Understanding the core components of Executive Functioning (EF) is crucial as they are pivotal to both cognitive development and practical life skills. Let's investigate these foundational elements:
Together, these components form the bedrock of Higher Level Executive Functions. They are not isolated skills but interconnected abilities that develop and strengthen over time. They are essential for complex thought processes such as planning, decision making, problem-solving, and adapting to new and challenging situations. In educational settings, strong EF skills are closely linked to success in both structured and creative tasks, underscoring their importance across all learning stages.
The foundation and effectiveness of Executive Functioning (EF) games are anchored in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, and the benefits can be categorized in the following three ways:
At this stage, children are developing foundational cognitive skills. EF games can foster:
As children grow, so do their cognitive abilities. EF games for this age group can enhance:
High school students are preparing for higher education and the workforce. EF games can refine:
Dr. Warren's E-Fun: Executive Functioning Games for Groups and Classes offers a large suite of fun activities to develop these skills. These games are adaptable to various age groups, making them a perfect fit for classrooms from preschool to high school. They transform learning into an enjoyable experience, focusing on building community and adaptable formats for any classroom schedule.
CLICK HERE to learn more about Dr. Warren’s comprehensive product.
Reading stamina refers to a reader's ability to focus and read for extended periods of time without becoming distracted or losing interest. It's a skill that allows individuals to maintain concentration and comprehension over longer reading sessions. Developing reading stamina is important for academic success and for enjoying longer works of literature. It's similar to physical stamina, but instead of physical endurance, it involves mental endurance for reading. Building reading stamina typically involves gradually increasing the time spent reading, creating a conducive reading environment, and choosing engaging material. As reading stamina improves, so does the ability to understand and absorb more complex and lengthy texts.
Often, difficulties in developing reading stamina are linked to broader cognitive challenges. For instance, if readers exert excessive effort in decoding words, their mental capacity for understanding the text can be significantly reduced. Similarly, even if they can decode words effectively, deficiencies in other cognitive areas such as tracking, visualization skills, or working memory might hinder their ability to comprehend what they read.
Here's a breakdown of some common cognitive areas that might impede reading progress:
Weak Visual Processing Skills: Challenges in interpreting and making sense of visual information can make reading laborious.
Poor Auditory Processing Skills: Difficulties in processing and understanding spoken language can translate into struggles with reading comprehension.
Inadequate Working Memory: Limited capacity to hold and manipulate information can affect the ability to understand and integrate reading material.
Problems Sustaining Attention: Difficulty maintaining focus can disrupt the flow of reading and reduce comprehension.
Trouble Sitting Still: Physical restlessness can distract from the mental focus required for reading.
Insufficient Decoding Skills: Struggles with decoding can slow down reading and make it tiring.
Limited to No Visualization Skills: Difficulty in creating mental images from text can reduce engagement and understanding of the material.
Building reading stamina in children can be a collaborative effort between teachers and parents. Here are some effective strategies:
Strengthen Cognitive Areas: Use cognitive games and activities to bolster areas where the child may be weaker, such as visual and auditory processing, working memory, attention, and decoding skills. Making these skills more automatic can reduce the mental strain of reading. Explore these activities for improvement:
Structured Reading Programs: Implement reading programs that use a multisensory, step-by-step approach, emphasizing phonemic awareness, syllabication, and word morphology.
Create a Reading Nook: Design a cozy, inviting space for reading, equipped with comfortable pillows, stuffed animals, and soft lighting. This helps in making the reading experience enjoyable and secure.
Echo Reading: This involves the teacher or parent reading a sentence, followed by the child reading the same sentence. It's a fun way to improve listening skills and whole word recognition.
Take Turns Reading: Alternating reading responsibilities gives the child a break from decoding, allowing them to focus on listening and visualization.
Gamify Reading: Incorporate reading goals into games. For example, create a horse race game where each page read represents a part of the track. This makes reading more engaging and fun.
Improve Visual Tracking Skills: Improving visual tracking skills can significantly boost reading stamina by enabling smoother and more efficient eye movements across the text, reducing strain and fatigue, and thereby enhancing overall reading comfort and endurance.
Utilize Audiobooks: Encourage the use of audiobooks to support whole word recognition and visualization. Services like Bookshare or RazKids offer great resources.
