Full Transcript for Building Executive Function Skills into Literacy Sessions - Beth Coppoc Gunshor

our former guests, their products, their offerings as well. 00:04:56.319 --> 00:04:59.600 Okay, Beth, let's define executive functioning. 00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:03.680 Isn't it more than the list of abilities that I mentioned in the introduction? 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:08.240 There are so many different definitions out there that include so many different skills. 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:09.279 I think you're right. 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:13.439 And people might use different terms for some of those skills. 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:18.959 All of them tend to grow out of the same three basic core skills. 00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:20.639 And I'll get to those in a minute. 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:35.680 But usually the way that I like to describe executive function is by saying it's the thing in our brain that allows us to use our memories of the past and our ability to see and feel the future in order to help us decide what to do right now. 00:05:35.839 --> 00:05:42.959 So again, our memories of the past, our ability to see and feel the future, to decide what to do right now in this moment. 00:05:43.120 --> 00:05:48.800 So I have this story that I love to tell to describe this, but first I have to set the stage for you. 00:05:48.959 --> 00:05:54.560 It's late March in Madison, Wisconsin, and there's old crusty snow on the terrace. 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:57.839 The terrace is that section between the street and the sidewalk, right? 00:05:57.920 --> 00:06:05.439 And if you step on that crust, your foot goes straight through about six inches of wet, slushy yuckiness. 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:09.040 And not only does your shoe get wet, but your pant leg does too. 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:10.800 It is very unpleasant. 00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:18.079 Just a few weeks earlier than this, you could have probably hopped across that solid snowpack and gone over to the sidewalk. 00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:24.000 But at this point in March, you avoid that snow because you'll just break right through the snow and get wet. 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:25.759 Okay, so you got this image in your head? 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:29.199 So I'm driving home from work in my Prius, and that's a pretty quiet car. 00:06:29.279 --> 00:06:30.959 It sneaks up on people sometimes. 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:36.079 And I'm getting close to another school just as they are getting ready to dismiss for the day. 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:45.600 There's a father crossing the street in front of me, and he is going at an angle from his car to a driveway that's going to let him access the sidewalk. 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:54.720 But as he's crossing, he glances up and he sees me and he realizes he needs to get out of the street because he can't trust that I see him. 00:06:54.879 --> 00:07:00.800 So he immediately switches that diagonal course to the driveway and starts to go straight towards the terrace. 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:10.000 But as he's about to step onto that crusty snow, he suddenly pauses and readjusts his path so that he is going up to the driveway. 00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:12.079 So what just happened in that moment? 00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:15.040 His executive function skills kicked in. 00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:19.600 He knew he had moved past that imminent threat of my car. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:23.839 And he was now focused on that crusty snow that he was about to step in. 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:29.439 He pulled up his memory of stepping in previous snow like this, remembered what had happened. 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:32.399 It was ugh cold, wet snow and pants. 00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:42.720 And then he pictured his future of walking around with a wet shoe and a wet pant leg, having to go pick up his child, having to walk them back in this miserable condition. 00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:47.680 And he changed his plan right in that moment so that he was accessing the driveway. 00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:55.519 An important part of this is that he was probably feeling the cold, that wetness of the prior experience, right? 00:07:55.680 --> 00:07:59.519 It wasn't just this cognitive statement of, oh, my shoe will get wet. 00:07:59.680 --> 00:08:03.839 Because that kind of thought is too abstract to prompt change. 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:10.560 I'm guessing it was the memory of what it felt like when it happened the last time that helped him know he didn't want to feel it again. 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:12.399 And that is executive function. 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:21.600 He took in the situation, remembered the past, predicted a mental movie of the future, adjusted his plan to avoid what he saw and felt would happen. 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:30.800 So when people we know and love keep doing the same problematic thing over and over again, and we wonder why do they keep doing that? 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:32.879 They know what's going to happen. 00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:36.639 It's because they have a glitch in that feedback system somewhere. 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:40.399 Maybe they aren't able to store memories in an accessible way. 00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:42.879 Maybe they can't pull it up fast enough. 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:46.720 Maybe they aren't abstracting from one experience to the next. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:50.799 Maybe they don't have the language to talk themselves through possibilities. 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:55.440 Maybe they don't feel that urgency until it's too late. 00:08:55.679 --> 00:09:00.000 It can be any of those things that are impacting our executive function skills. 00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:08.639 So, Beth, you mentioned that there are three core skills that involve working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. 00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:12.879 Could you go into each of those or define them a little more into a little more depth? 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:13.759 Yeah, sure. 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:18.000 Let me talk about nonverbal working memory and verbal working memory first. 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:26.799 So working memory refers to our ability

