Boosting Executive Skills in the Classroom E-Book

Joyce Cooper-Kahn

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 223

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

A guide for helping students with weak Executive Function skills to learn efficiently and effectively Students with weak Executive Function skills need strong support and specific strategies to help them learn in an efficient manner, demonstrate what they know, and manage the daily demands of school. This book shows teachers how to do exactly that, while also managing the ebb and flow of their broader classroom needs. From the author of the bestselling parenting book Late, Lost, and Unprepared, comes a compilation of the most practical tools and strategies, designed to be equally useful for children with EF problems as well as all other students in the general education classroom. Rooted in solid research and classroom-tested experience, the book is organized to help teachers negotiate the very fluid challenges they face every day; educators will find strategies that improve their classroom "flow" and reduce the stress of struggling to teach students with EF weaknesses. * Includes proven strategies for teachers who must address the needs of students with Executive Function deficits * Contains information from noted experts Joyce Cooper-Kahn, a child psychologist and Margaret Foster, an educator and learning specialist * Offers ways to extend learning and support strategies beyond the classroom * The book's reproducible forms and handouts are available for free download This important book offers teachers specific strategies to help students with EF deficits learn in an efficient manner, demonstrate what they know, and manage the daily demands of school.

Leseprobe

Contents

Jossey-Bass Teacher

About the Authors

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I: Executive Functioning: The Basics

Chapter 1: What Is Executive Functioning?

Definition

Core Executive Skills

How Do Executive Skills Develop?

Chapter 2: Putting a Face on Executive Functions: Students Who Struggle

Executive Dysfunction: A Description, Not a Diagnosis

The Normal Variability of Executive Functioning

The Vulnerability of Executive Functioning

Poorly Targeted Instruction

The Importance of Healthy Habits

Assessment

Part II: Interventions That Boost Executive Functions

Chapter 3: The EF-Smart Classroom

The Tune-up Tools: Planning, Time, Repetition, and Mind-Set

The Targets: Culture, Planning, Routines, and Classroom Design

Planning for Change

Chapter 4: Supporting Students Who Need More Help

Planners

Materials

Reading

Writing

Math

Chapter 5: The EF-Smart School

“Old School” to New Schools

Faculty Meetings

Gathering References

The Magic Formula

Chapter 6: How the Specialist Can Help

Examining the Learning Task and Its EF Demands

Examining EF Skills for Levels of Automaticity and Independence: The Four-Quadrant Model

Consulting with Teachers

Chapter 7: Planning for Change

Defining a Problem of Practice

Planning and Reflection Guide

Using the Template and Guide: Case Examples

Plan to Monitor

Conclusion: Helping All Students Blossom

Appendix A: The Top Three Accommodations for Students with EF Problems

Extra Time and/or Reduced Assignments as Needed

Copy of Teacher Notes

Testing in a Separate Environment as Needed

Appendix B: Accessing the Online Materials

Index

Jossey-Bass Teacher

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From ready-to-use classroom activities to the latest teaching framework, our value-packed books provide insightful, practical, and comprehensive materials on the topics that matter most to K–12 teachers. We hope to become your trusted source for the best ideas from the most experienced and respected experts in the field.

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Cover design: Michael Cook

Cover illustration: Valérie Brien/iStockphoto

Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by Jossey-Bass

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cataloging-in-Publication data has been applied for.

ISBN 978-1-118-14109-0 (pbk.); ISBN 978-1-118-42089-8 (ebk.);

ISBN 978-1-118-42169-7 (ebk.); ISBN 978-1-118-43371-3 (ebk.)

FIRST EDITION

About the Authors

Joyce Cooper-Kahn, PhD, is a clinical child psychologist who specializes in helping children and their families manage academic, behavioral, and emotional challenges. Her approach focuses on building competencies in children, and she has particular expertise in attention disorders. A popular speaker and trainer both nationally and abroad, she is enthusiastic in her efforts to create a better understanding of how to help youth with executive function weaknesses. She is coauthor (with Laurie Dietzel) of Late, Lost and Unprepared: A Parents’ Guide to Helping Children with Executive Functioning. She is the cofounder of Psychological Resource Associates in Severna Park, Maryland, where she maintains an active clinical practice.

