“Mind the gap” is something passengers hear frequently when riding “the Tube” in London. It is a reminder for all using the underground public transport to pay attention to “the gap” between the platform and the train.
As educators, minding the gap is something we do daily. Incorporating executive skills development into our classroom practices is one way we can do this.
Executive function skills are the skills we need and use to get things done.
Teachers often report feeling frustrated when students don’t seem to have these skills and struggle to stay on task, stay organized, manage their time, and turn things in.
The truth is, that everything from independent seat work to planning for and following through on a research paper requires using these important executive function skills.
As educators, we often expect our students to develop and apply these skills because we have planned lessons and instruction dependent upon them. We assume they should know how to do these things.
But do we actually teach and practice strategies to support these skills?
“Explicit strategy instruction benefits all students and is essential for students with learning and attention difficulties.”
Lynn Meltzer, Author of Promoting Executive Function in the Classroom.
With our Executive Function workshop, we give teachers strategies they can use to “mind the gap” and intentionally develop these important life skills that support student success in the classroom and beyond!
By: Colleen Santoni