Personalize Book Selection: Help learners choose books based on their interests. Conduct interviews to understand their passions and provide a variety of options.
Reward Effort: Recognize and reward the effort put into reading rather than focusing on any negative behaviors.
Positive Feedback: Always express gratitude and provide positive reinforcement for even the smallest achievements in reading.
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Many struggling readers face difficulties comprehending text due to issues such as losing their place on the page, struggling with tracking from one line to the next, and frequently re-reading the same lines. Skipping words or even missing entire lines of text is not uncommon. These challenges can significantly impact one's interest in books and have adverse effects on reading stamina, speed, and comprehension.
"One Word View" is a reading pane view in the Speechify app that displays words one at a time, highlighting and vocalizing each word as it is read aloud. This feature is particularly helpful for students with tracking and reading issues because it addresses two key challenges they may face:
Enhanced Focus: One Word View eliminates the need for the reader's eyes to track along lines of text, reducing the chances of losing their place or skipping words. This can greatly benefit individuals with conditions like dyslexia, attention deficit disorders, or visual tracking difficulties, as it simplifies the reading process and minimizes distractions.
Auditory Reinforcement: By audibly vocalizing each word as it's displayed, this view provides an additional sensory channel for comprehension. In addition, it also helps with the recognition of whole words.
Critical thinking is the art of examining information, ideas, and situations with a discerning eye. It goes beyond memorization or passive absorption of knowledge; it involves actively analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information to make informed decisions and solve problems effectively. This skill empowers individuals to question assumptions, weigh evidence, and consider diverse perspectives. In a world inundated with information, critical thinking is a compass guiding us through complex terrain.
Now, let's explore how executive functioning skill development plays a pivotal role in nurturing and enhancing critical thinking abilities. Executive functioning coaching is a structured approach aimed at honing these skills, which are closely intertwined with critical thinking. Executive functioning itself encompasses a set of cognitive skills that empower individuals to plan, organize, focus, reason, and regulate their behavior and emotions to achieve specific goals or tasks effectively. Within executive functioning, several core cognitive processing skills contribute to the cultivation of critical thinking:
Working Memory: Executive functioning coaching helps individuals expand their working memory capacity, which is crucial for holding and manipulating information while solving problems. A stronger working memory enables more effective analysis during critical thinking tasks.
Inhibitory Control: This type of coaching assists individuals in improving their inhibitory control, allowing them to suppress irrelevant information or impulsive responses. This skill is vital in filtering out distractions and focusing on essential details during critical thinking exercises.
Cognitive Flexibility: Executive functioning coaching supports the development of cognitive flexibility—the ability to shift between tasks and consider various viewpoints. This adaptability is indispensable for effective problem-solving and decision-making, as it encourages exploration of multiple perspectives.
Higher-Level Executive Functions: Beyond the core executive functions, coaching also targets higher-level executive functions such as planning, organization, and goal setting. These skills are essential for structuring critical thinking processes and achieving desired outcomes.
Executive functioning support provides individuals with practical strategies and tools to strengthen these critical thinking-related skills. It equips them with the ability to approach complex problems with confidence and creativity.
As part of my mission to enhance critical thinking and executive functioning skills at large, I developed the Executive Functioning Competency Screener (EFCS). This researched-based, self scoring resource assesses executive functioning skills across various domains, offering insights into areas that may need remediation. It provides detailed reports, visual data, explanations, and remedial resources for a clear path to improvement. The online user dashboard offers group analytics and personalized support.
Moreover, the EFCS extends its benefits beyond learners to educators, offering teacher resources and training materials. These resources empower educators with the knowledge and tools to support learners in enhancing their executive functioning skills, fostering a collaborative approach to improvement.
"Developing Executive Functioning and Study Skills" course is a comprehensive executive functioning training resource designed to empower parents, teacher and practitioners with the tools they need to support and teach learners the needed skills.
Within the course, is a rich array of materials, including video presentations, handouts, and tools for working with learners. The structured approach breaks down complex cognitive processes into manageable skill sets, making it accessible and effective for a wide range of individuals.
We offer a range of workshops and comprehensive certificate courses on key topics, including:
These courses, created by Dr. Warren, blend theory and practical strategies you can implement right away. Earn a certificate while building your expertise.