to hold and manipulate a limited amount of information for a limited period of time. 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:39.200 So verbal working memory is our brain's ability to hold phonological information, and nonverbal working memory is our brain's ability to generate and hold visuospatial information. 00:09:39.440 --> 00:09:48.720 So inhibition, that second core developmental executive function skill, is our ability to stop or repress an action. 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:53.279 You can kind of think of it as a go, no-go kind of situation. 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:58.960 And most of the time, things are in go and we actually have to stop them from happening. 00:09:59.039 --> 00:10:00.960 So that is the act of inhibition. 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:12.559 And the last core skill, flexibility, is our ability to shift between actions, between what we're thinking about, to shift between various possibilities. 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:16.000 So flexibility is really kind of equal to shifting. 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:22.080 So Beth, I'd like to ask you, how do students develop executive functioning skills? 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:28.879 And do schools require a higher level of executive functioning skills than, say, watching television at home? 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:34.080 I have a feeling we all know the answer to that question, but I think it's worth exploring, right? 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:36.480 The first thing about how do they develop? 00:10:36.639 --> 00:10:42.559 There is a great working paper from the Center on the Developing Child that is based out of Harvard. 00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:44.399 And I will share that link with you, Bruce. 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:50.320 And they go into all sorts of the elements that feed and develop executive function skills. 00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:57.200 But the thing that I really want people to know is that executive function skills don't just develop automatically. 00:10:57.360 --> 00:10:59.600 They don't just run on their own and develop. 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:03.440 So adverse events can have a negative effect on their development. 00:11:03.600 --> 00:11:09.279 We need things like positive relationships, nurturing and predictable living conditions, and more. 00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:11.039 So be sure to check out that paper. 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:17.279 But for our purposes here, I want to emphasize that executive functions develop through experiences. 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:24.960 We do a thing, we remember what happened when we did that thing, we anticipate it will happen again the next time we do that thing. 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:33.600 And it's not just having one experience over and over, it's important that we have varied experiences so that we can compare those experiences to each other. 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:36.639 We can make predictions about how they're the same and different. 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:42.720 And then we can learn from those predictions, which in turn helps us make better predictions with each new experience. 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:44.559 It's a giant feedback loop. 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:54.559 And so to make that feedback loop effective, we need real life tangible experiences, not experiences on a screen, just a little aside for you there. 00:11:54.720 --> 00:12:01.120 So for some folks, that feedback loop develops pretty easily, while others benefit from or even need coaching. 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:04.000 But everyone needs opportunities to build these. 00:12:04.159 --> 00:12:14.879 And if kids are coming into school without those executive function skills as developed as they could be, that is going to make school even harder than it needs to be, right? 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:21.600 Because there needs to be sort of a basic level of inhibition to function in a group of 25 kids. 00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:31.759 Also, teachers are giving directions that students are having to process and understand themselves moving through space doing those directions without a lot of support. 00:12:31.919 --> 00:12:39.360 So the more bodies that are in a classroom, the more teachers are going to need those executive function skills to be in place. 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:49.519 So, yeah, schools need students to have a lot more executive function skills than a student needs to have when they're sitting at home on a screen, which I think you said, right, Bruce? 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:52.879 Obviously, screen use is a huge issue in schools. 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:54.799 Schools are fighting over it. 00:12:55.039 --> 00:13:04.960 I think we're putting too much blame on our cell phones because a lot of things go into the child's ability to focus the child's ability to learn language, right? 00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:15.840 But all these environmental factors can come to a head when a child walks into a classroom and their the learning environment is very different from the home or the community environment. 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:30.399 I sometimes feel that by pushing reading instruction down into kindergarten, we are taking away some of that time that we used to have to develop those executive function skills in a big classroom setting. 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:44.240 I personally would like to see more focus on developing executive function skills through those varied experiences, through developing language, as opposed to really diving headfirst into reading instruction. 00:13:44.480 --> 00:13:50.080 It can be part of the picture, but I feel like it's often the primary picture in a lot of schools these days. 00:13:50.399 --> 00:14:01.200 I uh live three miles from Cornell University, and my children and where I first taught elementary school is in a school that's about five miles further out. 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:03.120 I live in a very small community. 00:14:03.279 --> 00:14:20.240 And the school had a wonderful mixture of kids, uh, and some of them came from wonderful working class farm backgrounds, but there was a population that the researchers both

