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Executive Function: Development Across the Life Span presents perspectives from leading researchers and theorists on the development of executive function from infancy to late adulthood and the factors that shape its growth and decline. Executive function is the set of higher-order cognitive processes involved in regulating attention, thoughts, and actions. Relative to other cognitive domains, its development is slow and decline begins early in late adulthood. As such, it is particularly sensitive to variations in environments and experiences, and there is growing evidence that it is susceptible to intervention – important because of its link to a wide range of important life outcomes.The volume is made up of four sections. It begins with an overview of executive function's typical development across the lifespan, providing a foundation for the remainder of the volume. The second section presents insights into mechanisms of executive function, as provided by a variety of methodological approaches. The third and fourth sections review the current research evidence on specific factors that shape executive function's development, focusing on normative (e.g., bilingualism, physical activity, cognitive training) and clinically relevant (e.g., substance use, neurodegenerative disease) developmental pathways.

If students haven't developed the brain-based skills to focus, catch and correct errors, identify cause-and-effect relationships, and more, they can't make sense of lessons. Executive function is the missing link to student achievement. But how can you develop this in the classroom?Bestselling author Nancy Sulla has the answers. She explains how building executive function requires a combination of activities, structures, and teacher facilitation strategies aimed at six increasingly complex life skills that should be the goal of any school: conscious control, engagement, collaboration, empowerment, efficacy, and leadership.This updated new edition includes information on how and why to build executive function skills in the post-pandemic, AI world, as well as modifications for English language learners. There are also Efficacy Notebook sections throughout—spaces for you to pause and reflect as you're reading. In addition, there are examples across grade levels and templates for your own use. With these powerful tools, you will be inspired, armed, and ready to establish a clear framework for building executive function in all your students.

Teach some of the most important skills your students will ever need!'Please, try harder.''Please, pay attention.''Please, behave.'Most students want to do what it takes to succeed, but sometimes that's easier said than done. Executive function skills such as self-regulation, focus, planning, and time management must be taught, and they take practice. When you work on them in class, you give students the tools they need to not only learn but also monitor themselves. Teaching executive function skills in your classroom doesn't have to be difficult. This unique guidebook—designed with busy teachers in mind—introduces a flexible seven-step model that incorporates Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and the use of metacognition. Features include Descriptions of each skill and its impact on learning Examples of instructional steps to assist students as they set goals and work to achieve success. Strategies coded by competency and age/grade level Authentic snapshots and'think about'sections Templates for personalized goal-setting, data collection, and success plans Accompanying strategy cards Whether you teach kindergarten, high school, or anything in between, you can make executive function training part of your teaching. As students'proficiencies improve, you will see their confidence and capability increase—setting the stage for their success in school and in life.

This groundbreaking volume, now revised and updated, has given thousands of educators and clinicians a deeper understanding of executive function (EF) processes in typically developing children and those with learning difficulties and developmental disabilities. The book elucidates how PreK–12 students develop such key capacities as goal setting, organization, cognitive flexibility, working memory, and self-monitoring. Leading experts in education, neuroscience, and psychology explore the links between EF and academic performance and present practical applications for assessment and instruction. Exemplary practices for supporting students with EF difficulties in particular content areas--reading, writing, and math--are reviewed. New to This Edition •Updated throughout with a decade's worth of significant advances in research, theory, and educational best practices. •Chapter on early childhood. •Chapter on embedding EF strategies in the curriculum •Expanded coverage of reading--chapters on recent fMRI research findings; working memory and reading; and self-regulation and reading comprehension. See also Meltzer's authored book Promoting Executive Function in the Classroom, which provides easy-to-implement assessment tools, teaching techniques and activities, and planning aids.

Educators clamor to provide top-notch lessons and resources for students, but if students lack executive function, even the best materials won't produce the desired results. If students haven't developed the brain-based skills to focus, catch and correct errors, identify cause-and-effect relationships, and more, they can't make sense of lessons. Executive function is the missing link to student achievement. But how can you develop this in the classroom?In this new book, bestselling author Nancy Sulla has the answers. She explains how building executive function requires a combination of activities, structures, and teacher facilitation strategies aimed at six increasingly complex life skills that should be the goal of any school: conscious control, engagement, collaboration, empowerment, efficacy, and leadership. She also offers a variety of examples, activities, and structures fit for every grade level and subject area. With the book's practical strategies and tools, you will be inspired, armed, and ready to establish a clear framework for building executive function in all your students.

Everyday executive function strategies to engage and motivate YOUR students Without a good foundation in executive function skills, many interventions will not be helpful for students experiencing academic and social-emotional challenges. However, explicitly taught metacognitive strategies provide students with the tools to engage and benefit from classroom instruction through the use of an executive function skillset. With an impressive collection of 75 grade-appropriate executive function strategies, this practical guide addresses student needs in areas such as planning, working memory, time management, inhibitory behavior, cognitive flexibility, and self-regulation. Inside, you'll find the metacognitive strategies shown most effective in facilitating students'readiness and success in learning, plus Suggestions for incorporating executive function skills into your daily lesson planning and teaching routine without detracting from instructional time A step-by-step manual for explicitly teaching metacognitive skills Grade-level appropriate strategies grouped according to elementary, middle, and high school levels Guidance for adapting strategies to meet a wide range of individual student needs Designed to be applicable to and usable by many educators, from teachers and school psychologists to administrators and school counselors, this toolbox of strategies will help you improve student engagement, self-regulation, behavior, and learning.

With insight and humor, this motivating guide shows how to bring executive functions (EF) to the forefront in K–8 classrooms--without adopting a new curriculum or scripted program. Ideal for professional development, the book includes flexible, practical, research-based ideas for implementation in a variety of classroom contexts. It shares stories from dozens of expert teachers who are integrating explicit EF support across the school day. Provided is a clear approach for talking about EF barriers and strategies as part of instruction, and working as a class to problem-solve, explore, and apply the strategies that feel right for each student. Several reproducible tools can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2'x 11'size. This book is in The Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools Series, edited by Sandra M. Chafouleas.

The study of bilingualism has charted a dramatically new, important, and exciting course in the 21st century, benefiting from the integration in cognitive science of theoretical linguistics, psycholinguistics, and cognitive psychology (especially work on the higher-level cognitive processes often called executive function or executive control). Current research, as exemplified in this book, advances the study of the effects of bilingualism on executive function by identifying many different ways of being bilingual, exploring the multiple facets of executive function, and developing and analyzing tasks that measure executive function. The papers in this volume (21 chapters), by leading researchers in bilingualism and cognition, investigate the mechanisms underlying the effects (or lack thereof) of bilingualism on cognition in children, adults, and the elderly. They take us beyond the standard, classical, black-and-white approach to the interplay between bilingualism and cognition by presenting new methods, new findings, and new interpretations.

Although executive function difficulties are often addressed in school-age children, there are few resources showing professionals how to help these individuals when they are older. This book presents a dynamic coaching model that helps college students become self-regulated learners by improving their goal-setting, planning, time management, and organizational skills. Ideal for use with students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities, acquired brain injury, and other challenges, Mary R. T. Kennedy's approach incorporates motivational interviewing and emphasizes practical problem solving. User-friendly features include numerous concrete examples, sample dialogues, and print and online resource listings. In a large-size format for easy photocopying, the book contains 21 reproducible forms. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials for repeated use.