Bring our research-backed activities into your online or in-person sessions to reinforce skills in areas like reading, spelling, writing, and math. Our engaging lessons and creative activities provide the repetition and multisensory learning many neurodiverse students need.
Check out our specialized programs designed to equip tutors and educational therapists with multisensory techniques. For example, our Memorable Math program uses visual, auditory, tactile and kinesthetic approaches and memory strategies to help students with dyscalculia master math skills.
Whether you're a parent seeking support or a professional looking to help neurodiverse learners thrive, Learning Specialist Courses has something for you. Browse our workshop calendar or certificate programs to get started!
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Whether it's interactive math games, reading comprehension activities, or science simulations, quality digital tools allow students to learn at their own pace. I'll provide an overview of top-rated resources for elementary through high school, detailing their key features and how parents and teachers can integrate them into daily life for added learning support. Let's use online tools to make skill-building fun and productive all year long.
If you suspect your child may have an undiagnosed learning difficulty, consider screening for dyslexia, executive functioning problems and discover their best ways of processing. Identifying needs is the first step toward proper support.
Reading daily is one of the best ways to maintain and grow basic language skills. Spelling, vocabulary, grammar, comprehension (textual and subtextual) are skills that weaken when not practiced.
Reinforce classroom learning with targeted practice.
Children can spend hours outside discovering nature discovering biomes, microbiomes, learning about weather patterns, or the stars overhead. For a few fun science shows, check out:
We’re living through a unique period of history, as evidenced by the ongoing public discussions around racism. The conversations about this issue may not be easy, and some kids may not know a lot about how our country has gotten to this point. For books to help you and your kids put it all in perspective consider:
I hope that these links and resources offer some helpful suggestions.
Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses.
Although there are many conferencing devices out there, I have found that Zoom offers the best features and seems to be the most stable platform. Zoom can be used on virtually any computing device and browser. Here are just a few:
Zoom presents many useful tools:
Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses.
Executive functioning is much like the conductor of one's brain. It is a mental process that gathers and creates meaning from sensory information. Allowing us to makes sense of what we experience, executive functioning also enables focused attention, metacognitive skills, and helps us to relate new content to prior knowledge.
Executive functioning affects learning because it is the lens through which we perceive the world around us. Good executive functioning skills enable students to quickly and effectively absorb and assimilate new lessons. In contrast, executive functioning problems, can make it very challenging to process sensory inputs, make sense of information, and respond to any learning content.
While some nervousness can enhance memory, chronic stress and anxiety are emotions that have no place in a classroom. When excessive stress is experienced, the body makes too much cortisol, a steroid hormone that the body produces to assist you in responding to stress or danger, and this can disrupt cognitive functioning. Studies reveal that chronic stress can disrupt synapse regulation.
This can result in reduced sociability and social isolation. In addition, high levels of cortisol can kill brain cells and even shrink the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that manages memory and learning.
Fortunately, there are numerous research-based methods that can help.
Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses.
Students usually procrastinate because they do not understand the relevance of an assignment, struggle to understand the material, or they don’t know how to get started.
I hope you found these strategies helpful. I'm here to help. Reach out any time.
There are a number of reasons a student may hate to write.
Over the past 20+ years as a learning specialist, I have taught some challenging learners who were virtually shut down to the writing process. It was my job to find the key, and time and time again, the answer was in creating games that make the process fun.
Here are three such games:
I'm happy to share my approach with you! Teaching Writing Skills - A Structured and Multisensory Approach is a comprehensive course for teachers, parents, and tutors that shares my own dynamic methods for students of all ages writing skills. The course offers video instruction and demonstrations as well as free downloadable games, materials, and handouts for your students. In addition, I implement and integrate a number of amazing technology tools that keep the process highly structured and organized. You, too, can teach your students to be highly competent and confident writers.
Clearly, bringing games and a structured approach into the learning process can ignite a love for learning and can inspire joyful writing for a lifetime.
Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses.
Have you ever wondered if you can turn an image or a PDF or into an editable document? What was once a costly and buggy turnaround, is now free and quick with Google Drive. This can be an invaluable trick that can save students time, resources, and most of all, energy! Let me show you the steps.
Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses.