Cornell University and Ithaca College uh had studied the effects of multi-generational poverty on students. 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:29.279 So we had some students coming into kindergarten already telling us literally, when I work on my PhD, this is what I'm going to focus on. 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:38.559 And then other kids would come in with only three or four hundred-word vocabularies and had never really sat in a chair or held a pen. 00:14:38.799 --> 00:14:46.000 And so all these factors come together when they came into school, and you get a tremendous variability. 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:53.679 And that does not mean that someone who comes from a two-professor household necessarily at an advantage, the parents are working all the time. 00:14:53.759 --> 00:14:55.679 I don't want to insinuate that at all. 00:14:55.840 --> 00:15:01.759 And we had many rural families that were very solid upbringings, very strong upbringings. 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:08.000 At that school, there was a big push to teach kids in kindergarten phonemic awareness, phonics. 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:11.840 And some of these children, it was like, why are we doing this to them? 00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:12.960 They were not ready at all. 00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:26.639 And I will talk about what might be happening for some of the students developmentally about some of those reading skills and the flexibility that we expect and how they're not they're not prepared for it yet. 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:30.080 And then they pick up some of that emotional baggage that you've talked about, right? 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:32.080 They start to think, well, I'm not a reader. 00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:32.559 Yes. 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:33.759 I don't know how to read. 00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:34.080 Yes. 00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:35.919 I'm never going to learn how to read. 00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:45.600 Yeah, we can add trauma to trauma by putting the child or they're gonna immediately like I experience and many other people experience, you begin to doubt yourself. 00:15:45.759 --> 00:16:01.600 And you're seeing people that are not having any problem learning, and I'm laughing because I know a lot of my guests have not had problems learning, then other people that it's everything has been effortful learning how to read, spelling, writing to do it. 00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:03.840 But that's what this podcast is really all about. 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:08.639 My interests obviously focus on the connections between language and literacy. 00:16:08.720 --> 00:16:13.200 And so my attention's been on working memory, but very much on the verbal side. 00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:20.720 I hope that you can teach me a little about the nonverbal aspects of working memory, because for many teachers, that's even more obscure. 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:27.200 Nonverbal working memory is, I would say it's kind of the part that happens first, right? 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:35.120 You make an image of something that you want to communicate, and then you start to layer the language on top of it. 00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:42.559 If there's a deficit in nonverbal working memory, that can affect the other part of working memory, the verbal working memory. 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:48.320 So there are approaches or programs out there that work on developing that nonverbal working memory. 00:16:48.480 --> 00:16:52.559 So when you hear someone's language, what is the image you are making in your head? 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:56.960 Also, nonverbal working memory can impact reading comprehension. 00:16:57.120 --> 00:17:04.480 So if you read the word cat, you will likely generate some representation of a cat in your nonverbal working memory. 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:12.880 And as the text adds additional information over the course of a paragraph or maybe even the whole text, you are updating that image of the cat. 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:14.160 What does it look like? 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:15.039 Where is it? 00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:16.160 What is it doing? 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:20.319 You're constantly revising that nonverbal working memory image, right? 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:27.279 But if you have weak nonverbal working memory, then updating that image is going to be difficult because it's fallen out of your head. 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:31.759 So that makes comprehending spoken language or written text an extra challenge. 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:38.319 And then you can imagine how that impact ripples across other forms of literacy, including in writing activities. 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:47.839 But I also do tend to concentrate on those verbal working memory pieces because I'm a speech language pathologist and like you, I am interested in the language. 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:53.200 So it's always good to go back to that nonverbal working memory and try to understand what's happening there. 00:17:53.440 --> 00:18:02.799 I'm working with linguists and other people who are helping me improve my own writing abilities, but also obviously work with neurodivergent kids. 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:08.960 And almost always where they start is they pull up a picture and they ask the child just to describe it. 00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:10.319 It's a picture of a cat. 00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:12.000 And then we're gonna where's the cat? 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:13.200 What color is the cat? 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:21.440 What what feeling does the cat to try to enrich that child's ability to connect the visual with the language piece? 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:22.799 And I think that's very helpful. 00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:24.559 I've seen this work with adults as well. 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:33.279 And what you're doing with that picture of the cat is providing a scaffold to the student or the learner who has weak nonverbal working memory. 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:35.519 So they have it's externalized, right? 00:18:35.680 --> 00:18:40.559 It's an external tool for them to use to boost that weak working memory.

