COVID has caused a major disruption to the human status quo. Its impact continues to drive a “shift” or “swerve” in education. This swerve demands increased executive skills. Children are not born with executive skills, but have the potential to develop them. Creating best practices based on the neuroscience of how the brain learns can lead to enhanced executive skills, which promote learning, and form the basis of good teaching — and parenting, as well.

Executive functions are necessary for academics, careers and life. These functions include, but are not limited to:

• Attention/focus

• Emotional self-management

• Organizing

• Prioritizing/planning

• Judgement

• Critical analysis and validity

• Cognitive flexibility/creative open-minded problem solving

NOTE: The 3 pound brain uses 20% of the body’s resources.

How can we help students boost executive functions?

For students born after 2000, the overwhelming volume of the information age may be outstripping their ability to cope with educational demands. The brain can only process 1% of the millions of pieces of sensory data that bombard it every moment. For the brain, instruction must compete with constant distractions such as compelling, convenient social media, TV, online games, TikTok, phones, and more. In addition, children’s and teens’ brains are wired to pay attention to whatever is interesting now; they are not wired to consider future goals. “You must learn to write better if you want to go to college,” has little meaning to the developing teen brain!

ATTENTION: Executive functioning can be learned.

At MLS, executive functioning is intentionally taught based on the lessons of neuroscience. The brain seeks pleasure and patterns and must be able to pay attention to what is important. Especially during the disruptions of COVID, one of the greatest challenges for students is maintaining a rhythm of work that provides the predictable patterns the brain craves. One way to boost this ability is to create a consistent time and place, removed from distractions, for academic work. This predictability allows the brain to relax and expend less energy trying to focus during independent production time, freeing up more brain power for learning. Just as our brains connect a bed with sleep, the brain will begin to associate the designated workplace with focused learning.

This automaticity exponentially increases the chances that students’ study time will be productive. This is why it is important for students to come to tutoring not just when they have specific work or are in crisis mode, but consistently. This habit is good for the brain, making the student’s efforts more successful. Furthermore, students always have “work” to do that will add to the efficiency when assignments must be done. They can enrich their education, such as engaging in cleaning and organizing binders, reviewing academic portals, organizing email, engaging in pre-reading assigned material, reviewing, or even watching an historical movie for context.

So, the first step in strengthening executive functions is establishing a routine. Patterns are user-friendly for brains, saving the brain valuable energy. The goal of MLS is to train students to use this energy wisely by establishing patterns to help the brain “work smarter.” The harder a brain has to work to eliminate distractions and relax enough to be open for learning, the more exhausted it – and the student – becomes. This can lead to avoidant behavior and continuing problems with organizing, learning and producing school work

Establishing the routine is a process that takes time and commitment. Executive functioning cannot be taught in a vacuum. MLS teaches these skills in the context of supporting the student as they tackle their school assignments. Executive functioning skills must be acquired through consistent practice to achieve tangible results.

Next: What Executive Functions are critical to students of the 21st century and how are they developed.