Even if a student appears to be listening, it doesn’t mean that they will actually follow directions. Once a student hears the information, the brain needs to make sense of the sounds, and weaknesses in attention, auditory processing, visual processing, reasoning, executive functioning, and language processing can block one's understanding. Clearly, if students do not understand lessons, we can't expect them to provide the needed response.
Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses.
You can check out the Executive Functioning Activities Library by clicking on the image below!
Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses.
Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses.
Much like a personal trainer can strengthen parts of the body by focusing attention on specific muscles, cognition can be exercised to build new neural pathways when students or clients play the MPower Games. Some reports suggest that brain training games do not apply to early literacy and learning, but because the MPower Games utilize foundational academic symbols and concepts, there is no doubt that regular practice will improve core academic readiness. The games in this publication exercise the recognition and naming of:
In addition, students or clients exercise and strengthen the following areas of cognition which are all needed for competent learning:
MPower is a form of cognitive, remedial training that can be used by therapists, teachers and even parents to achieve improved cognition and learning.
In the late 1960s, an information processing model was created to describe how the brain processes information. The original researchers defined four main stages: Sensory Input, Sensory Memory, Working Memory and Long-term Memory (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968). Since then, many researchers have made additions to this concept, but the basic model still remains unchanged.
As reflected in the image above, learners are first presented with Sensory Input or incoming sensory information. The Sensory Memory then filters the content by selecting the most important information and passing it on to the Working Memory. Subsequently, Working Memory, which generally holds between five and nine items (or chunks) of information, either processes and encodes this information into Long-term Memory or discards it. When deposited in Long-term Memory, knowledge is filed into chunks called "schemas."
A schema is a set of linked mental representations of the world that helps organize and interpret information. For example, the brain has schemas for different main ideas such as transportation, food, and clothing, or math concepts and phonics.
This process is key to another piece of the puzzle known as the Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller, 88). John Sweller proposed that learning is impacted by limited capacity in working memory. Sweller defined three types of cognitive load: intrinsic, extraneous, and germane. Intrinsic load has to do with the inherent difficulty of the subject matter or information being input. It is influenced by the complexity of the lesson and how much prior knowledge a student has about the subject. Extraneous load refers to the manner in which information is presented to learners as well as the teaching style, lesson materials, and the learning environment.
Germane load is the productive thinking that causes students to form and consolidate long-term memories. Sweller suggested that since working memory has a limited capacity, instructional methods should avoid overloading it. A sense of “cognitive overload” occurs when working memory capacity is exceeded. Once this happens, students are unlikely to comprehend the information and transfer it to long-term memory (Siegler, Alibali, 2015; Sweller, 1988; Sweller, Merriënboer, & Paas, 2019).
The image above shows the importance of maintaining a balance between cognitive load (intrinsic load, extraneous load, and germane load) and cognitive capacity (working memory capacity and long-term memory capacity).
MPower was designed to help learners create the necessary balance between cognitive load and cognitive capacity. The card games provide exposure to early literacy concepts such as letter, numbers, shapes, months of the year, and days of the week. In addition, MPower integrates multisensory and playful content into lessons which makes the learning process more enticing and engaging. Repeated play helps to develop skills to a level of automatization. In other words, over time, the player’s abilities improve until they can access and process the information with little to no effort. When this sense of automatization is reached, it creates more cognitive space or working memory learning.
Finally, MPower can help struggling students or clients increase their ability to manage Germane cognitive load. Recent research suggests that segmenting and sequencing techniques can help learners manage content that might otherwise create cognitive overwhelm (Sweller, Merriënboer, & Paas, 2019). In other words, MPower teaches the brain how to quickly organize information during the encoding process, so recall is enhanced.
This publication was created for learners of all ages and abilities:
Clearly, developing core cognitive skills and making the learning process fun and engaging is key. This publication was created for my clientele, and others like them, to rekindle a joy for learning by presenting the lessons and exercises as fun activities and games.
Cheers, Dr. Erica Warren
Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses.
If you would like to watch a workshop on visual processing CLICK HERE
If you would like to watch a workshop on visualization CLICK HERE
Cheers, Dr. Erica Warren
Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses.
There are a number of core, cognitive skills that support one's capacity to listen:
A screenshot captures the image you see on your screen and stores it on your camera roll, and it can be edited, shared, and stored.
Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses.