00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:50.640 And then the more you can start to back away from that picture so that it's an internal picture, the more you're building that nonverbal working memory skill. 00:18:50.799 --> 00:19:04.400 There are folks who think that you can't really grow working memory, but there are tools, strategies, approaches that you can use to boost that area and help students be more successful. 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:16.240 So then to talk just a little bit about verbal working memory, let's go back to that father in my earlier story who was using his working memory to compare different outcomes of that car driving toward him, right? 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:20.480 The stepping in the snow, whether there was time and space to move to the driveway. 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:31.759 He was probably using some nonverbal working memory to picture the outcomes, but he was maybe also using his verbal working memory to talk himself through different options. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:34.880 Different brains are going to operate in different ways. 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:41.759 All brains use a combination of those two forms of working memory to hold and manipulate information. 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:52.880 In that previous podcast that we recorded with Kathleen Love, we talked about using a sentence repetition task as a sort of screening tool for developmental language disorder. 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:56.720 And the part we're tapping into there is verbal working memory. 00:19:56.880 --> 00:19:59.920 Can you hold on to a sentence and repeat it back to me? 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:05.759 What happens as I increase the complexity of the syntax or if I add in words you're not familiar with? 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:10.000 Verbal working memory is going to struggle as those demands increase. 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:24.000 And if it's difficult to hold on to something in your working memory, either one of them, transferring it to your long-term memory is going to be affected as well because that's the path we're using to get information to our long-term memory. 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:27.920 So let's say I'm teaching a student and I give them some new information. 00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:36.079 They have to hold that in their working memory long enough that they can extract the information out of it and transfer it to their long-term storage. 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:37.200 But it's not just that. 00:20:37.359 --> 00:20:51.200 They also have to pull up information from their long-term storage, compare the two pieces of information that they've been told, decide whether to update what they already knew with what they're learning, or reject one or the other. 00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:56.160 And meanwhile, while they're doing all of that, I've already moved on to the next sentence, right? 00:20:56.319 --> 00:21:00.240 Like I'm moving on and they're still trying to work through this process. 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:16.079 Sometimes I think this is why we have students who have

these little islands of disconnected knowledge because they've kind of stored it, but not been able to pull up their previous knowledge and compare and contrast and connect it to other pieces of information. 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:23.599 So executive function is even at play when you see a student only be able to access information from a certain path. 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:28.720 They can't come at knowledge from multiple routes and access what they know. 00:21:29.039 --> 00:21:32.559 Beth, both you and I have an interest in structured word inquiry. 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:48.319 Peter Bowers, who's the founder of SWI, has been a great influence in both our personal education and the way that we approach teaching words and getting kids to understand how English spelling really is something that works. 00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:59.599 So I'd like you to touch on the relationship between structured word inquiry and working memory, because many people criticize without really understanding that structured word inquiry, especially things. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:06.559 Like etymology places much too heavy a load on executive functioning, on working memory skills. 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:09.519 Yeah, I've I've definitely heard that feedback as well. 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:18.480 I would say that one way that we help students with limited working memory through the practice of structured word inquiry is by building on strengths. 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:26.880 There's actually research that shows that one of the better ways to support a limited working memory is by building on strengths. 00:22:27.039 --> 00:22:42.559 I love that we did research on this, but there's a lot of discussion about how structured word inquiry explores words by starting with meaning, then going to structure, and then looking at related words before going to the phonology of the word. 00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:46.799 Well, that is going to help your students with weak phonological memory. 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:51.680 So verbal working memory relies very heavily on phonology. 00:22:51.839 --> 00:23:05.039 So when we are building these visual tools first, when we are building on the knowledge that they already have about a word, we are freeing up what limited working memory they have for other aspects of the task. 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:08.480 So the word matrix is a tool that offers visual support. 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:15.039 Visually, it provides the student with a type of scaffold that is going to facilitate your working memory. 00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:28.640 And in fact, there's recent research from the Structured Word and Query Research Vanguard SWERV that provides evidence that students can actually recall more words when words are presented to them in a matrix that is centered around a base. 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:29.519 That's exciting. 00:23:29.680 --> 00:23:37.200 That right there is showing through research that we can boost working memory using some of the tools of structured

word and query. 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:43.759 I would also say that the spoken routines that we use, such as the word sum, which is pretty rote, right? 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:50.160 We try to use the same language each time, is teaching the children a strategy for self-directed speech. 00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:55.119 And that again is going to free up their working memory for the parts of the task that are more difficult. 00:23:55.279 --> 00:24:10.160 Yeah, so by giving our students that consistent language for the word sums and the consistent routines for investigating words through those four questions, we're helping them develop something that they can use for their own self-directed speech around spelling. 00:24:10.319 --> 00:24:13.839 That the base has a final why and you're adding a suffix. 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:15.039 So you know what you need to do. 00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:16.559 Toggle the why to an I. 00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:21.039 Those routines are a sort of cognitive scaffolding that supports working memory. 00:24:21.279 --> 00:24:29.119 So as a reminder, those four questions that I talked about are first, what does this word mean that we are investigating? 00:24:29.359 --> 00:24:35.279 That way we're grounding it into something that's meaningful for the child or the learner. 00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:37.279 We next investigate how is it built? 