Improving Executive Function with Google Tools — Wrap-Up

Improving Executive Function with Google Tools — Wrap-Up

Welcome to the Wrap-Up segment for the first seminar-based series by EmpowerED. The past two months have been a deep dive into the intersection of challenges to Executive Function AND use of Google tools. If you missed any or want to strategically revisit topics in this exploration, the following is a list of quick links:

Bringing this exploration to an end has challenges of its own. In truth, it will never really end because there are new developments all the time with Google apps, both new tools and new functionality within the tools, as well as new research on the academic front regarding executive function and ways to facilitate class content for those challenged by it. (Sneak peek: an upcoming topic for EmpowerEd is the idea of an annual app inventory and refresh — a cautionary tale.)

Reflection

As a conference presenter, I’m always on the lookout for topics that will help teachers to do what they do, meeting their own needs, the needs of schools, and especially meeting the needs of the students in their charge. When I started developing the X Factor session, I had no idea how popular it would be. Over the course of the year of presenting it, I saw the transformative impact it had on teacher learners. It elicited that “lightbulb effect” that every educator loves to see in the classroom — that feeling of empowerment that a concept has flipped a switch inside the brain which illuminated possibilities, especially those from deep, dark places which lacked solutions. I have heard from teachers how the sessions provided small fixes for big concerns. I heard heart-felt stories about ways this could connect for an individual student who has felt lost in a sea of expectations in school, without the basic skills to manage. I hope that the ideas have empowered readers and, through them, students.

I teach middle schoolers. Though I look primarily through that lens, my background in developmental psychology, the careers of my daughters in early childhood education, my experience as a mother of three children who are young adults now and well through the K12 stages all inform me of different levels of needs. Executive function doesn’t have a single starting point or an end point. We all need to employ it in varying degrees throughout our lives. For the youngest children, who are driven by their wants and highly scaffolded with support from parents and preschool or early elementary teachers, self-sufficiency is a work in progress. Advancing through elementary, such skills are developed and encouraged, but stakes are still low when wayward choices or mistakes occur. In a middle school environment, perhaps for the first time, there is a step back in parents heavily monitoring the homework process. Likewise, teachers are less likely to “spoonfeed” content or cajole when a daily assignment is missing. Here, choices impact grades. They also impact the self-concept of learners. If there is a “sweet spot” for the urgency of managing executive function or for coaching the skilled development of it, it is middle school.

Although the pathways and basic skills are built in elementary school, the onus is on middle schools and teachers to triage when students demonstrate a tenuous connection with these skills or when, independently, they do not employ the routines and habits which were recommended by elementary school teachers. In my years of experience, middle schoolers don’t lose points or get zeroes because they cannot complete assigned work or are incapable of comprehending a topic, those are symptoms of other issues, such as:

  • Hearing impairment
  • Visual impairment
  • Distraction from classmates (because middle school is all about socialization)
  • Fear of asking questions
  • Not having supplies needed for class
  • Difficulty differentiating “critical” from “subsidiary” information
  • Challenges in mental focus during the class session
  • Fully reading assignment details
  • Understanding the next step to be completed
  • Lack of familiarity with online resources
  • Forgetting to take critical components home with them to do work
  • Not attending to deadlines when not in the classroom
  • Lack of sleep, impairing function
  • Malaise from the “chemistry experiment” in their bodies
  • Disconnect with the topic because they have not developed abstract thinking necessary to apply the content knowledge to future needs

Any of these factors can affect a student’s success in the class, having nothing whatsoever to do with the excellently-prepared lessons and fabulous content a teacher has crafted. Introducing Google tools for managing executive function isn’t in the job description, but it facilitates the things that are. Removing obstacles that impact learners yields powerful perks for teachers, too. There are far more “lightbulb” moments when we can silence the noise of distractions and eliminate the unpreparedness to be fully in that space and time.

The Call

Nothing is going to solve every need of every student in class. Teachers aren’t their doctors or their parents. We don’t take care of the hearing, vision, sleep, body chemistry, or the psychological stage of development. However, in the list above, there are a lot of things that can be aided by in-class routines. The fact that they aren’t “needed” by every student doesn’t mean that they can’t benefit all students. Quite simply, Google tools, like GMail, Google Drive, Calendar, Tasks, and Keep, provide powerful resources for the daily organizational needs of students in the digital age. Analog versions of these tools are available as well — notes, notebooks, calendars, and planners. However, when forgetting is a big thing or moving from step 1 all the way through step 5 is the only way to get credit, Google can provide a “sticky” resource that’s impossible to lose or forget. Anything that we teach students to include while we are in class with them will stay with them any time they log in. As parents are aware of these routines in class and develop similar at-home routines and expectations, students can build their X Factor muscles so that they are second nature when moving into high school and beyond, with fewer and fewer reminders and aids, having no scaffolds.

  • If you send students emails outside of class time, give them two minutes at the beginning of class in which they can check for an email (from you or any other teacher), and prioritize it. Dialogue methods for managing both valid and unwanted emails effectively, setting expectations for a minimal level of active emails in the inbox and NO unread emails at the end of the school day.
  • If you do not have a calendar feature in your LMS with assignments and school days clarified, encourage Google Calendar use and the effective reading of it to skillfully find windows of opportunity to complete homework, instead of looking at all unscheduled time as “free” time.
  • If your content includes components, such as vocabulary lists, formulas, routines, and methods, encourage students to save these elements to Google Keep for quick and easy reference — both for later use and for study guides prior to quizzes, tests, and exams.
  • If you assign work which has multi-stage components, like projects or larger assignments, mention a Google Task list to whittle away at each step and see the accomplishment of a complex job well-done.
Photo by Lgh_9 on Pexels.com

Essentials

When it really comes down to it, all of K12 learning is a process, just like riding a bicycle. It takes learning about the bicycle, practicing with help, practicing independently within a safe zone, trying limited independent explorations and, only then, being on your own.

Teaching is often seeing that stage where the supporting hand lets go and the child rides away pedalling, but it’s important to remember to be there for the few who hit bumps along the road that interrupt their ride. They might hit the ground, but they need to get started again, so that they can get better at it.

Google tools make that support a lot easier for students and for teachers. Students still need your wisdom and sometimes it is not about the subject matter; it’s about being diligent about the many and varied demands of being a student.

Teacher Takeaways

Content material is the outcome, but learning it can be impaired by many other factors. Sometimes the skills are the most important things that students will take away from your class for daily use.

Leave a comment