The Significance of Executive Function Literacy
Many educators and caregivers are unaware of what executive functions are, let alone recognize their significance in everyday life. It’s astonishing how frequently teachers and parents lack this understanding, which inevitably affects their ability to support students effectively.
This knowledge gap underscores the importance of promoting executive function literacy in every educational setting and household.
Executive functions are essential mental processes responsible for cueing and directing our ability to focus, plan, and control behavioral responses to achieve goals.
Moreover, understanding and identifying these functions in one’s own or others’ behavior is crucial. This understanding shifts the perspective from attributing struggles to personal shortcomings to recognizing them as challenges in specific executive function skills.
Consider how differently these students, who struggle to begin tasks, would be viewed by their teachers and peers. Likewise, consider how differently they would view themselves.
” I am so stupid, I can’t do anything!!!” would be replaced with, ” I am having difficulty with task initiation. I need to ( insert strategy)”, long before shame could take root.
On it’s own this intervention is powerful. Imagine a student recognizing they are having difficulty with task initiation and then choosing from a class-generated menu of strategies to get started.
Practical Strategies for Building Executive Function Literacy
When addressing executive functions in educational settings—whether through in-class activities, small group sessions, or one-on-one sessions—school based practitioners can initially focus on promoting “executive function literacy.”
Similar to building literacy in emotions or bodily sensations (interoceptive awareness), raising awareness about executive functions involves familiarizing individuals with the existence of these skills.
In the classroom, promoting executive function literacy involves introducing students to what executive functions are, why they matter, and visually representing them through anchor charts or posters. We need to normalize talking about these skills just as much as we need to normalize talking about emotions.
To support educators in fostering executive function literacy in their schools, we have curated and created resources for executive function posters. Depending on the students’ age levels, a variety of choices are available to aid in this contextual-based support.
Executive Function Literacy Supports
Executive Function Literacy Supports for Early Elementary
With littles, we have had the most success in using characters to introduce executive functions. The goal is to introduce these children to the skills. We want to name and notice them, make them a part of their daily life.
One of my favorite long time resources are the executive function posters from EF to the Rescue. The characters are suitable for early elementary.
They have little back story and have easy to remember names; “Hocus Focus, Stop A Tron and Flexi Lexi ” to mention a few.
To introduce executive function skills, I find using the actual term to be beneficial for carryover from grade to grade. Below is our take on ” characters” using objects to represent the executive function.
- Inhibition: Your stop and think remote
- Task Initiation: Get started , Action
- Working Memory: Memory stick, hold things in mind while you are working.
- Cognitive Flexibility: cues you to shift your thinking and adapt to change
- Sustained Attention: directs your attention to the task at hand
- Emotional Regulation: Cues you to manage your emotions
Executive Function Literacy Supports for Mid Elementary
Mid Elementary resources become suitable when you sense possible eye rolls using characters. With YouTube and video games, even 8-9 year olds have become too cool for cute characters( or they pretend to be) .
Executive functions are the skills our brain uses to direct and cue us all day long. Imagine executive functions as movie directors in your brain. Their job it is to cue and direct our actions.
- Response Inhibition is like the director shouting “cut!” when you need to stop and think before acting, ensuring you make safe and thoughtful choices.
- Task Initiation acts as the director yelling “action!” to kickstart your motivation and get you moving on tasks. Just like in a movie, this prompt helps you begin projects and activities with enthusiasm and purpose.
- Cognitive Flexibility serves as the director who adapts to unexpected plot twists and changes, helping you navigate challenges with creativity and resilience. Take Two!
- Planning: Movies are based off of scripts.
- Working Memory: Many directors have teleprompters going to help the actors remember their lines as they act. When we have external representation of things to remember it helps.
And so on…. students really enjoy discussing these cue and some have reported saying ” Action” to themselves.
Executive Function Literacy Supports for Older Students
For my my late elementary and beyond students, I drop the visual metaphor, (well sort of) and introduce the skills with corresponding posters/EF skill definitions.
Printed as a large poster or a simple 8 x 10 size poster these are modern and mature yet catchy enough to be acceptable in all classrooms, offices and hallways.
Executive Function Literacy Supports for All Grade Levels
In my OT room, or counseling offices, which serve all ages and stages, I tend to use my Building Executive Functions set the most.
Building Blocks: Think of executive functions as the building blocks of your brain. Each function, like Response Inhibition, Task Initiation, and Working Memory, is a foundational block that supports your learning and behavior.
Just as you stack blocks to build something strong and stable, practicing executive functions strengthens your brain’s foundation. Each time you stop and think before acting (Response Inhibition), or start a new task (Task Initiation), your blocks get stronger .
Over time, your executive function “building” grows taller. You learn to organize your thoughts and actions (Organization), prioritize tasks (Planning), and adapt to changes (Cognitive Flexibility), creating a sturdy foundation for success. By high school, your executive function “building” is a towering structure of skills and strategies.
I print and cut out the blocks and stack them on a bulletin board as we review each one.
I also use a personal size one for small groups and individual sessions , as my students are often on different levels.
Promoting Executive Function Literacy
Promoting executive function literacy extends beyond therapy sessions; it permeates classroom culture. By introducing students to the concepts, illustrating their relevance, and visually representing them through aids like poster an anchor charts, classrooms become hubs of empowerment.
Students learn to recognize and address fluctuations in their executive functions, dismantling shame and enabling them to advocate for their needs and seek support proactively.
While building executive function literacy isn’t as simple as hanging a poster, it represents a significant step forward. As adults in educational environments enhance their executive function literacy, their perception of behaviors undergoes a transformative shift. It is truly one of those ” can’t unsee it” paradigm shifts.
Stay tuned for our next post on executive function comprehension, where we delve into simulations to experience our executive functions at work.
Executive Function Literacy Resources
The posters used in this post are listed on our TPT store and linked in the images below.
