Strategies for strengthening the brain

Link to article

Do you have a student that has a hard time deciding what to do in certain situations, making decision that should for all intensive purposes be automatic for most people? Well, I was really intrigued to come across this article and thought you might be interested in discovering what I discovered: the student might have underdeveloped executive function.

Executive functions can be defined as the awareness and directive capacities of the mind. By wielding these skills and abilities, students decide where to focus their attention and which tasks to undertake. As a general rule of thumb, when students of any age have difficulty completing developmentally appropriate academic tasks on their own, executive functioning may be at the root of the problem.

This article includes ways that teachers can help a student make connections in the brain that will improve executive functions. Here is a brief excerpt:

incorporating instruction on executive functions into content lessons emphasizes that:

1.  Students are in charge of their learning

2. Honing their use of these skills and abilities will improve their performance in school and beyond.

Here is the link to the article. Again, I hope that you learn how you might be able to better support your students a little more effectively now that you know there is something you can do for those that are not at the level of development that they should be.