Margaret Foster, MAed, is a learning specialist and leading consultant in the areas of special needs evaluations, program development, and IEP development. A former classroom teacher and frequent speaker at educational events such as the Council for Exceptional Children’s conference, she has trained teachers and school administrators nationwide. She also coaches educational leaders across the globe through WIDE World, a professional development program for educators.

Acknowledgments

Joyce Cooper-Kahn: To my husband, Michael Kahn, thank you for your support, inspiration, and modeling over the years as I have pursued my various goals. You are the finest example of persistence I have ever come across.

To Lisa, thank you for introducing me so many years ago to the magnetic pull and the surprising depths and delights of relationships with children. “Stepdaughter” doesn’t even come close to the way I think about you. To my son, Josh, who gave urgency to my interest in helping students with executive weaknesses, you have given back to the world, in kind, every ounce of understanding and compassion offered to you.

Thank you also to my sister, Marsha, and my brother, Gary, for your support over these last several years. To my niece, Becca, a special smile of thanks.

To Margaret Foster, my friend, my colleague, and now my coauthor. Your smarts, your sensitivity, and your commitment to doing significant work in the world are balanced by your excitement over new learning and your firm belief in a time for play. Until this book project, I had no idea that such pretty sentences could come from so rough a draft! Your friendship makes my life better.

Margaret Foster: To be an effective teacher, one must borrow ruthlessly and lend freely. In this regard, I gratefully acknowledge my fellow teachers who have shared with me throughout the years, especially Sue Stalker, Nancy Stryker, Bob Sturtz, Kathy Maidlow, Sue Gregg, Susan Jackson, Barbara Brandeen, Joy Corey, Denise O’Neal, Cheryl Schmidt, and Jane Pehlke.

Similarly, an effective teacher must be able to draw on the constant energy, challenges, and resilient humor embodied by her students. It has been my distinct honor to be a part of each one of their lives.

In a broader sense, a book like this would not be possible without the modeling of leaders in the field who work to combine theory, research, and practice. For this I am especially grateful to the people at WIDE World, who have brought these elements together so beautifully and have allowed me to be part of their work: David Perkins, Nathan Finch, Mary McFarland, Phillip Moulds, Patrick Schneiter, and Joyce Tapper-Benham.

And none of this would be of any use at all if I hadn’t been involved in “practice fields” to apply my skills. For this I am grateful for the support and teamwork at Montessori International Children’s House and Severn School.

Finally, I must acknowledge the good heart and true professionalism of Joyce Cooper-Kahn, friend and coauthor. She has the rare ability to selflessly reach out a hand and help those in need to find joy. I am so very grateful for the opportunity to coauthor this book with her and, more important, for her friendship.

We both thank our senior editor at Jossey-Bass, Margie McAneny, whose encouragement and expertise helped us every step of the way as we moved from idea to draft to book. Thank you also to Tracy Gallagher, senior editorial assistant, Robin Lloyd, production editor, and to the reviewers whose voices found their way into this book by supporting and questioning our early drafts. Finally, thank you to Michele Jones, whose gentle and creative suggestions included adding “a dollop” of explanatory text. We did, and the book is better for it.

For the students and teachers who walk into school buildings each day with their own hopes and dreams. May this book help you to achieve them.

–J. C-K.

To Dad, Drew, Chris, and Nicholas, and the other men in my family who enthusiastically mistake boundaries for challenges. And to all the Irish women in my life who work hard and know how to celebrate.

–M. F.

Introduction

Every day since school started six weeks ago, you have reminded the students of the routine for starting the day. Most of the students follow the routine with ease. Except for Andrew. While the other students start their morning work, Andrew sits with all his books and folders still on his desk. Why does he need prompting to get started?

Sarah is a bright tenth-grade student who contributes to classroom discussions with enthusiasm and a fresh flow of ideas. She grasps new ideas easily, and she always gets good grades on class work. So why doesn’t she turn in homework? Why are her test scores so inconsistent?