EDCT 5699 - Building Executive Function Skills in the Classroom: Time Management, Planning and Organization

Course Description

This course will introduce participants to the research on Executive Functioning that is most applicable to the K-12 classroom environment. Participants will analyze their students’ Executive Function (EF) skills, learn strategies to help with EF skills and implement activities to improve student academic success. Topics include current perspectives on brain development and EF skills as they relate to classroom behaviors; visual instruction models to teach key concepts that are the foundation for developing and improving EF skills; hands-on activities and downloadable forms to use with your students; a simple binder system for your students’ paper management and organization; practical information about the brain and how we learn; information on how to improve your own time-management, planning, and organization skills.

Course Outline

This course will have video lectures, readings and written assignments each week. Participants are also required to contribute to discussion threads every week. All work is done online at your own pace within the 10-week timeline. There are two optional live question and answer periods, via video conference. The dates and times are detailed in the online classroom. These Q & A periods will be recorded and will be available to you in the online classroom after they occur.

Week 1: Introduction to Executive Function and Building Metacognition

Week 2: Developmental Perspectives on Executive Function

Week 3: Background on the Brain

Week 4: Connections between Learning, Behavior, Emotions, and Self-Advocacy

Week 5: Evaluating Your Student's Executive Skills

Week 6: Supporting the Executive Skill of Time Management with External Tools

Week 7: Developing Time Awareness

Week 8: Developing Future Thinking-Getting Projects Done on Time

Week 9: Organization and Paper Management

Week 10: Sustaining Learning and the Reality of Change

Learner Outcomes

By the end of the course participants will be able to

• Discuss and synthesize the perspectives of brain development and Executive Functioning skills as they relate to successful classroom behaviors.
• Describe the struggle that occurs for some students due to the abstract nature of time and those that have executive functioning challenges
• Analyze the behaviors related to Executive Functioning skills that are necessary to support the maximum learning/ participation in class.
• Create an implementation plan to support student completion of a multiple step unit to meet deadlines and develop future thinking.