January 22, 2022
Cindy Lopez:
Welcome. My name is Cindy Lopez, the host of this CHC podcast, Voices of Compassion. We hope you find a little courage, feel connected and experience compassion every time you listen. Today we’re talking about executive functioning. It’s such an important and timely topic. The development of executive functioning skills is valuable for all students and especially those with learning variability or learning differences. We all know how the last couple of years have tapped into our reserves, around our ability to adapt our behavior, and for those students with learning differences it’s really made a part of their life that’s naturally challenging even more challenging. So today I’m talking with Dr. Nicole Ofiesh, Director of the Schwab Learning Center at CHC about executive functioning in high school and beyond and the strategies students can use to build those skills. Welcome Dr. Ofiesh.
Dr. Nicole Ofiesh:
Thank you for having me back. This is such an important topic to discuss for all students, especially students with learner variability, learning differences in this time of the pandemic and the switch from in-person to online learning or a hybrid of both. So I’m excited to share with you some thoughts about this, thank you.
Cindy Lopez:
As Dr. Ofiesh noted, she has joined us in the past, and you can check out her other podcast with us which was on the topic of transitioning to college. So let’s talk a little bit about what executive functioning really is and why is it important to students, whether they’re in high school or college, or even beyond that
Dr. Nicole Ofiesh:
Executive functioning is a very critical part of functioning in everyday life from the moment a child enters preschool all the way into the golden years when you just have to function in your everyday life, and it’s a fancy term. I remember when it came out about 25, 30 years ago people started talking about executive functioning and that was because I had started to identify a part of the brain that is very specific to basic functioning that is so, so important in school. It’s controlled by a specific part of the brain that involves a person’s ability and capability to plan, organize, manage time, monitor how you’re doing along the way, make corrections. I always call it the GPS system of the brain. So just like when you get into a car you plan your GPS system, your GPS system is helping you identify where you’re going. Just like when you go to sit down to pay your bills or a student sits down to proceed with their homework, you have to have a plan on where you’re going and how you’re going to accomplish that task or in the GPS system in the car, how you’re going to get to where you want to go. And just like the GPS system in your car, if there’s an accident or a roadblock or a detour along the way your GPS system will tell you make the first available u-turn or take a different path, that’s what we would equate to self-monitoring. So when a student is proceeding with homework or approaching how they’re going to write an essay or read a chapter or do a project, executive functioning involves self-monitoring of that task. So if the student gets off track, just like your GPS system told you to make the first immediate U-turn, the student needs to be able to say, you know, I don’t think this is right. I don’t think I’m on the right track and be able to make a course correction as opposed to just plowing ahead with a strategy that has consistently failed or doesn’t work. So you can see how this plays out for everyone across the lifespan. So it’s those elements of cognition that allow for self-regulation and self-direction of our day-to-day and longer-term functioning.
Cindy Lopez:
I also find it really interesting how the brain develops and parents you might be thinking wait a minute executive functioning doesn’t seem to be very well developed in my child, but the brain develops in different ways, at different stages of life. Do you want to make any comments about that?
Dr. Nicole Ofiesh:
Well, you’re absolutely right. It does develop at different stages in life and in a typically developing person. So you can expect executive functioning to improve over time and then begin to decline over time as well. Brain health is so critically important. For students with learning differences, those who are most susceptible are those who may have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, generalized anxiety disorders, personality disorders, dyslexia, other specific learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder. So you know general learner variability, but what we are really seeing in the pandemic for everyone, it tapped into executive functioning capabilities because it required us to do something called shifting. Shifting is what we call in the executive functioning world, cognitive flexibility. So cognitive flexibility is critical executive functioning that can be broadly defined as the ability to adapt behaviors in responses to changes in the environment. So we all know how the last couple of years have tapped into our reserves in our ability to adapt our behavior, but for those students in those areas that I talked about who were diagnosed with specific conditions, it really made a part of their life that is naturally challenging, exceedingly more challenging.
Cindy Lopez:
Yeah and so how does it show up in students, whether it’s executive functioning or lack of executive functioning? What does that look like?
Dr. Nicole Ofiesh:
What we have seen worsen in many students is a feeling of disorientation with a feeling of loss of control over their environment, and I think we all felt that. So like I said if you’re an individual who already is challenged with executive functioning, it’s going to exacerbate that. Also feeling like the options for success are restricted, especially during the period of time when we were not permitted to leave our homes regularly, there was no escape to all those other places where you might be able to perform better like a library or a friend’s house if you live with a lot of people or a different dorm room, or just another place where you feel like you’re more successful.
One of the other characteristics that is exacerbated during this shift between online environment and wearing masks and so on is students panic. They feel a loss of control and then that contributes to rigid and inflexible thinking, which then it becomes difficult to focus and attend and then it becomes difficult to follow directions. So these are the kinds of things that we’ve been seeing and an online environment, missing many details and increase in small errors, but I have to say for many students the recent changes in the past couple of years has helped them to thrive. For students who were overwhelmed by the social demands of school or the constant extraneous stimulation at school or all the things that were making it hard to pay attention, those things were more in control for them and they were eliminated. So on the positive side there is a group of students who really benefited from these changes and were actually able to function much more effectively and shift and be flexible and plan and organize because they were calmer, and they had less distractions.
