The Power of Executive Function

Tutoring and the development of Executive Functioning Skills

Executive Functioning Skills (EFS) are increasingly in the news these days; but what exactly are they, why are they important and what role do tutors have to play?

Executive functioning skills may broadly be defined as covering three areas:

Working memory – the ability to hold new information in the short-term memory (and then usually transfer it into long-term memory); Cognitive flexibility (the ability to think flexibly), and Inhibitory control, which includes self-control.

Between them, EFS are responsible for how well you: pay attention; organise yourself and your time; remain focused on a task to see it to completion; understand others’ points of view; regulate your emotions, and keep track of what you are doing.

Typically, EFS develop through childhood, but the process continues into the early twenties.

The role that well-developed EFS have in the learning development of a student is often under-estimated, with a disproportionate focus going on simply the acquisition of academic knowledge. Yet a combination of the two is a real-life example of 1+1 equalling three; the two things working hand in hand produce better results than either of them individually.

Some children whose EFS are under developed, or missing, typically display the signs of ADHD. Symptoms include frustration, distraction, mixing up assignments, losing track of time, having trouble working in groups and insistence on doing things in certain ways. But even where under-development is less marked (and this probably applies to the majority of children), the result can be, for example, a student putting off a project that is due to be handed in on a Monday morning until late on a Sunday evening, or forgetting to pack their sports bag.

These are all things that a classroom environment – with perhaps thirty or more children to deal with – make it hard to handle. Children develop EFS in different ways and at different rates. They generally need a unique set of tools to help develop the skills effectively. Providing the level of 1-to-1 attention, and designing a tailor-made approach for each and every child, is often beyond the time and resources of hard-pressed teachers.

But it is a challenge with which tutors are well-placed to assist. We can custom-design the whole learning experience for the child using apps, calendars, workbooks and journals, and a variety of other resources.

Often, the time children are most in need of developing their EFS is in their teens. Their hormones are raging, and they are distracted with video games, socialising, TV and social media. Yet it is exactly at this time that they are facing the most important exams of their lives - and urgently need to possess the EFS that give them the greatest chance of success. Just as importantly, it is these skills that also provide the independent learning and management resources that will see them safely through university or college - or help them succeed in their first experience of the work environment. If ever there was an illustration of why tutoring needs to be focused on the creation of lifelong, portable learning skills rather than having a misplaced short-term focus on passing a particular exam, this is surely it.

But if we are to make this valuable contribution to children who desperately need exactly the sort of help we can give, we need to make sure that we have acquired the knowledge that helps us identify a weakness, or lack, of EFS and the skills and tools to address it effectively.

In order to help with this (and other specialist needs that some children have), The Tutors’ Association runs regular seminars that are designed to bring tutors up to speed with current best practice in this type of arena, along with an introduction to the tools and techniques required to handle children with these needs effectively.

More than this, it is also, I believe, a good illustration of the way in which tutors and teachers can work collaboratively to help children be the best that they can be. Good teaching and good tutoring are complementary; there are things children can learn in a classroom environment that they cannot learn by themselves, and there are things they can learn in a 1-to-1 environment that they cannot learn in even the smallest of classes.

At the Tutors’ Association, we are keen to develop positive relationships with all those involved in helping children reach their full potential.

Tim Morris is current the President of The Tutors’ Association. For more details about the Association, or if you would like to become a member please visit www.thetutorsassociation.org.uk You can also call the association on 01628 306108