Supporting Executive Functioning Skills in the Classroom

Executive functioning skills play an important role in every student’s success. Whether you're working with young children in elementary school, older students in middle or high school, or students with special needs, these skills are essential for navigating daily tasks, completing long-term projects, and managing their school environments.

Table of Contents

Toggle

What Are Executive Functioning Skills?

Executive functioning skills are cognitive processes that help students manage themselves and their resources to achieve a goal. These skills help us manage time, set goals, and control our impulses—whether that’s planning for a large project or stopping ourselves from interrupting during a class discussion.

Students (and adults!) rely on these skills to manage their daily lives, schoolwork, and social behaviors. When students experience executive function challenges, it can show up in many different ways, from difficulties with impulse control to trouble completing homework assignments on time.

Common Executive Functioning Challenges

Students of all ages—whether they're in elementary school or young adults transitioning into high school—may struggle with executive functioning issues.

Here are some examples of executive functioning skills you may see in your classroom:

• Working Memory: This is when students have to hold on to information long enough to use it, like remembering multi-step directions or recalling information while working on an assignment.
• Planning and Prioritization: This comes into play when students need to break down an assignment, figure out the steps, and decide what’s most important. It’s like building a road map for how they’ll get their work done.
• Organization: How often do we see students struggle with keeping track of their materials or even their thoughts? Whether it’s organizing a backpack or a writing assignment, this skill is crucial.
• Time Management: You know those students who have no concept of how long tasks will take? This skill helps them pace themselves and stay on track.
• Emotional Regulation: This is all about keeping emotions in check. We all have those students who can get frustrated easily—helping them manage those emotions means they can stay focused.
• Flexible Thinking: Being able to adapt when plans change or when something doesn’t go the way a student expects is such a valuable skill.
• Self-Monitoring: This is when students check in with themselves to see how they’re doing on a task, or if they need to make adjustments to stay on track.

Why Support Executive Functioning Skills?

These skills are not just important for students with an IEP—they benefit all students. When students have strong executive functioning skills, they can become more independent learners, navigate transitions better, and stay organized, which leads to greater success in the classroom.

Practical Strategies to Support Students

• Visual Schedules – Students thrive when they can see a clear outline of what’s expected. A visual schedule can reduce anxiety and keep students on track.
• Breaking Down Tasks – This is especially helpful for students who get overwhelmed by big assignments. Break it into smaller, manageable steps, and celebrate progress along the way.
• Timers and Time Cues – Using timers or countdown visuals helps students understand how long they have to complete a task. This also helps with time management!
• Checklists and Planners – Having a checklist students can physically check off can keep them motivated and organized. And speaking of checklists, remember that free visual checklist I mentioned? This one’s specifically designed for use with task boxes, helping your students stay organized and independent as they move through their tasks. You can download it for free—just click the link in the show notes!
• Mind Mapping – For students who struggle with organizing their thoughts, using graphic organizers or mind maps can help. It’s a great visual way for them to see how their ideas connect.
• Emotion Regulation Tools – Sensory tools, breathing exercises, or emotion charts can help students manage their feelings and refocus when they get frustrated.
• Self-Reflection Prompts – I love using questions like ‘What’s my next step?' or ‘How am I doing?' to get students thinking about their own progress.

Bringing It All Together: Tools for the Classroom

Whether you’re working with young students or older students, addressing executive functioning challenges can greatly improve their ability to complete tasks and manage schoolwork.

Supporting executive functioning issues doesn’t have to be complicated. With a few simple tools and the right strategies, you can create an effective way to help students thrive, both in the classroom and in their daily lives.

Ready to try a free student checklist? This visual will help students stay on track during independent work.