As a parent or educator, a question most commonly at the forefront of thought is: How do we prepare our children for independence in a complex and dynamic world? In every academic career, students will inevitably face challenges and seemingly endless hurdles.–How can students be best prepared to successfully respond? An executive function curriculum is the best resource. 

 

Parents and teachers alike can only do so much as the proverbial “bowling alley bumpers” before kids have to face the consequences of throwing a gutter ball. However, if you can bear with me while I use another bowling metaphor, we as educators and parents can instill the groundwork needed for kids to throw strikes in both their academic and personal endeavors. But this takes the right kind of program, consistency, and resolute discipline to build the skills needed for success.

 

At Effective Students, we believe that there exists a universal foundation upon which all students can build. An executive functioning curriculum, as Effective Students provides, is the groundwork for that foundation. 

 

Executive Functioning Curriculum: What You Should Know

 

We trust that with proper executive functioning skills and the flexible thinking that comes with it, a well-adjusted and creative student is destined to be in the making. Executive functioning is a specific and related set of skills involved in conscious problem-solving and self-directed, controlled behavior. In other words, it is our ability to evaluate resources, make reliable plans and follow through. Having strong executive functioning skills is the antidote to the feeling of being overwhelmed. overwhelmed, students are prone to lose focus and become susceptible to anxiety and depression.  When this occurs, students can and often do assume a self-defeating attitude. They might see others around them succeeding and inevitably feel insecure, often unsure how to ask for help, resigned in their attempts to complete assignments to the best of their ability. The solution to this student’s problem can begin with something as simple as rearranging their materials and coaching them through some basic organizational techniques. With this first step, students begin to see things from different angles, encouraging the skill that is to think flexibly and incentivizing them to continue to learn more!

 

Another skill an evidence-based executive functioning curriculum should emphasize is flexible thinking. To have cognitive flexibility is to have the capacity to think about things in multiple ways and create various solutions to the same problem. Students will encounter last-minute changes to their routine which, without flexible thinking, can bring overwhelming feelings to the surface. For this reason, it is crucial children receive the proper teaching that instills flexibility and the ability to pivot quickly in the face of these hurdles. 

The Effective Students Method is an evidence-based executive functioning curriculum with specific lessons that can help students succeed by building their executive functioning skills in a step-by-step manner. We focus on creating awareness, getting kids organized, coaching them to manage their time, and building study skills so that they not only recall what they’ve learned but retain it for future application. 

 

Why Choose Effective Students for Executive Functioning Curriculum

 

Effective Students provides the best executive functioning curriculum for tracking students’ progress and provides measurable feedback to help them align activities to their current demands.  With well-constructed executive functioning skills, students are equipped to respond to academic challenges in a strategic and successful way, enabling them to overcome roadblocks, and building confidence and competence to enter the adult world successfully.  

 

Interested in learning more about our evidence-based executive functioning curriculum? Get in touch with us today!