Parent and Teacher Resource Modules Talking Points: Welcome to the LD/ADHD Initiative series that provides strategies for all teachers in support of all students. This is the first of four sessions that will be focusing on Executive Functions. We’ll be exploring the definition of executive functions and how they affect us all. Parent and Teacher Resource Modules

LD/ADHD Initiative Executive Functions Series: Wiki https://ldadhd.wikispaces.hcpss.org/ This is the wiki for all of the Executive Functions modules: Prep page Powerpoint Handouts

Banner Question “How do we support the classroom teacher delivering best practices in instruction and behavioral intervention for students with learning and/or behavioral needs?” Talking Points: The first year of the initiative focused on building trust with the newly formed design team and creating the vision for the work of the team. The banner question that you see on the slide was created the first year and is the driving force behind the committee’s work. Using existing inclusive practices and UDL principles, the vision is to provide supports for all classroom teachers as they address learning and behavioral challenges presented by any student.

all HCPSS Staff on the LD/ADHD Resource Modules The Board of Education expects professional development for all HCPSS Staff on the LD/ADHD Resource Modules Talking Points: This is great news for our Initiative. As a result of a Board Report in April 2012, our Board of Education is requesting training for all HCPSS staff on the Resource Modules. Staff includes: all teachers, para-educators, administrators, and Division of Instruction staff. The Student Services Team in our school includes: (name the staff members and their positions for your school.) We are here to support you in building your knowledge of Executive Functions and in using the strategies to support all students in your classroom. This year’s professional learning focus for the LD/ADHD Initiative is Executive Functions .

Lend Me Your Frontal Lobe Session One Talking Points: The title of this workshop series is Lend Me Your Frontal Lobe. You will understand the meaning behind the title as you participate in the 4 modules on Executive Functions.

Outcomes Understand the creation of the Executive Functions Modules Learn the definition of executive functions Identify characteristics of executive functions Develop awareness of the development of executive skills Review definitions of learning disabilities, ADHD and autism Talking Points: Have participants read the outcomes.

Anticipation Guide   Answer True (T) or False (F) to the following statements:   1. Students finish developing executive functions around age 12. 2. Executive functions are controlled by the parietal lobe of the brain. 3. Executive skills can be taught or strengthened. 4. Executive dysfunction is present only in students with disabilities. 5. Meta-cognition is a necessary component of executive functioning.   Activity: Distribute the Anticipation Guide and have participants answer True or False based on their current knowledge. Explain that they will have a chance to revise their answers at the end of the session. – Allow about 5 min.

Model For Adult Learning Joyce & Showers, 1980,1992 Rosenfield & Gravois,1996 Level of Impact Evidence Training Method Awareness Articulate a general concept Stand and deliver Conceptual understanding Clearly articulate a concept Modeling/ Demonstration Skill acquisition Use skills in structured setting Practice in simulated situation with feedback Application of skills Flexibly use skills Real cases with coaching Talking points: During these professional development modules we will approach the Awareness level and hopefully achieve some Conceptual Understanding and Skill Acquisition levels regarding executive functions. As we experience each module, a goal for us is to reach the Application of skills level, particularly as you begin to apply your new knowledge in the classroom setting.

Definition of Executive Functions Executive functions can be defined as… a collection of processes that are responsible for guiding, directing and managing cognitive, emotional and behavioral functions, particularly during novel problem solving. Talking Points: Executive Functions: Is an umbrella term covering related yet very distinct skills. They refer to one’s mental control/self regulatory processes. Are responsible for work efficiency & regulation of impulses and behavior both inside and outside the classroom setting. This is Gerry Gioia’s definition, he is the author of the BRIEF (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function) which is one of the tools used by HCPSS psychologists to identify executive function strengths and weaknesses. He is a former HCPSS psychologist currently conducting research on the importance of cognitive rest after a concussion in conjunction with National Children’s Hospital in D.C.

Where are executive functions located? Directions: Have participants point to where (on the body) they think executive functions are located.

