Executive Function and Distance Learning

The Brooklyn Learning Center Staff

We asked our staff to share their thoughts about the first three weeks of distance learning. Below is some of what we have learned.

What Is Your School Doing?

Almost all of our staff echoed this thought: Each school’s distance learning varies by structure, schedule, instructional method, homework expectations, and of course by age of student.

Overall we see 3 general models:

1. All day synchronous learning (following regular schedule - in "class" all day)

-Students have a full regular class schedule

and then have daily independent work to complete,

but they are exhausted at the end of a full day of video class.

2. All day asynchronous learning (teachers post expectations and lectures and students complete work independently)

-Students have to figure out when to work on independent work.

3. Hybrid model: some synchronous time and some asynchronous time.

-Students have to work out their schedule for classes.

When is each class meeting in person?

No matter the model, Distance Learning requires 5 key executive functioning skills:

Time management,

Organization,

Planning,

Initiation,

and

Monitoring progress toward a goal.

These are skills we all use in school, but they become even more important when students are left to their own devices - literally and figuratively! Below are tips for each type of EF challenge.

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Start at the TOP:

Time Management, Organization, and Planning

All students have to plan a new routine now.

· Some students have daily independent work to complete, and they are exhausted at the end of a full day of video class (model 1).

· Some students have to figure out when to work on independent work (model 2).

· Some students have to work out their schedule for classes (hybrid model 3). When is each class meeting in person?

TOP TIPS:

1. Schedule time to read through email.

So much information is coming to students all the time and it is hard to keep up. Try to encourage students to respond to emails as they come. If a message has important “to do’s” and they can’t complete them right away, they can mark the message as ‘unread’ as a reminder to come back to it later.

2. Each evening, make a daily written schedule for the next day.

This will get student’s eyes off the screen and give them a physical schedule. They can write the schedule on paper, on a whiteboard, or even on a window pane or mirror using a dry erase marker.

3. Do not rely SOLELY on the “To Do” list in the learning platform

(Google Classroom, Pupil Path, Managebac, Microsoft Teams, etc). It is a helpful tool to see what is due the next day and will ensure students keep up with turning in completed work. However, many classes post long-term assignments in advance that will not show up as being due the next day.

Here is a sample of how to help students manage this:

1. Check email

2. View Home Page on Google Classroom

3. “Clean up” Google Classroom To-Do List

4. Update homework board, planner, or personal list that has both daily homework and long-term assignments. Student need to plan to work on some aspect of the long-term assignment daily.

5. Try to schedule doing a specific task rather than just a time frame, and remember to set a limit for time spent on something. Everyone is figuring this out as we go – teachers included – sometimes an assignment may be too much or just not clear enough.

Schools vary in how they post assignments and assignments may be in more than one place.

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Initiation

· It can be really hard for many students to motivate, and many students are having trouble completing work on their own.

· With distance learning, students lost natural breaks in their day (i.e., commuting to school, walking in the hallway to the next class).

TIPS:

1. Break activities into smaller parts

Breaking activities into smaller parts makes it easier to get started. Identifying the “doable part” of a task makes it less daunting to get started. Sitting with a student for 5-10 minutes and doing this (break into small parts or modeling the first step) will help students get started. If it doesn’t work, try again later.

2. Find an “accountability friend”

Find an “accountability friend” with whom they can partner (taking a page from the business world). Parents can help their students schedule a time to do homework with a friend via videochat. This will make the work more enjoyable and also create a social experience.

3. Help students build breaks into the day.

Students need to stand up and move around. They can get a snack, say hi to a family member, or listen to some music. This will help them feel more rested and motivated to sit down in front of the computer.

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Monitoring Progress

· Students are receiving a lot more written instructions, which are harder to process than verbal instructions. This is partly because they cannot ask the teacher for clarification if they are confused about something and most of this work was designed to be explained in person.

· Some information is not being explicitly taught, leaving students to teach themselves complex concepts.

TIPS:

1. Slow Down

Encourage students to slow down, go through the instructions carefully, and talk them through with someone else.

2. If in doubt, ASK.

Most students have so many questions about what they are supposed to be doing. Everyone should ask questions when they don't understand instructions. Students should make a list of questions they have for their teachers. They can either email teachers with these questions, post a private comment on Google Classroom, or ask during the teacher’s office hours. They can also ask their “accountability friend” or someone else in the class.

This is really hard for all of us.

Our next post will address how Distance Learning magnifies our worries about speaking and performing in a public setting.