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:46.000 We generate hypotheses so that we become word scientists and we're trying to disprove them and offer evidence that supports our hypothesis. 00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:48.319 We look briefly at the history as part of that. 00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:51.920 We also then for the third question look at the related words. 00:24:52.160 --> 00:25:01.039 And then lastly, we are looking at how are the graphemes in that word functioning, what are the phonemes or other pieces of information they may be representing. 00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:03.839 And I just want to mention what a word sum is. 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:07.200 It's not that complex, but it's incredibly powerful. 00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:22.480 And all you do is between the different parts of a word, all words are composed of a base element, which many people incorrectly call a root, and affixes, what I call mini-morphemes, either suffixes or prefixes. 00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:36.559 Every word in every language actually is either a morphological base by itself, like water, hour, or teach, doesn't matter how many syllables, or is a combination of affixes and a base, all longer words. 00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:46.559 So if you have a longer words like re-teach in, you go R E plus sign, T-E-A-C-H plus sign I N G. 00:25:46.720 --> 00:26:03.599 And if you show a child a word sum like this, even if the child has very limited spelling ability, very little ability to decode words, they can immediately read and recognize multi-syllable, which are really polymorphemic words. 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:06.400 So it's a very simple concept, but it's

a very powerful one. 00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:09.440 Okay, so I just used the phrase self-directed speech. 00:26:09.599 --> 00:26:10.880 Let me talk about that for a minute. 00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:16.319 Self-directed speech is the speech we directed ourselves to mediate our own behavior. 00:26:16.480 --> 00:26:22.880 And for us today, it's not important to define what exactly I mean by the word speech. 00:26:23.039 --> 00:26:28.240 This speech that I'm talking about can be external, where you're actually here or say the words out loud. 00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:32.240 It can be internal, it can be words or images or a mix. 00:26:32.400 --> 00:26:36.799 I'm just talking about how do we communicate with ourselves to get things done. 00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:42.799 And research suggests that the harder the task, the more we rely on self-directed speech. 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:51.599 I can think of countless times when I've been trying to accomplish some task at home and I keep getting distracted by all the other tasks that I encounter along the way. 00:26:51.680 --> 00:26:58.480 And in frustration, I'll finally say, Buff, you need to get down to the basement and empty the dryer. 00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:05.839 And by saying it out loud, by externalizing it and directing that speech at myself, I finally can complete the task. 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:07.200 I'm sure you've done this, Bruce. 00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:08.160 I've done it a lot. 00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:21.759 I also read a book called More Than Words by Mary Ellen McDonald, who talks about self-talk, how it influences everything from doing small tasks, like you just mentioned, to psychotherapy, that we really need to have these discussions. 00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:24.000 And it has to be intentional to do it. 00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:26.559 And it's it's a very interesting uh book. 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:32.880 And I think what you said is it's really important that we understand and look at how we talk to ourselves. 00:27:33.039 --> 00:27:35.680 I mean, things like meditation are is very important. 00:27:35.839 --> 00:27:42.319 So, Beth, I'd like you to tell me a little more about how you incorporate executive functioning skills in your sessions. 00:27:42.640 --> 00:27:45.279 So let's just talk about inhibition for a minute. 00:27:45.440 --> 00:27:50.160 You may recall that that is one of those three core executive function skills I mentioned earlier. 00:27:50.319 --> 00:27:53.680 Inhibition is the ability to stop yourself from doing something. 00:27:53.839 --> 00:28:03.200 So that father I talked about needed to inhibit himself first from continuing to move toward the driveway when he thought the car was coming at him quickly. 00:28:03.359 --> 00:28:07.440 And then he needed to stop himself or inhibit himself from stepping in the snow. 00:28:07.599 --> 00:28:12.559 So that self-directed speech I talked about is one way we can inhibit an action. 00:28:12.799 --> 00:28:15.839 Sometimes the self-directed

speech can be very concrete. 00:28:16.079 --> 00:28:19.200 Beth, you need to put your phone down and get started on your paperwork. 00:28:19.359 --> 00:28:30.000 And actually, there's research, like we mentioned, that shows that talking to yourself in that third person way is effective for inhibiting unwanted actions and also for initiating desired actions. 00:28:30.160 --> 00:28:33.599 But sometimes our self-directed speech doesn't keep up. 00:28:33.680 --> 00:28:45.359 And so I see this when we're doing one of those word sums that we just talked about, and a child is saying, replace the E with ing, and they're actually still writing the E. 00:28:45.519 --> 00:28:48.160 So they forget to replace it with the ing. 00:28:49.039 --> 00:28:59.039 So often, not always, what they said causes them to pause and notice that they've written the E and accuse them that they need to self-correct, right? 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:04.559 Which is good practicing of a meta-awareness skill, which is another executive functioning skill. 00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:06.079 Can you monitor what you're doing? 00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:08.240 So that was inhibition at play, right? 00:29:08.400 --> 00:29:11.519 I didn't stop the go of write the E. 00:29:11.759 --> 00:29:22.160 I've also seen the impact of inhibition not doing what it should be doing when a student says one letter name while writing a completely different letter or even a number. 00:29:22.319 --> 00:29:30.400 The student saying E D even as their hand is writing EY or their hand is writing a six for the letter S. 00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:40.480 It's like a form of word finding, which is when you can't find the word you need to express a thought, or you access a similar sounding word or a word with similar meaning. 00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:45.200 The system doesn't repress or inhibit the incorrect form. 00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:47.039 It allows it to pass right through. 00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:53.200 And that thing that isn't inhibited can either be spoken or it can be written, right? 