What are some of the main categories of executive functioning?
Good kids may often say “I forgot” and genuinely not know how to stop forgetting to do homework assignments or turn in their work on time unless parents and tutors use executive function activities for students to help train their brains to focus and manage tasks. When it comes to supporting school-aged children, understanding the key categories of executive functioning is crucial.
Executive functioning refers to the mental skills that help children plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and manage multiple tasks. These cognitive skills are essential for success in school, relationships, and life in general. Here are 10 main categories of executive functioning that parents and tutors should know about along with examples and executive function activities for students. Tutors can easily incorporate a tip or strategy into a tutoring session to help build executive function skills and parents can continue to reinforce the strategy at home.
1. Self-Control
- Definition: The ability to control impulses and resist distractions, staying focused
- Examples in school: Not interrupting others in class, waiting your turn, and resisting the urge to play during study time.
- Practical Tips and Strategies for Improvement:
- Use visual reminders, such as “stop” signs or cue cards, to help students pause before acting impulsively.
- Teach mindfulness exercises or breathing techniques to help children manage their impulses in stressful situations.
2. Shifting
- Definition: The ability to switch between tasks or thoughts and adapt to new situations or rules.
- Examples in school: Being able to shift between different subjects during the school day, adapting to changes in routine, or solving problems in creative ways.
- Practical Tips and Strategies for Improvement:
- Introduce activities that require flexible thinking, such as puzzles or “What if?” scenarios.
- Practice switching tasks by using timers or transitioning between activities with clear cues.
3. Emotional Control
- Definition: The ability to manage emotional reactions in various situations, especially when faced with stress or frustration.
- Examples in school: Staying calm when faced with a difficult task, handling peer conflicts appropriately, and not letting frustration lead to outbursts.
- Practical Tips and Strategies for Improvement:
- Teach students to identify and label their emotions to better understand and manage them.
- Introduce coping strategies, like taking deep breaths or using a “calm-down” corner, to manage strong emotions.
4. Self-Monitoring
- Definition: The ability to assess your own performance, recognize errors, and make adjustments to improve.
- Examples in school: Checking work for mistakes before submitting it, noticing when focus is slipping, or adjusting study strategies if something isn’t working.
- Practical Tips and Strategies for Improvement:
- Encourage students to use self-checklists to review their work before submission.
- Teach them to pause and reflect on their performance during tasks using prompts or guided questions.
5. Planning and Organization
- Definition: The ability to create and execute a plan to accomplish a goal. It includes breaking tasks into smaller steps and organizing materials or time effectively.
- Examples in school: Completing long-term projects, organizing homework assignments, creating a study schedule, and gathering materials needed for a task.
- Practical Tips and Strategies for Improvement:
- Teach students to break larger tasks into smaller, manageable steps with clear deadlines.
- Use color-coded folders or labels to help organize materials by subject or priority. Create a table of contents for notes and projects.
6. Working Memory
- Definition: The ability to hold and manipulate information in your mind over short periods. It is essential for completing tasks, following directions, and problem-solving.
- Examples in school: Remembering a math formula to solve a problem, recalling multi-step instructions, or keeping track of assignments.
- Practical Tips and Strategies for Improvement:
- Encourage students to use tools like checklists or written instructions to support memory.
- Play memory-enhancing games, such as matching games or repeating sequences, to strengthen this skill.
7. Task Initiation
- Definition: The ability to start a task or activity without procrastination.
- Examples in school: Beginning a homework assignment without being reminded, starting to study for a test on time, or beginning to clean up after an activity.
- Practical Tips and Strategies for Improvement:
- Use visual or auditory cues, such as alarms or checklists, to prompt task initiation.
- Set small, achievable goals to make starting a task feel less overwhelming.
8. Time Management
- Definition: The ability to estimate how much time a task will take and manage time appropriately.
- Examples in school: Completing assignments within deadlines, knowing how long to study for a test, or budgeting time for breaks and tasks during the school day.
- Practical Tips and Strategies for Improvement:
- Help students create a visual schedule or use a timer to allocate specific blocks of time for tasks.
- Teach them to prioritize tasks by importance and deadline to manage their workload effectively.
9. Goal-Setting
- Definition: The ability to set, monitor, and achieve long-term or short-term goals.
- Examples in school: Setting academic goals (e.g., improving grades), planning steps to complete a school project, or working toward improving a skill like handwriting or reading.
- Practical Tips and Strategies for Improvement:
- Use SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) to guide students in goal-setting.
- Celebrate small milestones along the way to keep motivation high.
10. Task Completion
- Definition: The ability to follow through and finish tasks to completion, often requiring sustained effort and perseverance.
- Examples in school: Finishing a homework assignment even when it’s challenging, staying focused during class activities, or completing a long-term project without giving up.
- Practical Tips and Strategies for Improvement:
- Break tasks into smaller parts with short-term deadlines to make them feel more manageable.
- Provide positive reinforcement or rewards for completing tasks to build persistence.
The first 4 skills are more emotional and self-control skills important in any situation and changes – social-emotional skills. The last 6 are more time and task-oriented skills – academic management skills. All of these executive function skills are important, and different students will need different levels of support. This is just a broad overview as there are many books, resources, apps, and websites dedicated to helping parents, students, and educators navigate executive function. Narrowing down a specific skill to work on will help hone in on specific resources available unless a broad overview is needed.
Any of these tips and strategies could be incorporated into a tutoring session as practical executive function activities for students. Choose one or two at a time to build on and avoid piling on too many skills at once. Want to know more about a specific area or find more tips on teaching a specific skill? Use tailored search terms to efficiently search the web and save some time.
Tailored Search Terms: (working memory) tips and games for (middle schoolers)
Share/pin/like this resource and help spread the word that weak executive function skills are not the end of the world but the opportunity for parents, educators, and tutors to help students build and strengthen skills necessary for success in school, relationships, and life.
Want some game ideas?
Here are 4 games for multi-step direction practice
https://tailorjoy.com/4-games-for-multi-step-direction-practice/
Here are 25 board games that promote executive functioning
https://lifeskillsadvocate.com/blog/25-board-games-that-promote-executive-functioning-skills/
Table Talk: Is self-control or time management harder for you? Would you rather have visual or auditory clues to help you start or finish a task?
Grab a seat at our table and answer one of the Table Talk questions in the comment section.
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