Where are executive skills located? Talking Points: Your executive functions are located primarily in the Frontal Lobe of the brain. Executive Functions

How are executive skills developed? Directions: Read the question. Elicit responses from the staff or go directly to the next slide.

Executive skills develop… through a process called myelination. Myelin acts as insulation for nerves, increasing the speed with which nerve impulses are transmitted. The faster the impulse, the better the skill. Read or have someone in the group read the slide.

All skills, including executive skills, improve with practice… The more you practice, the better the skill. Practice also makes the task less effortful. Talking Points: Practice is critical in learning executive skills, just like any other skill. The more a skill is practiced, the more myelin grows. The more myelin there is on the outside of a nerve, the faster the impulse. The faster the impulse the better the skill. This is why class routines and structures support the development of these skills in students.

Development of Executive Functions Skill proficiency Talking Points: Ask participants what trends they notice in this graph As essential as these skills are, we aren’t born with them. These set of skills are essential for school achievement, preparation & adaptability of our future workforce and for avoiding a wide range of health problems. (Center on the Developing Child Harvard University 2012) We are born with the potential to develop them – or not – depending on our experiences, our neurophysiology, and the interactions between them. This is a conceptual graph that combines the findings of a range of tests measuring different forms of executive function skills. The horizontal axis does not evenly distribute across the ages – this is because so much happens in the first 30 years of life and comparatively little happens in the later years. Note that the foundations of Executive Functions are laid down in the earliest months and years of life. The emergence of executive functions is developmental. Birth 3 5 10 15 25 30 50 70 80 Age (Years) Source: Weintraub et al. (2011) 15

Students may have weaknesses in one or more executive functions but not have a disability. Executive skills are not typically fully developed until the age of 25. Talking Points: A colleague of mine (Emily Hurd) recently texted her son on his 25th birthday announcing that he had a free birthday gift. His frontal lobe had developed! (Facilitator’s use this story or share a similar one.) Activity: Have table groups talk for 90 seconds about this question: Where are you, your colleagues, family members, or students on the developmental timeline?

Until executive skills are fully developed in students, parents and teachers act as “surrogate” frontal lobes. Three primary ways to develop executive skills: Change the environment to reduce the impact of weak executive skills. Teach and model executive skills. Use incentives to get students to use skills that are hard for them. Talking Points: Teaching of executive functions must be intentional and explicit. Students with deficits in executive functions do not have the internal resources to initiate the behaviors without prompting and reinforcement. Students need help with knowing when and how to apply them. The goal of teaching and promoting executive functions is to establish regular routines with constant feedback. Hence the tile of this workshop series, Lend Me Your Frontal Lobe. Teachers, family members and other adults can “lend students their frontal lobes” by teaching, modeling, and supporting use of executive skills. Richard Guare Ph.D., Smart but Scattered

Executive Functions serve as a Cognitive Conductor The conductor or “master control” for all higher order and basic information processing. Talking Points: The frontal lobe of the brain acts as the conductor of the executive functions or the brain’s master control system. Point out that the pictures serve as a metaphor for executive functions. The frontal lobe: 1. Decides what is worth attending to and what is worth doing. 2. Provides continuity and coherence to behavior across time. 3. Modulates affective and interpersonal behaviors so that drives are satisfied within the constraints of the internal and external environments. 4. Monitors, evaluates & adjusts. Source: Peg Dawson/ Richard Guare Center for Learning and Attention Disorders Portsmouth, NH The brain’s master control and command system.

Do you know your executive functions? In groups of 2-3, match the nine executive functions with their definitions. Materials: Sets of executive functions and definitions Matching Cards – one set per 2-3 participants “Executive Functions Definitions” Handout Activity: Allow about 5 min. Matching executive functions to their definitions. Directions: 1. Distribute envelopes and tell participants to match the definitions to the executive functions in groups of 2-3. 2. When the groups are finished, indicate to them that there is a “self checking” strategy they can use to make sure their answers are correct, by checking the symbols on the back of the definitions and executive skills. Each definition/label has a matching icon. 3. After the matching activity, provide participants with a copy of the Executive Functions Definitions handout as a reference or a way to check their answers.