Cindy Lopez:
So thinking about students, what do I do if I’m a high school student or college student, are there strategies that I can use to improve my executive functioning skills?
Dr. Nicole Ofiesh:
There are many things, and let’s start with some ideas that benefit everyone, if you’re a parent, you’re a teacher, you’re a high school student, you’re a college student, whoever you are. If you remember at the beginning of the podcast, we spoke about executive functioning being controlled by a specific area of the brain. That means we have to start with brain health, we cannot ignore the benefits of brain health. So organizing the day with health in mind is key to executive functioning. Building in intentional breaks to move the body, perhaps with a timer is so critical, thinking I’m not just going to sit here all day on Zoom, and this is different now for students who may be back in school full time. They will have that opportunity to move around, but if not, it’s very important to think about that to build in intentional breaks to move the body and then rest from screen time, screen time has interrupted most individuals sleep if it has increased. So rest from screen time throughout the day, and be sure electronics are put down before going to sleep. Also with many people being at home more they’ve been snacking more and preparing healthy snacks at the beginning of the day so that any kind of anxiety snacking doesn’t detract you from a healthy diet, a healthy mind, and along those lines to drink lots of water, stay hydrated, keep a pitcher of water at your desk and a fun glass so this is something that is engaging to do, but water is so important for brain health and for hydration and to reduce stress.
Another example of something that would really help executive functioning for everyone is to take a course schedule and calendar and merge them so that you not only see what is due or what appointment is coming up, but what you need to do to plan for that. So for example, if I have an appointment with my accountant, just having the appointment on the calendar may be no good if there are things I have to get together to prepare for that appointment. So actually scheduling in, what do I need to do? The same thing happens with the student, just having a due date for an assignment on a calendar even if it’s a reading is no good if I haven’t also placed into my calendar when I’m going to do the activities that lead up to getting that assignment done, getting that reading done. If I’m a student with dyslexia, it’s ridiculous to assume I’m going to read a whole chapter in one night. How about breaking it up a half hour at a time over the week and taking notes. So along those lines having a calendar that’s visual and color coded is really important where students can put in a different color for personal activities, a different color for tests, a different color for medical appointments, et cetera, so that they are really engaged and have a better sense of time, both time passing and planning.
Cindy Lopez:
Dr. Ofiesh do you have a recommendation of a specific planner that does that?
Dr. Nicole Ofiesh:
There are so many different types of tools that are out there right now. Many college students are using the types of organization and planning tools that are working in the business world, but most electronic calendars that come with, for example, Outlook or Gmail or Google, most of these types of platforms have electronic calendars that are pretty effective, but this helps with planning, organization, it also helps with another key component of executive functioning which is prioritizing, how do I know what to do first, second, third, and predictability. One of the things that we know is during this time when people have lost a sense of control, especially children, is we want to give them a sense of being in control again. That way they can predict what’s coming up next and that reduces anxiety and this loss of control and a calendar can help do that. They can predict what’s coming up next.
I think one of the other important aspects that would benefit everyone and especially high school and college students is, start tomorrow tonight. That means look at the calendar, what’s on the schedule for tomorrow? Put all the resources you’ll need out the night before for the work you’ve scheduled. It might be paper, pencils, calculator, highlighter, note cards, get your tabs up and running if there are certain study flashcards that you use that are online, get all that ready so when you wake up, you’re organized, and you’re ready to go, and it makes much more efficient use of your time. Also important to leave your study space clear and ready to go.
Mike:
CHC’s Voices of Compassion podcast is made possible by the generosity of people like you. To learn more about supporting CHC, go to chconline.org/donate. Also make sure to follow us on social media for more inspiring and educational content from CHC.
Cindy Lopez:
I find having been in education for like 30 years and teaching younger students that they really need to be taught explicitly like here are some things you can do to grow those executive functioning skills and you don’t even need to call them that, but you know their organization and time management and planning.
I think students with some learning differences have a harder time, for example you can say your assignment is to finish reading the chapter and then answer the questions at the end, and they don’t really know what that looks like when it’s done. So it’s creating that picture in their heads. I’m wondering, we probably have parents listening today, how can they best support their high school or college student?
Dr. Nicole Ofiesh:
Everything you said Cindy is so important and I’m glad you brought that up because so often I hear parents say I don’t know why they just don’t X, Y, and Z to their high school or college student. No one ever had to teach me how to do that before, or why don’t they just know. When we often don’t stop to think that those critical study skills that executive functioning benefits from do need to be explicitly taught, just like you said. So one of the things that parents can do for example in time management is to work with your student or child to estimate how long a task will take. If it’s 30 algebra problems, ask your student how long do you think that’s going to take you to do it? If they say 30 minutes, probably not, that’s a minute a problem, but let them say okay 30 minutes, let’s see how you do. So that’s teaching them to understand the passage of time, time management, and really understanding how much time should I put on my electronic calendar to do this task.
