the Journal of Management Inquiry. “Carol Dweck deserves a big audience. It is criminal if she does not get that audience.” Perhaps Mindset will help; it was written for lay readers. It certainly cemented Tony Faulkner’s belief that Dweck could help the Blackburn Rovers soccer team. Unlike the disadvantaged kids in Dweck’s middle-school study, the Rovers didn’t think they lacked what it took to succeed. Quite the opposite: they thought their talent should take them all the way. Yet both groups’ fixed mind-set about ability explains their aversion to effort. But aren’t there plenty of people who believe in innate ability and in the notion that nothing comes without effort? Logically, the two ideas are compatible. But psychologically, explains Dweck, many people who believe in fixed intelligence also think you shouldn’t need hard work to do well. This belief isn’t entirely irrational, she says. A student who finishes a problem set in 10 minutes is indeed better at math than someone who takes four hours to solve the problems. And a soccer player who scores effortlessly probably is more talented than someone who’s always practicing. “The fallacy comes when people generalize it to the belief that effort on any task, even very hard ones, implies low ability,” Dweck says. Her advice for the Rovers rings true for anyone stuck in a fixed mind-set. “Changing mind-sets is not like surgery,” she says. “You can’t simply remove the fixed mind-set and replace it with the growth mind-set.” The Rovers are starting their workshops with recent recruits—their youngest, most malleable players. (Faulkner realizes that players who’ve already earned millions from being “naturals” have little incentive to reshape their brains.) The team’s talent scouts will be asking about new players’ views on talent and training—not to screen out those with a fixed mind-set, but to target them for special training. In his 2002 essay that relied on Dweck’s work, Gladwell cited one of her best-known experiments to argue that Enron may have collapsed precisely because of the company’s talent-obsessed culture, not despite it. Dweck’s study showed that praising children for intelligence, rather than for effort, sapped their motivation (see “What Do We Tell the Kids?” below). But more disturbingly, 40 percent of those whose intelligence was praised overstated their scores to peers. “We took ordinary children and made them into liars,” Dweck says. Similarly, Enron executives who’d been celebrated for their innate talent would sooner lie than fess up to problems and work to fix them. Business School professor Jeffrey Pfeffer says Dweck’s research has implications for the more workaday problem of performance management. He faults businesses for spending too much time in rank-and-yank mode, grading and evaluating people instead of developing their skills. “It’s like the Santa Claus theory of management: who’s naughty and who’s nice.” Leaders, too, can benefit from Dweck’s work, says Robert Sternberg, PhD ’75, Tufts University’s dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. Sternberg, a past president of the American Psychological Association, says 33
that excessive concern with looking smart keeps you from making bold, visionary moves. “If you’re afraid of making mistakes, you’ll never learn on the job, and your whole approach becomes defensive: ‘I have to make sure I don’t screw up.’” Social psychologist Peter Salovey, ’80, MA ’80, dean of Yale College and a pioneer in the field of emotional intelligence, says Dweck’s ideas have helped him think through a controversy in his field. Echoing an older debate about the malleability of general intelligence, some scholars say emotional intelligence is largely inborn, while others, like Salovey, see it as a set of skills that can be taught and learned. “People say to me all the time, ‘I’m not a people person,’ or ‘I’m not good at managing my emotions,’” unaware that they’re expressing a fixed mind-set, Salovey says. Stanford psychology professor James Gross has begun extending Dweck’s work to emotions. In a recent study, Gross and his colleagues followed a group of Stanford undergrads as they made the transition to college life. Those with a fixed mind-set about emotions were less able to manage theirs, and by the end of freshman year, they’d shown poorer social and emotional adjustment than their growth-minded counterparts. “Carol Dweck deserves a big audience. It is criminal if she does not get that audience,” says Gross. As she approaches the end of her third year at Stanford [2007], Dweck has embraced the challenge of crosscountry culture shock in a manner consistent with the growth mind-set. Nearby San Francisco provides her with the benefits of a great city, she says, including a dining scene that rivals New York’s; and the University supplies a more cozy sense of community. She’s also brought a bit of the New York theater scene with her in the form of her husband, critic and director David Goldman. He founded and directs the National