Monthly Archives: February 2022

Motivation Monday: Behaviorism

Executive Function, Motivation, Quick Tip

Behaviorism is a theory of learning that focuses on students’ interactions with their environment; learning occurs when there is a response to the right stimulus. Students’ behaviors change because of interactions with stimuli in their environment.

Behaviorism is not concerned with internal changes; instead, it focuses on observable changes in students’ actions. For example, rewarding students for meeting the class goal of handing in their assignments on time is an example of positive reinforcement — adding in a desired stimulus. Removing weekend homework as a result of improved class behavior is an example of negative reinforcement — removing an undesired stimulus.

Why it matters for education

Learning does not happen in a vacuum — we have to consider the context and environment, especially for executive function strategy instruction. Are the EF demands appropriate for students? Do they have the strategies they need to meet expectations? By creating a classroom environment that fosters executive function strategy use and positive student behaviors, we can bring about change in students’ actions.

Behaviorism also underlies patterns of positive reinforcement. For example, if a student has difficulty completing tasks independently, subtle praise when the student meets their goal can encourage this behavior. Scheduling fun (yet educational) activities can also help students associate school with positive feelings.

Takeaways

  • Consider external rewards (e.g., praise, free choice activities, rewards) when tasks are new or difficult.
  • Extrinsic reinforcement can also be helpful when students are completing non-fulfilling activities (e.g., drill-and-practice tasks to gain mastery in foundational skills such as math facts).
  • As students gain mastery, switch the focus from external rewards to intrinsic rewards (e.g., deemphasize grades by acknowledging progress made in the learning process, encourage pride in one’s work).   
  • Be clear about which behaviors lead to which consequences, both positive and negative.

We are launching a “Motivation Monday” series here on the SMARTS blog to explore various theories of learning and motivation. Look for the second post which will cover goal orientation theory and growth mindset.

  • Caitlin Vanderberg, M.Ed., SMARTS Associate

Build Your Executive Function Toolkit in 2022

Are you interested in building your Executive Function Toolkit? Join us in February and March to hear from EF experts on topics such as metacognition and motivation, strategies to support students with long-term projects and project-based learning, embedding EF in the general education curriculum, and the intersection of EF and social-emotional learning. Learn more and register today. 

SMARTS Executive Function Curriculum: smarts-ef.org

Research Institute for Learning and Development: researchild.org

The Institute for Learning and Development: ildlex.org

Quick Tip: The Power of Common Language

Executive Function, Quick Tip

What’s in a name? When it comes to addressing students’ executive function challenges and helping them understand their learning profiles, a structured, systematic, and explicit approach is key. By clearly naming executive function strategies, students can develop an understanding of what strategies are, why they matter, and how they can be applied. 

For Students

When we name and model a strategy, students can begin to think about the strategy’s value and applications in their lives. Take, for example, an organizational strategy like the SMARTS 4C’s strategy (Unit 4 in SMARTS). This strategy helps students organize their materials using the 4C’s (C, C, C, and C). Developing clear and consistent language in the classroom around organization can increase strategy use and ensure that students can refer to the strategy by name later on.

Strategy instruction promotes self-understanding as students are required to think about what strategies they can use, why they will help, and when they can use them. Using strategies is an intentional and deliberate process; students become active learners who engage in self-reflection about which strategies were most successful in specific situations. When armed with strategies that they can name and understand, students have options for how they can respond to challenges.

For Educators and Administrators

Naming executive function strategies is also beneficial for educators and administrators. If everyone in a school or learning center is using the same executive function strategies and terms, this shared common language could ultimately lead to a culture shift. Repeated exposure to the same strategies can also help students see that all their teachers are on the same page and that strategies can be applied across classes. 

  • Caitlin Vanderberg, M.Ed., SMARTS Associate

Build Your Executive Function Toolkit in 2022

Are you interested in building your Executive Function Toolkit? Join us in February and March to hear from EF experts on topics such as metacognition and motivation, strategies to support students with long-term projects and project-based learning, embedding EF in the general education curriculum, and the intersection of EF and social-emotional learning. Learn more and register today. 

SMARTS Executive Function Curriculum: smarts-ef.org

Research Institute for Learning and Development: researchild.org

The Institute for Learning and Development: ildlex.org

Executive Branch: Executive Function Strengths

Cognitive Flexibility, Executive Function, Goal Setting

What does it take to be a successful president? Many historians have studied the presidents of the United States to determine what qualities and characteristics lead to a prosperous tenure in office. Unsurprisingly, a well-developed sense of self-understanding and executive function strengths are key! 

A Vision for the Future

While successful presidents must understand the past and remain grounded in the present, they must also look forward to the future. What will they accomplish while in office? What will their legacy be? When campaigning, presidential candidates set many goals that they promise to carry through if elected. While many of these promises are long-term goals, they are made up of short-term goals along the way. To get students thinking about setting their own goals, check out these frameworks for goal setting. These frameworks (including CANDO goals in SMARTS, Unit 2) help students set realistic goals with built-in plans for reaching success. 

Balancing Multiple Opinions and Perspectives

A successful presidency relies on the ability to see situations from multiple perspectives. When balancing many different opinions, it can be easy to get stuck. It is inevitable that all presidents will face opposition to their initiatives, whether from other politicians or from citizens across the country. It is critical that presidents think flexibly and shift perspectives to understand the perspectives of their constituents and gain bipartisan support. 

MetaCOG Online

Are you looking for a way to help students understand their executive function strengths and challenges? MetaCOG Online, an interactive executive function survey system, helps students develop an understanding of their learning profiles (including their EF strength, EF challenge, strategy suggestions, and SMARTS lesson recommendations). MetaCOG Online also provides tools for teachers to collect data about students’ EF strategy use at multiple points throughout the school year. 

