Building Executive Functioning Skills in the Primary 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 also look at how EF skills develop in children between the ages of 4-12 years, how this may vary  amongst children with special educational needs and how to identify gaps in EF functioning in  classes  as a whole and in individuals.

Participants will learn how to infuse Executive Functioning sub-skills into the 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
  1. Cluster 1: Start & Stay on Track;
  2. Cluster 2: Remember, Focus, Persist;
  3. 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

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