I have found that no two students have the same strengths and weaknesses. Likewise, struggling readers, even those that come with diagnoses such as dyslexia, all come with a different knowledge base and areas that require instruction and remediation. Unfortunately, many reading programs make all participants go through a lengthy process from square one and progress can be slow and time-consuming.
In contrast, evaluating foundational reading skills at the beginning of any program can uncover accomplishments and establish specific needs so that any remedial reading program can be tailored for quick and effective results. What's more, repeating the assessment after an intervention can help define new proficiencies as well as continued areas that require attention.
Although there are many reading assessments that are available, they are often geared toward general reading skills such as reading speed and reading comprehension. Although this information is helpful, it does not define an appropriate remedial approach.
The Good Sensory Learning Assessment offers teachers, reading specialists and parents a simple evaluation instrument that helps guide instruction so remedial needs can be targeted. It offers a comprehensive selection of subtests that can be used to measure student abilities with: letter names and sounds, rhyming words, syllable divisions, word blending, beginning sounds, middle sounds, ending sounds, blending sounds to words, dropping the first sound, dropping the last sound, 1st grade sight words, 2nd grade sight words, 3rd grade sight words, nonsense closed syllables, nonsense open syllables, nonsense silent e syllables, nonsense r-combination syllables, nonsense consonant le syllables, vowel combinations, syllabication, blends, digraphs and trigraphs, ending blends, compound words, prefixes, suffixes, and multisyllabic words.
It's a comprehensive tool that can be used in entirety or subtests can be select for a more focused approach.
I hope you found this helpful! Reach out any time.
Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses.
I hope this helps. Reach out any time.
Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses.
Unfortunately, harsh punishments do not provide the attention and instruction that these students need to develop this skill. Instead, penalties and labels such as careless, lazy, and unmotivated can simply place these frustrated learners in a state of learned helplessness. Instead, these students need structured routines, comprehensive instruction, and a scaffolding approach to planning, managing time, and organizing.
I have to admit, when I first started working with students that struggled with executive functioning, I was perplexed about how challenging planning, time management, and organization could be. What seemed to be clear and obvious to me, seemed obscure, taxing and problematic for them. However, research now suggests that executive functioning, which encompasses these skills, can be a cognitive-based weakness. In fact, it is the last part of the brain to fully develop, and full maturation is not reached until students reach their early 20's.
There are a number of common signs and symptoms associated with students that struggle with executive functioning weaknesses. They often:
Like many things, the more finances you can allocate for professional help, the better the services. Large tutoring franchises do not have the funds to hire highly trained professionals, and if they do have some talented employees, they rarely offer one to one assistance. What’s more, they tend to place kids onto boring workbooks, and they offer something similar to schools - a "cookie-cutter approach." Clearly, one to one support can come with a high price tag. So what can be done to help make this a viable option?
Did you know that you might be able to "write off" tutoring expenses from your taxable income or use a medical expense account? With a doctor's recommendation, a tutor, learning specialist, or educational therapist that is trained in working with students with learning disabilities can be included in medical expenses. Even attending a school that offers special services can be included. If you want to learn more about this opportunity, go to IRS document 502. Under the heading Special Education, on page 13, it states the following:
“You can include in medical expenses fees you pay on a doctor's recommendation for a child's tutoring by a teacher who is specially trained and qualified to work with children who have learning disabilities caused by mental or physical impairments, including nervous system disorders. You can include in medical expenses the cost (tuition, meals, and lodging) of attending a school that furnishes special education to help a child to overcome learning disabilities. For expenses to be deductible, a doctor must recommend that the child attend the school. Overcoming the learning disabilities must be a principal reason for attending the school, and any ordinary education received must be incidental to the special education provided. Special education includes: Teaching Braille to a visually impaired person, Teaching lip reading to a hearing disabled person, or Giving remedial language training to correct a condition caused by a birth defect. You can't include in medical expenses the cost of sending a child with behavioral problems to a school where the course of study and the disciplinary methods have a beneficial effect on the child's attitude if the availability of medical care in the school.” Click on the following link to access the document: /irs-pdf/p502.pdf
So whether you are a parent searching for affordable tutoring or you are an academic instructor, knowing about this opportunity can create possibilities for many families.
I hope you found this helpful.