  • Caitlin Vanderberg, M.Ed., SMARTS Associate

Build Your Executive Function Toolkit in 2022

Are you interested in building your Executive Function Toolkit? Join us in February and March to hear from EF experts on topics such as metacognition and motivation, strategies to support students with long-term projects and project-based learning, embedding EF in the general education curriculum, and the intersection of EF and social-emotional learning. Learn more and register today. 

SMARTS Executive Function Curriculum: smarts-ef.org

Research Institute for Learning and Development: researchild.org

The Institute for Learning and Development: ildlex.org

Peter Doolittle: How Your “Working Memory” Makes Sense of the World

Posts

“A central issue with working memory is that it’s limited. It’s limited in capacity, limited in duration, limited in focus. We tend to remember about four things…”

Have you ever wondered how working memory helps you make decisions and reach goals on a daily basis? Peter Doolittle, professor of educational psychology in the School of Education at Virginia Tech, strives to understand the processes of human learning. In his TED Talk, Doolittle explores how our working memory helps us make sense of the world and offers strategies to maximize our potential to remember.   

  • “We need to process what’s going on the moment it happens, not 10 minutes later, not a week later, at the moment.”
    • Doolittle explains that reflecting upon our actions and reactions is a critical step towards remembering. He emphasizes the importance of reflecting in the moment or shortly after an event or new learning occurs. When it comes to executive function strategies, students can ask themselves a few simple questions about how well a strategy worked for them and how they could apply it next time. By asking themselves what they’re missing and if they have any questions before moving on to the next lesson or topic, students can ensure that they are building their knowledge on a solid foundation. 
  • “We also need to repeat it. We need to practice.”
    • Doolittle highlights that repeated practice is key to remembering. When planning out SMARTS lessons for the year, it can be beneficial for educators to focus on the quality and depth of lessons over quantity. Students will benefit from repeated exposure to a few strategies paired with reflection so that they can start to understand themselves as learners. 
  • “The last one is support. We all started as novices…”
    • Doolittle’s last suggestion aligns with the many visual supports that are included in the SMARTS curriculum. It is important that we draw upon the benefits of presenting information in multisensory ways; providing students with reflection sheets, exit tickets, and time to ask questions can help them process what they are learning. 

“…the take-home message from a working memory capacity standpoint is this: what we process, we learn. If we’re not processing life, we’re not living it.”

To learn more about working memory and how to implement strategies to support your students, check out unit 6 of the SMARTS Curriculum. What working memory strategies can you implement in your life? 

Click here for the link to this TED Talk and to view the transcript and subtitles.

  • Caitlin Vanderberg, M.Ed., SMARTS Associate

Build Your Executive Function Toolkit in 2022

Are you interested in building your Executive Function Toolkit? Join us in February and March to hear from EF experts on topics such as metacognition and motivation, strategies to support students with long-term projects and project-based learning, embedding EF in the general education curriculum, and the intersection of EF and social-emotional learning. Learn more and register today. 

SMARTS Executive Function Curriculum: smarts-ef.org

Research Institute for Learning and Development: researchild.org

The Institute for Learning and Development: ildlex.org

Parent Perspective: The Gap Between Home and School

Homeschool, parent perspective, remote learning

Alana Bremers, parent and ResearchILD Intern, discusses how educators and parents can bridge the gap between home and school.

“My brother grew up with learning differences, and when my mom went to visit him in kindergarten, he was alone at a table with a pad of paper and a box of crayons. The rest of the class was on the floor listening to a story the teacher read.

My mom looked at the room. All the kids had their names self-written, decorated, and hung up on the wall; except, of course, my brother. No one thought to help him write his simple, three-letter name. He had dyslexia but could still participate. 

This was decades ago, but really it’s just the first chapter in a long story. My mom had to fight for everything he got out of school. If she had never visited him in school, he would have been ignored completely. Needless to say, he did not enjoy school.

In teacher training programs, we are trained to do better for students like my brother. We learn about behaviorism, conditioning, Pavlov, and Maslow. We design strategic interventions for struggling students and incorporate methods for scaffolding. We develop pride in our profession and power to help kids shape their futures. We have the best intentions, yet forget these kids belong to another world for most of their lives.

If a child is struggling, shouldn’t the first step be to ask the parents for insight? Is it appropriate to become a mentor to a student without becoming familiar with their parents? Wouldn’t it be helpful to make curricula available to parents and information about their children accessible? How do parents and teachers become team members in support of academic success?

As a future teacher, I want to positively transform the lives in my classroom. I want to be the teacher who inspires a generation of students to be kind and confident. Parents and teachers are on the same side: the side of happy, healthy, kind, intelligent, thoughtful kids. 

We know that relationships are fundamental to learning, and this is true both at home and at school. To be successful teachers, we need to forge positive relationships between home and school. Creating a consistent flow of information and sharing of strategies and ideas sends a message to our students that we are committed to setting them up for success. Especially for early learners, having a positive relationship with parents can help build trust and bring consistent messages from the classroom into the home.

Parents buy a lot of parenting books, read blogs, and ask for advice. They welcome partners in raising happy, healthy, successful, and kind children. Bridging parents and teachers, while respecting students, is rewarding for kids and will, therefore, help teachers achieve classroom goals.”

  • Alana Bremers, ResearchILD Intern

SMARTS Executive Function Curriculum: smarts-ef.org

Research Institute for Learning and Development: researchild.org

The Institute for Learning and Development: ildlex.org