00:29:53.359 --> 00:29:56.319 Either one of those can be the thing that did not get stopped. 00:29:56.400 --> 00:29:58.640 But let's go a little bit broader here than literacy. 00:29:58.799 --> 00:30:02.480 Inhibition can help us choose what we pay attention to. 00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:10.640 Can we repress the desire to think about that shiny object on the shelf while my teacher is talking to me about suffixing conventions? 00:30:10.720 --> 00:30:12.640 Or the thing, again, that we all struggle with. 00:30:12.799 --> 00:30:17.839 Can I inhibit the urge to pick up my phone when I'm supposed to be doing some other task? 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:26.400 So it can be hard to notice that my attention is off task, but it's also hard to stop it even when I know it's not where I want it to be. 00:30:26.559 --> 00:30:31.440 So as with anything we do, the less we practice a skill, the harder it becomes. 00:30:31.599 --> 00:30:34.319 So how do we practice directing our attention? 00:30:34.480 --> 00:30:41.440 Mindfulness, which you mentioned earlier, Bruce, is a really great tool for strengthening our inhibition muscle. 00:30:41.599 --> 00:30:46.319 So as my thoughts drift, I can build the skill of noticing that they've drifted. 00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:53.200 And then once I notice it, I can build the skill of pulling my attention back to where I intend it to be. 00:30:53.359 --> 00:30:56.799 So I practice this during my sessions with the use of a flashlight. 00:30:57.039 --> 00:30:58.160 A physical flashlight. 00:30:58.319 --> 00:30:59.359 I have it right here. 00:30:59.599 --> 00:31:05.119 In the book, Peak Mind, the author Amishi Ja describes two types of attention. 00:31:05.279 --> 00:31:13.680 There's the floodlight when everything is lit up, and then there's the flashlight when the ray of light is targeted in a more narrow manner. 00:31:13.839 --> 00:31:21.200 So I use my physical flashlight with my clients, especially my younger ones, to help them notice where their attention currently is. 00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:31.279 So if they notice something on my shelf, I will shine the flashlight on that thing and say, right now, I can tell your attention flashlight is on that. 00:31:31.440 --> 00:31:46.400 If they're talking about something outside the room or something that happened earlier, I might just shine the flashlight away from what we're working on, or I might even shine it at the door and say, it feels like your attention flashlight is on something that happened earlier outside my office. 00:31:46.640 --> 00:31:50.480 When I explain this strategy to folks, they often skip this step. 00:31:50.640 --> 00:31:54.960 They often want to just shine the flashlight where they want the student's attention to be. 00:31:55.119 --> 00:32:08.799 But I think it is so important to help the child notice where their attention is right now so that then they can practice bringing the attention back to what is important right now. 00:32:08.960 --> 00:32:17.519 So, like I said, after I've noticed where their attention is, I will then shine the flashlight on our work and I'll ask them to shine their attention flashlight on what we're doing. 00:32:17.680 --> 00:32:24.480 And Tara Sumter from Seeds of Learning then asks, is what we're doing the important thing right now? 00:32:24.640 --> 00:32:29.039 Is what you're talking about, that off-tast thing, is that what's important right now? 00:32:29.200 --> 00:32:34.000 And by doing that, we are encouraging self-reflection and meta-awareness. 00:32:34.160 --> 00:32:44.319 And each time they notice where their attention is and they bring it back to our work, we are actively practicing and building that skill of inhibition. 00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:46.799 We can also model weight and stop. 00:32:47.039 --> 00:32:55.599 Many childhood games target inhibition, like Simon says, duck duck goose, freeze tag, all of those wonderful games, right? 00:32:55.680 --> 00:32:59.200 They

are all targeting, can I stop myself from doing something? 00:32:59.440 --> 00:33:07.440 Simon says, if you don't hear that magic phrase, you have to stop yourself from doing the action that you're seeing the leader do, right? 00:33:07.599 --> 00:33:09.519 That is teaching inhibition. 00:33:09.680 --> 00:33:13.920 So how can we build the skill of inhibition into our sessions? 00:33:14.079 --> 00:33:19.359 Well, one way is to encourage your student to pause over a word they don't recognize instantly. 00:33:19.599 --> 00:33:23.119 Sitting with that not knowing is so uncomfortable. 00:33:23.359 --> 00:33:27.359 Can they learn to inhibit the urge to give up, panic, ask for help? 00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:31.279 Instead, encourage them to pause by giving them another task. 00:33:31.440 --> 00:33:33.279 Ask them what they notice about the word. 00:33:33.519 --> 00:33:36.559 Encourage them to take that breath and examine the word. 00:33:36.720 --> 00:33:43.440 I actually have a routine that I use with my students, which I very cleverly call stuck with a question mark. 00:33:43.599 --> 00:33:48.079 And initially, when a student first starts working with me, I ask the student just to spell out the word. 00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:50.000 Just spell out the letters that you see. 00:33:50.160 --> 00:33:57.680 And not only are we practicing a whole multitude of other reading skills like letter recognition, when we do that, we are building in a pause. 00:33:57.920 --> 00:34:03.599 We are inhibiting random guessing of the word based on the first letter they see or just giving up. 00:34:03.759 --> 00:34:07.759 If the student doesn't know the word after they've spelled it out, I just tell them the word. 00:34:07.920 --> 00:34:13.039 With my clients who have studied with me for a period of time, I ask them to do a little bit more work. 00:34:13.199 --> 00:34:15.519 I ask them to look for familiar affixes. 00:34:15.679 --> 00:34:18.960 I ask them to look for graphemes they're familiar with in the base. 00:34:19.039 --> 00:34:21.440 And then if they're still stuck, I give them the word. 00:34:21.679 --> 00:34:34.719 But what amazes me is how often just doing that act of really seeing what's in the word helps the student shine that attention flashlight long enough that they can read the word. 00:34:34.960 --> 00:34:38.960 Doesn't always happen, but it happens often enough that I stick with this strategy. 00:34:39.119 --> 00:34:46.559 And as a little aside, sometimes people wonder where I get words to study since I don't follow a set curriculum or I don't have a scope and sequence. 00:34:46.639 --> 00:34:47.840 Well, this is one place. 00:34:48.000 --> 00:35:00.079 When they're reading these texts and we come across words they don't know or words that are interesting, I will keep a list of those and then I choose some words from that list that target a concept that I know we need to work on. 00:35:00.159 --> 00:35:05.360 And then I let the child choose from that shortened list which word are they interested in studying. 