Center for New Plays at Stanford. At the Association for Psychological Science convention in May, Dweck will give the keynote address. The topic: “Can Personality Be Changed?” Her short answer, of course, is yes. Moreover, holding a growth mind-set bodes well for one’s relationships. In a recent study, Dweck found that people who believe personality can change were more likely than others to bring up concerns and deal with problems in a constructive way. Dweck thinks a fixed mind-set fosters a categorical, all-or-nothing view of people’s qualities; this view tends to make you ignore festering problems or, at the other extreme, give up on a relationship at the first sign of trouble. (The growth mind-set, though, can be taken too far if someone stays in an abusive relationship hoping her partner will change; as always, the person has to want to change.) These days, Dweck is applying her model to kids’ moral development. Young children may not always have beliefs about ability, but they do have ideas about goodness. Many kids believe they’re invariably good or bad; other kids think they can get better at being good. Dweck has already found that preschoolers with this growth mind-set feel okay about themselves after they’ve messed up and are less judgmental of others; they’re also more likely than kids with a fixed view of goodness to try to set things right and to learn from their mistakes. They understand that spilling juice or throwing toys, for example, doesn’t damn a kid as bad, so long as the child cleans up and resolves to do better next time. Now Dweck and graduate student Allison Master are running experiments at Bing Nursery School to see if teaching kids the growth mind-set improves their coping skills. They’ve designed a storybook with the message that preschoolers can go from “bad” one year to better the next. Can hearing such stories help a 4-year-old handle a sandbox setback? Dweck’s students from over the years describe her as a generous, nurturing mentor. She’d surely attribute these traits not to an innate gift, but to a highly developed mind-set. “Just being aware of the growth mindset, and studying it and writing about it, I feel compelled to live it and to benefit from it,” says Dweck, who took up piano as an adult and learned to speak Italian in her 50s. “These are things that adults are not supposed to be good at learning.” MARINA KRAKOVSKY, ’92, is a writer in San Mateo.
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What Do We Tell the Kids? http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2007/marapr/features/dweck_sidebar.html You have a bright child, and you want her to succeed. You should tell her how smart she is, right? That’s what 85 percent of the parents Dweck surveyed said. Her research on fifth graders shows otherwise. Labels, even though positive, can be harmful. They may instill a fixed mind-set and all the baggage that goes with it, from performance anxiety to a tendency to give up quickly. Well-meaning words can sap children’s motivation and enjoyment of learning and undermine their performance. While Dweck’s study focused on intelligence praise, she says her conclusions hold true for all talents and abilities. Here are Dweck’s tips from Mindset: •
Listen to what you say to your kids, with an ear toward the messages you’re sending about mind-set.
•
Instead of praising children’s intelligence or talent, focus on the processes they used. Example: “That homework was so long and involved. I really admire the way you concentrated and finished it.” Example: “That picture has so many beautiful colors. Tell me about them.” Example: “You put so much thought into that essay. It really makes me think about Shakespeare in a new way.”
•
When your child messes up, give constructive criticism—feedback that helps the child understand how to fix the problem, rather than labeling or excusing the child.
•
Pay attention to the goals you set for your children; having innate talent is not a goal, but expanding skills and knowledge is.
Don’t worry about praising your children for their inherent goodness, though. It’s important for children to learn they’re basically good and that their parents love them unconditionally, Dweck says. “The problem arises when parents praise children in a way that makes them feel that they’re good and loveworthy only when they behave in particular ways that please the parents.”
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Developing Independent Executive Function Skills
03/072017
Controlling Internet Distraction
• Windows: ifocusonwork.com After Readability:
This is a great little ‘add in’. If you go to a web page and you want to read the content but not be distracted by all the ads around it, just click readability. It will remove all the ads so you can just get the content.
• Mac: SelfControl: visitsteve.com/made/selfcontrol/
•
Mac: Macfreedom.com
BeeLine Reader Provides Immediate Feedback: • Grammar • Clarity • Spelling • Active vs Passive Voice • Much more! A Must See Program!
