Building Executive Functioning Skills in the Secondary School Classroom

Gain an experiential, affective understanding of the 11 Executive Functioning (EF) Sub-skills (attention, organization, task initiation, working memory, time management, planning & prioritising, goal-directed persistence, inhibition, metacognition, emotional control, and flexibility) and how they impact not only student performance but also teacher performance.

The workshop will look at how EF skills develop in students between the ages of 12 – 18 years, how EF skills may be affected by adolescence, and how EF competence may vary  amongst children with special educational needs.

Participants will learn:

• how to identify gaps in EF functioning both in classes as a whole and in individuals.
• how to infuse Executive Functioning sub-skills into day-to-day pedagogical practice and the teaching of different subject areas through:
• building classroom psychological safety through developing trust, predictable routines, and the freedom to make mistakes
• The use of a 3-Cluster Support Model Cluster 1: Start & Stay on Track; Cluster 2: Remember, Focus, Persist; Cluster 3: Monitor, Adapt, Stay focused
• Classroom-Ready Strategies
• Practice activities & case-studies
• development of effective school-wide practice: fidelity, consistency, and regularity

‍

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this workshop participants will:

• Understand all 11 EF sub-skills experientially, and affectively as well as cognitively
• Be able to apply strategies to identify EF gaps in your students and select strategies to address them
• Implement strategies with fidelity and consistency

Key Competencies

1. EF Awareness
2. EF Gap Identification
3. Strategy Selection
4. Developing and sustaining Psychological Safety
5. Fidelity of implementation practice
6. Ensuring School-Wide Alignment