00:35:05.599 --> 00:35:11.599 I'm now going to inhibit that conversation and come back to randomly guessing at words we don't know. 00:35:11.760 --> 00:35:20.719 I want to reflect on the unintended impact of constantly timing reading for our students and stressing about how quickly are they able to read. 00:35:20.880 --> 00:35:24.800 Are we teaching students to pause and explore an unknown word? 00:35:24.880 --> 00:35:29.360 Or are we teaching them to just toss something out and hope for the best as they move on to the next word? 00:35:29.679 --> 00:35:41.760 On your last point, it's quite well known now that one of the best ways to increase fluency is to slow the student down by putting pause marks to slashes between phrases. 00:35:41.920 --> 00:35:43.679 This is so well established. 00:35:43.840 --> 00:35:53.760 You can have a student, instead of rereading a whole chapter, just have them read two or three paragraphs where each sentence has been divided into phrases. 00:35:54.000 --> 00:36:00.320 That will raise the reading comprehension of that whole chapter by over a grade level. 00:36:00.559 --> 00:36:04.400 All you have to do is say, when you hit the pause, stop. 00:36:04.960 --> 00:36:16.079 What it does is it slows them down, gets them focused on what they're doing, and it gets them away from reading as the race mentality, which we often do with students. 00:36:16.239 --> 00:36:20.239 And I just have to make a confession as you were talking about inhibition. 00:36:20.400 --> 00:36:29.519 I have just moved this computer into a new room for the summer, and I have all these post-its at the bottom of the screen, and I just realized this one needs to go away and this one needs to go away. 00:36:29.679 --> 00:36:33.599 And I said, No, you're not going to rip off the uh post-its while Beth's talking. 00:36:33.760 --> 00:36:40.960 A few years ago, I was called into a school to work outside of the school with a student who was just non-functional. 00:36:41.119 --> 00:36:51.039 And I got him reading and I got him writing, and then I worked with a speech pathologist, and she said that she wanted to work with him over the summer on inhibition, on attention. 00:36:51.199 --> 00:36:53.760 And I asked her, You can't do things about that. 00:36:53.840 --> 00:36:57.039 You know, I know it's not effective to tell the student to pay attention. 00:36:57.199 --> 00:37:00.400 And we went over exactly what you're talking about. 00:37:00.639 --> 00:37:08.000 And she worked with a student for about six weeks over the summer, and he began to internalize these behaviors. 00:37:08.239 --> 00:37:10.000 He was saying to himself, Stop. 00:37:10.159 --> 00:37:11.360 He was talking to himself. 00:37:11.679 --> 00:37:12.800 Self-directed speech. 00:37:12.960 --> 00:37:13.199 Yeah. 00:37:13.519 --> 00:37:14.960 So it was self-regulation. 00:37:15.119 --> 00:37:16.880 It was really very impressive. 00:37:16.960 -->

00:37:20.639 And it helped this student get to the point where he could function in school. 00:37:20.719 --> 00:37:27.679 This was post-pandemic, and I'm sure a lot of teachers understand what kids went through during that disruption in their lives. 00:37:28.000 --> 00:37:33.840 You know, when you're talking about those slash marks, what that's doing is interrupting that go, right? 00:37:33.920 --> 00:37:43.840 I talked about the go, no go, and it's giving a visual cue that overrides the go so that there's long enough for the child to process what is happening. 00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:48.960 So I just love how that ties right into this whole inhibition piece, what those slash marks are doing. 00:37:49.119 --> 00:37:54.079 And then you also mentioned emotional control, and that is definitely related to inhibition, right? 00:37:54.239 --> 00:38:05.840 So if you have a student who's puzzling a bit, they're confusing you with their literacy development, but they also tend to be a student who has those huge emotional reactions or they shut down and they can't recover. 00:38:06.079 --> 00:38:13.119 Their inhibition skills might be something that you want to examine as your lens for what is going on with that student. 00:38:13.360 --> 00:38:18.239 It might be that that's happening across the board and it's also affecting their literacy development. 00:38:18.559 --> 00:38:19.280 No, absolutely. 00:38:19.360 --> 00:38:21.199 I mean, these things are all tied together, right? 00:38:21.360 --> 00:38:25.679 Kids with behavioral problems, kids can't self-regulate, even attentional problems. 00:38:25.760 --> 00:38:30.079 We know that about half of the kids who have dyslexia also have ADHDs. 00:38:30.159 --> 00:38:32.000 Some people think it's higher, right? 00:38:32.079 --> 00:38:33.679 This is all connected together. 00:38:33.920 --> 00:38:38.320 You know, often we want to do silo instruction, we'll just work on decoding, things like that. 00:38:38.400 --> 00:38:55.519 And it's never worked because there's so much going on with a student, but there's also so much more that we can support the child with when they're trying to learn the very important tasks, very challenging tasks in school that some kids, as I mentioned earlier, don't have a problem learning, and other struggle with. 00:38:56.000 --> 00:38:59.360 That there's a lot of attention now to the role of handwriting. 00:38:59.519 --> 00:39:13.760 And we understand quite clearly this is not just a skill, this is a neuromotor activity that's tightly tied in to this whole system that we've been talking about, how we learn to read, how we understand what we read. 00:39:13.920 --> 00:39:18.480 So I'd like you to just go into handwriting and its role in inhibition. 00:39:18.800 --> 00:39:29.840 I do use handwriting as a tool for developing inhibition and then practicing inhibition as a tool for developing handwriting because it flows back and forth. 00:39:30.079 --> 00:39:38.559 So usually by the time a client has come to me, they have pretty well established their motor patterns for forming letters. 00:39:38.719 --> 00:39:42.320 And there is a lot of variety in how they form those letters. 00:39:42.480 --> 00:39:47.599 Some of them are very unusual, and some of the letters actually look exactly like a different letter. 00:39:47.920 --> 00:39:53.119 Because my primary purpose for our limited time together is not handwriting. 00:39:53.280 --> 00:39:58.159 I try to choose the most impactful letter to work on. 00:39:58.400 --> 00:40:05.519 And I will practice that new motor pattern with them until they can make it intentionally when we're thinking about it. 00:40:05.679 --> 00:40:08.079 But then we run into the difficult step, right? 00:40:08.239 --> 00:40:14.239 How do we inhibit that previous pattern and let the new pattern come through? 00:40:14.559 --> 00:40:18.480 So what I do is delay the habitual response. 00:40:18.639 --> 00:40:20.639 I'm introducing an interruption. 00:40:20.800 --> 00:40:23.280 Initially, I am the one providing the interruption. 00:40:23.440 --> 00:40:31.519 As I see them start to approach where that letter is going to show up in their word, I will say, Oh, I remember you have a new letter, a new way of writing that letter. 00:40:31.679 --> 00:40:44.480 So I am providing the interruption, but as quickly as I can, I try to back off me being the frontal lobe that's providing the executive function and transfer that job to their executive function, to their frontal lobe. 00:40:44.719 --> 00:40:47.760 So maybe I will front load the activity. 00:40:47.840 --> 00:40:52.800 I will say, you are about to write the letter A and you have a new way of writing that. 00:40:52.960 --> 00:40:54.480 How are you gonna cue yourself? 00:40:54.639 --> 00:40:56.079 What are you gonna say to yourself? 00:40:56.239 --> 00:41:01.199 There's that self-directed speech again to remember the new way of writing the A. 00:41:01.360 --> 00:41:05.119 And we will also have a kind of a script that we use. 00:41:05.199 --> 00:41:09.440 So for a letter A, if they're right-handed, we talk about it being a push over. 00:41:09.679 --> 00:41:11.679 And so I can just say it's a push. 00:41:11.760 --> 00:41:16.000 And then they learn to say to themselves, it's a push to start forming that letter. 00:41:16.159 --> 00:41:23.440 And then I might introduce another interruption by encouraging them to use a different color ink when they get to that letter. 00:41:23.599 --> 00:41:30.960 Just anything that interrupts the automatic response of circling three times and then putting the downline. 00:41:31.280 --> 00:41:35.119 It's where some of my students are like, they're winding up for a takeoff or something. 00:41:35.199 --> 00:41:39.599 They keep circling around and around and around and around when they make an A and then finally drop it down. 00:41:39.679 --> 00:41:40.800 And you know what's happening there? 00:41:40.960 --> 00:41:41.599 Inhibition. 00:41:41.760 -->