What do executive function weaknesses look like in your students? Activity: Executive Function Weaknesses - Allow about 3 min. Directions: Read the question on the slide. Distribute copies of “What do executive function weaknesses look like in our students?” Have table groups read through the list and think about which of their students exhibit the behaviors.

What is a Learning Disability? Brain 'processes' information differently Certain kinds of information get stuck or lost while traveling through the brain. Causes a 'discrepancy' between ability and achievement. Talking Points: Some students in your class may have learning or behavioral challenges but have not been diagnosed with a disability, while other students have been identified. Let’s review characteristics associated with the three most common disabilities found in the general education classroom. Review the characteristics. Background: Information processing refers to how your brain: takes in information, uses this information, stores the information in memory, retrieves the information from memory, and expresses the information. Students struggle with certain kinds of learning because their brains have difficulty 'processing' certain kinds of information. It is like when you go on a car trip and get stuck in road construction. It takes you a lot longer to get where you are going. Discrepancy - This means that there is a difference between ability and academic performance. A student might be just as smart as else in class, but his/her grades in certain areas aren't as good. He/she learns differently.

“Developmental disability that impacts development in the areas of What is Autism? “Developmental disability that impacts development in the areas of verbal and non-verbal communication social interactions leisure or play activities” Talking Points: Review the characteristics. Source: Autism Society of America’s definition

What is ADHD? inattention impulsivity hyperactivity Characterized by developmentally inappropriate inattention impulsivity hyperactivity Talking Points: Review the characteristics. Source: www.chadd.org definition The Important Role of Executive Functioning and Self-Regulation in ADHD© Russell A. Barkley, Ph.D.

Activity Check off which executive skills deficits you think each student may have. Directions: Direct participants to check the executive function weaknesses you might find in each of the students listed Materials: LD/ADHD/Autism/Typical Student Handout

What is a typically developing student? Materials: “LD/ADHD/Autism/Typical Child Chart” Handout Activity: Identify which executive function deficits exist in each category. Directions: Allow about 10 min. Distribute copies of: LD/ADHD/Autism/Typical Child Chart. Have the participants check off which executive function skill deficits they think each student may have. (Note to the facilitator: After participants have completed the chart, point out that students in all categories have executive skill deficits, not just students with disabilities.)

What are your executive functions strengths and weaknesses? Complete the EF questionnaire. Did your results match what you thought were your strengths & weaknesses? Think-Pair-Share: How might this impact your work with teachers and/or students? Directions: Direct participants to complete the “Executive Skills Questionnaire” while thinking about their roles and responsibilities in the school setting Expected outcome: Participants will realize that students in all categories have executive skill deficits, not just students with disabilities. Materials: Executive Skills Questionnaire

Anticipation Guide   Answer True (T) or False (F) to the following statements:   1. Students finish developing executive functions around age 12. 2. Executive functions are controlled by the parietal lobe of the brain. 3. Executive skills can be taught or strengthened. 4. Executive dysfunction is present only in students with disabilities. 5. Meta-cognition is a necessary component of executive functioning.   Activity: Revisit the Anticipation Guide - Allow about 5 min Talking Points: Revisit your Anticipation Guide from the beginning if the session. Take a minute to review your response and change any response based on information from the session. Reveal the answers below. Answers: Students finish developing their executive functions around age 12. FALSE Executive functions are controlled by the parietal lobe of the brain. FALSE Executive skills can be taught or strengthened. TRUE Executive dysfunction is present only in students with disabilities. FALSE Meta-cognition is a necessary component of executive functioning. TRUE

Executive Skills Questionnaire Next Steps Executive Skills Questionnaire Materials: Executive Skills Questionnaire handout Directions: Distribute the “Executive Skills Questionnaire” Handout. Have participants complete the questionnaire before the next module and bring the completed questionnaire to session 2.