Kids With Dysgraphia? Docscan HD or
The Center for Executive Function Skill Development www.efpractice.com Telephone: 978-369-5200
Skitch for Worksheets
• Take a Photo of Worksheets • Type your Answers or Write Your Answer in Large script and then shrink to fit in the allotted space • Print as a PDF or email • Great for kids with Dysgraphia
Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP
Kristen Jacobsen, M.S., CCC/SLP
Speech and Language Pathologist
Speech and Language Pathologist
[email protected]
[email protected]
360 Thinking™ Cognitive Connections, LLP | www.efpractice.com © Copyright March 2017, Kristen Jacobsen, M.S., CCC/SLP & Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP. All Rights Reserved. 36
Book Recommendations
Braaten, E., and Willoughby, B. (2014). Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up: Help Your Child Overcome Slow Processing Speed and Succeed in a Fast-Paced World (The Guilford Press). *Bodrova, Elena, and Deborah J. Leong. 2006. Tools of the Mind: The Vygotskian Approach to Early Childhood Education. 2 edition. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson. *Branstetter, R. (2013). The Everything Parent’s Guide to Children with Executive Functioning Disorder: Strategies to help your child achieve the time-management skills, focus, ... to succeed in school and life (Adams Media). Dawson, P., and Guare, R. (2010). Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents, Second Edition: A Practical Guide to Assessment and Intervention (New York: The Guilford Press). *Guare, R. (2013). Smart but Scattered Teens: The “Executive Skills” Program for Helping Teens Reach Their Potential (The Guilford Press). Hallowell, Edward M., Jonathan Mooney, and David Cole. 2000. Learning Outside The Lines: Two Ivy League Students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD Give You the Tools for Academic Success and Educational Revolution. 1st edition. New York: Touchstone. *M.A, Brock L. Eide M. D., and Fernette F. Eide M.D. 2011. The Dyslexic Advantage: Unlocking the Hidden Potential of the Dyslexic Brain. Reprint edition. Plume. Minahan, J. (2014). The Behavior Code Companion: Strategies, Tools, and Interventions for Supporting Students With Anxiety-Related or Oppositional Behaviors (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press). Ph.D, C.K. (2010). Executive Function in the Classroom: Practical Strategies for Improving Performance and Enhancing Skills for All Students (Baltimore: Brookes Publishing). PhD, L.M. (2010). Promoting Executive Function in the Classroom (New York: The Guilford Press). Ritchhart, R., Church, M., and Morrison, K. (2011). Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners (San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass). *Silver, D. (2012). Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8: Teaching Kids to Succeed (Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin). Stewart, Kathryn. 2007. Helping a Child with Nonverbal Learning Disorder or Asperger’s Disorder: A Parent’s Guide. 2 edition. New Harbinger Publications. *Favorite Books 37
Verbal Mediators: The Language of Executive Function Edited by: Kristen Jacobsen & Sarah Ward, MS CCC-SLP
Declarative Language Authored by: Linda Murphy Why is Declarative Language so important in fostering Executive Function Skills? 1. Inner Voice:Self-narratives helpstu d ents d evelopan innervoice.A fterthe initial langu age sparkis ignited ,mostof u s then go on to d evelopou rown voice thatwe u se to share ou rthou ghts,recapex periences,talkabou twhatwe are d oing,and talkabou twhat we are thinking.M ostof u s also then go on to create ou rown innervoice.This is an importantby-prod u ctof ou rlangu age learning.W e u se ou rinnervoice to problem solve and plan.W e rememberwhatwe have learned ornoticed in the past,and apply itto the here and now.Forex ample,imagine you are gettingread y to go to workand you can’t find you rkeys.Y ou rinnervoice may say somethinglike,‘H mmm… .N ow when d id I lastsee my keys?W here d o Iu su ally pu tthem d own?W hatjacketd id Ihave on yesterd ay?...M aybe they’re in the pocket.”Y ou rinnervoice helps you thinkthrou ghthe problem so you can getstarted on aplan of action to solve it.C hild ren withE x ecu tive Fu nctioningd ifficu lties d o notu su ally d evelopthis innervoice to regu late theirthou ghts and actions on theirown.J u stas mod elingwas importantwhen you rchild was learning to talk,thou ghtfu lmod elingnow,in this regard ,is equ ally important.So –talkou tlou d , thinkou tlou d ,workthrou ghaproblem,make pred ictions,pond eropportu nities,consid er possibilities,and reflecton pastex periences when you are withyou rchild .They will learn from you rmod els,internalize the id eas,and begin to form theirown innervoice. 