So that’s the first thing in the area of time management work, with your student or child to estimate how long a task will take and set a time to begin. Then take a five minute break, see how things are going. If the student has made no progress that’s something that needs to be addressed, and one of the ways that can be addressed is using something called the Pomodoro Technique, and if you just search Pomodoro, POMODORO, you’ll find some very fun and interesting timers online, and the Pomodoro Technique encourages students to work 25 minutes or roughly that, and then take a five minute break, but they have to record what they did in that time. And just like we know from cognitive behavioral science, having that sense of accountability can really encourage students to stay engaged, when they know they’re going to have to record or be accountable for what they did during that twenty-five minutes, it gives them quite an incentive. So then I would at the end, reevaluate the time estimate, was it accurate? How did it go? I think that’s a key piece in terms of one of the ways that parents can help students and one of the critical executive functioning components, but I want to go back to the point of what you said. We cannot assume students know how to do the things we ask them to do, and if it’s a consistent problem, we have to backtrack and think, hmm maybe it would have been helpful for them to see in an example of a final project so that they have this visual in their mind and then think about what do I need to do to get from what’s in my head, the idea that’s in my head to this tangible final project, and I think teachers should feel comfortable sharing final projects with their students and demystifying what the expectations are. By being clear about what the expectations are we can really encourage students to do their best work.
Cindy Lopez:
So if I’m a parent or even a high school student or college student listening to this podcast, parents feel free to share it with your high school student or your college student, but if I want to grow my executive functioning skills, or as a parent, I want my child to grow their executive functioning skills and I’m not the person to help them, what kinds of specialists would they see?
Dr. Nicole Ofiesh:
They could see a learning specialist, they could see an educational therapist. If they are working on an IEP or 504 plan they can reach out to the resource specialist at the school or explain this to their counselor. There are some programs called the Avid Program in schools, really rich programs that teach students how to access and thrive with executive functions. So those are the kinds of specialists that can help, and I can honestly say it’s often very useful to have somebody outside of a parent supporting their student, even if it’s another relative because students don’t want to hear these basic how-tos from their parent.They want to preserve the parenting relationship with them. So sometimes it works very effectively if that’s the relationship between parent and child, but sometimes it’s good to preserve the parent-child relationship as it is, and allow someone else to do the educational support.
Cindy Lopez:
Yeah and so for example, here at CHC, we have the Schwab Learning Center, which Dr. Ofiesh is the director of, and at the Schwab Learning Center college students can meet with the learning specialist and part of what they do is work on executive functioning skills. Do you want to talk about any of that?
Dr. Nicole Ofiesh:
Sure. I’m very pleased and proud of the staff of learning specialists we have at the Schwab Learning Center because not only do the learning specialist stop and take a very, very clear behavioral inventory of an individual’s executive functions, but they also introduce them to a variety of technology that can support executive function growth and sustain that, and they also help them to see what it means across the lifespan. So when someone comes to the Schwab Learning Center, if it looks like they need executive functioning support, the learning specialist is able to say, you know, this really isn’t about how you’re going to stay organized in chemistry or computer science. This is really about how you’re going to stay organized in life. How are you going to stay organized if they’re a high school student, when you go onto college, when you graduate from college. This is going to show up at work, and this is how it will show up at work. So what I’m teaching you now at the Schwab Learning Center will also play out for you over and over again in your life. So these are tools to help people prepare for the lifespan.
Cindy Lopez:
You can find out more at chconline.org, and look for the Schwab Learning Center under our services tab at the top, and you can call them and talk with them about what you need as a student, or parents could talk with them about what their child needs.
Dr. Nicole Ofiesh:
If you are a parent of a high school student and are interested in contacting the Schwab Learning Center please reach out to us now as we are gathering a list of high school students to help them prepare for their coursework in the spring.
Cindy Lopez:
So Dr. Ofiesh as we wrap up what do you hope that people really remember as they have listened to this podcast episode?
Dr. Nicole Ofiesh:
You know the overarching theme of the podcast series is really about compassion, and I think when we support students around executive functioning, we want to start with building empathy, and we build empathy with our students by helping them to understand what they’re going through and helping to get a better sense of what their experience is. So many of them are experiencing high states of anxiety and it causes them to have a really hard time with their executive functions. So I think it really helps parents and teachers to think about teaching executive functioning from an empathic perspective, and then understanding I need to break this down in steps. I cannot assume planning and organizing is natural. I cannot assume time management is natural. I cannot assume they’re going to make a course correction when they’re going down the path and break it down. Be patient, compassionate, empathize and really help them to understand what it takes to be a successful learner.
Cindy Lopez:
Dr. Ofiesh thank you so much for joining us today, and to our listeners, thank you also for joining us and we hope you’ll tune in again next week.
Dr. Nicole Ofiesh:
Thank you, Cindy.
Cindy Lopez:
Visit us online at podcast.chconline.org. Make sure to subscribe to Voices of Compassion so you never miss an episode and we’d love it if you’d leave us a rating and review. Have a question? Send us an email or a voice memo at podcasts@chconline.org. We’re here for you when you need us.