2. Perspective Taking: P rovid e awind ow into anotherperson’s perspective.Some child ren withex ecu tive fu nction challenges have d ifficu lty takingperspective.Usingd eclarative langu age to share you rthou ghts and feelings provid es astu d entwitharegu larwind ow into these commu nication ex changes in an inviting,nonthreateningway.W e are provid ingthem information thatis criticalin asocialinteraction thatwe know they may notpicku pon theirown.W hen we presentd eclarative langu age in this way,we are not askingthem to provid e an answerthatmay be rightorwrong.Rather,we are clu eing them into socialinformation and then allowingthem to d ecid e whatto d o withthe information.B y regu larly u singd eclarative langu age,we are also slowly bu ild ing episod ic memories and awareness thatd ifferentpeople have d ifferentthou ghts,opinions, perspectives and emotions.Forex ample,you say somethingto you rchild bu the is facing the otherway,appearingnotto listen.Ratherthan say to him “tu rn arou nd ! ”or“lookat me”(bothimperatives)share you rfeelings and perspective withd eclarative langu age:“I notice you lookingou tthe wind ow” ,“W hatwou ld helpme know you are listeningto me”or“Ifeellike you are notlisteningto me.” 3. Big Picture Thinking: Stu d ents can bettersee the bigpictu re in ord erto create mu ltiple solu tions to aproblem.D eclarative langu age can also helpstu d ents create avisu alimage of the gestaltand how they wou ld like to see the ou tcome of asitu ation in their“mind ’s eye” .O ften times when we focu s on havingstu d ents carry ou tspecific d etailed d irections,we can alllose sightof the bigpictu re.B ecau se some child ren withex ecu tive
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fu nction challenges are strongwhen itcomes to d etails,bu tweakwhen itcomes to seeing the bigpictu re,itis importantto thinkabou tthe bigpictu re when we presentinformation. Givingvery specific d irections orqu estions thathave one rightanswerpromotes that focu s on d etails.Forex ample,if we tellachild to “pu tthe bookin the book-box ”or“line u patthe d oorformu sic”we are zoominginto the d etails and creatingasitu ation where there’s one and only one rightanswer.H owever,if we u se langu age instead to comment on whatwe see in the bigpictu re:“Isee abookon the floor”or“whatd o you looklike if you are read y to go to mu sic?”-we are instead encou ragingou rchild ren to take astep back,notice the contex tand situ ation arou nd them,and su bsequ ently form aplan of action thatmakes sense to them.W e are also leavingopen the possibility thatthere may in factbe more than one solu tion –i.e.,maybe the toy cou ld go on ashelf orin the toy box ,maybe the stu d ents cou ld pu taway theirwork,line u pby the d oor,orcollecttheir mu sic instru ments and line u pby the d oor. 4. Problem Solving Skills:D eclaratives su pportstu d ents ability to d evelopproblem solving skills ratherthan merely than ju stfollowingd irection skills.W hen we d irectstu d ents as to whatto d o,askthem to follow d irections,oraskthem to answerqu estions witha d efinitive right/wronganswer,we are honingtheirreceptive langu age skills.This is nota bad thing,bu titmay notbe whatthe stu d entwithan ex ecu tive fu nction challenge need s most.In contrast,if we u se d eclarative langu age to presentinformation abou tthe environmentorsitu ation athand ,we are instead invitingherto notice this information and d evelopaplan of action.W e are invitinghim orherto have an “aha! ”momentwhere he orshe figu res ou twhatto d o withgiven information.W e are givingstu d ents an opportu nity to thinkmore ind epend ently! P roblem solvingmoments are criticalforall stu d ents as they learn to see themselves as more ind epend ently fu nctioninghu man beings in the world . 5. Read the Room: H elpyou rchild read what’s goingon in his environment.W e know that itcan be d ifficu ltforsome kid s to tu ne into the socialinformation thatis goingon arou nd them.Ratherthan tellingthem ex actly whatto d o and when to d o it,u se d eclarative langu age to helpthem notice whatis important! Forex ample,if itis time foratransition, instead of tellingyou rchild “go to the table forsnack”or“pu ton you rcoat,”d irecthis attention toward the changes in the environment:“Inotice allthe kid s are atthe table”or “Inotice allthe kid s are pu ttingon theircoats.”This willhelpinternalize the importance of period ically checkingin on one’s environment;there are visu alclu es available allthe time,and they are importantto pay attention to! W e wantou rkid s to learn that information is notalways goingto come to them -they have to become active information gatherers.In contrast,if we are u singimperatives allthe time withou rkid s, information is comingto them on aregu larbasis,and they d on’thave the same need to lookarou nd orread the behaviors of others.
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