00:41:47.760 They cannot stop the circling around of making that circle to turn it into an A. 00:41:48.000 --> 00:41:48.480 Fascinating. 00:41:48.639 --> 00:41:55.679 So all of that is just practicing inhibition, interrupting the automatic response, and allow your executive function to kick into high gear. 00:41:55.840 --> 00:42:00.719 So, Beth, I want to get into the third core skill that you mentioned, which is flexibility. 00:42:00.880 --> 00:42:05.280 And you do a lot of things that involve language and reasoning. 00:42:05.440 --> 00:42:07.360 And I'd like you to share those with us. 00:42:07.679 --> 00:42:17.199 I think that language and that self-directed speech that we're talking about is an incredibly powerful way to model and develop flexibility. 00:42:17.440 --> 00:42:22.559 One phrase that I like to use or I try to use is same but different. 00:42:22.719 --> 00:42:30.079 So skilled readers are able to abstract how out how what we learned in one word is going to apply to another word. 00:42:30.239 --> 00:42:34.320 They're also able to notice and inhibit what doesn't apply to a different word. 00:42:34.480 --> 00:42:38.960 But struggling readers are going to need more explicit pointing out of those patterns. 00:42:39.119 --> 00:42:42.800 So a phrase like same but different is really powerful. 00:42:43.039 --> 00:42:53.679 So for example, this word bathe is the same as teeth because both have a final E in that final position marking the pronunciation of T H. 00:42:53.840 --> 00:43:00.159 But they're different because the final E in bathe is also marking the pronunciation of the A. 00:43:00.239 --> 00:43:05.119 And in Th, we don't need that final E to mark the pronunciation of E E. 00:43:05.280 --> 00:43:07.039 So they're the same, but they're different. 00:43:07.199 --> 00:43:12.800 And we can use this kind of phrasing everywhere to model flexibility, to coach flexibility. 00:43:13.039 --> 00:43:28.559 So if someone is nervous about going to a new place and all I can think of right now is a playground in a nearby neighborhood, you can explore how that neighborhood is going to be the same, but potentially different from the familiar playground at their school, for example. 00:43:28.800 --> 00:43:33.199 And if and then, if then, it's another powerful phrase that I use for flexibility. 00:43:33.360 --> 00:43:47.920 Okay, so I'm not encouraging people to use this in an if you eat your veggies, then you get your dessert kind of way, but instead in a way that helps students notice an abstract patterns out of something that happens. 00:43:48.159 --> 00:43:53.280 So if we notice a final E, then we might need to replace it when adding a suffix. 00:43:53.440 --> 00:44:01.599 If I see Ugh in a word, then it might spell the sound that we represent with an F most often, or it might be History marking grapheme. 00:44:01.760 --> 00:44:04.159 If I do this, then that might happen. 00:44:04.320 --> 00:44:06.320 If I see this, then I might hear that. 00:44:06.480 --> 00:44:12.159 So we're sort of starting to associate two different things, but we're not always saying it's gonna happen. 00:44:12.239 --> 00:44:13.199 That is flexibility. 00:44:13.280 --> 00:44:18.320 And another thing I do to promote flexibility in my sessions is I talk about plan A, plan B. 00:44:18.480 --> 00:44:22.320 Never forget plan B when you're planning something with a learner. 00:44:22.559 --> 00:44:26.559 So plan A is that we'll play the regular game at the end of our session. 00:44:26.719 --> 00:44:30.960 But if we run out of time, plan B is that we're gonna play the speed version. 00:44:31.119 --> 00:44:40.960 So you've introduced the possibility of this other thing that might happen so that if you have a child who is more inflexible, they've had some time to sit with this possible action. 00:44:41.119 --> 00:44:46.719 So those are three phrases that I find really powerful for building language around flexibility. 00:44:46.960 --> 00:44:49.519 Same but different, the most powerful one in my opinion. 00:44:49.760 --> 00:44:52.159 If then and plan A, plan B. 00:44:52.480 --> 00:45:00.239 The other day, uh someone gave me a sheet based on Kelly Cartwright of Dukan Cartwright Active View of Reading. 00:45:00.320 --> 00:45:05.599 She did a presentation for the Dyslexia Training Institute talking about executive functioning skills. 00:45:05.679 --> 00:45:10.960 And the list of the three major components are, of course, exactly the ones that you've mentioned. 00:45:11.119 --> 00:45:15.519 But I also often mention that Kelly Cartwright has a book called Word Callers. 00:45:15.599 --> 00:45:21.519 And she's she's very concerned about up to 30% of kids read accurately, read fluently. 00:45:21.679 --> 00:45:26.639 It sounds good, the teachers think the kids are reading, but have really diminished comprehension. 00:45:26.800 --> 00:45:35.840 And in the book, she provides activities that you can use with students that basically have students categorize words in two different ways. 00:45:36.079 --> 00:45:39.440 One by the sound, for example, what's the beginning sound? 00:45:39.599 --> 00:45:41.920 And then is it an animal or a plant? 00:45:42.079 --> 00:45:44.159 So what's the beginning sound in pig? 00:45:44.239 --> 00:45:46.880 And they'll say p, and then they have to categorize it. 00:45:47.039 --> 00:45:56.239 Just by having the kids think like that, stop and really think about it, it really helps them in an amazing way deepen their comprehension ability. 00:45:56.400 --> 00:45:58.159 These are very powerful tools. 00:45:58.239 --> 00:46:00.480 And I must say, I'll put this personally. 00:46:00.639 --> 00:46:03.920 I always thought these were beyond the reach of what we could teach. 00:46:04.079 --> 00:46:06.159 And I've known for a while that that's not true. 00:46:06.239 --> 00:46:10.639 And you're helping me say no, we really have to work on these to do it. 00:46:10.719 --> 00:46:13.679 And we're going to ease the

child's ability to learn. 00:46:13.760 --> 00:46:16.400 And that I think is the best thing we can really do. 00:46:16.639 --> 00:46:23.840 I do like what's happening in that example you just gave about really modeling and structuring in flexibility practice. 00:46:24.000 --> 00:46:31.119 It does remind me of one thing I've been pondering lately about age expectations around flexibility. 00:46:31.280 --> 00:46:37.920 So my guess is typically developing children, that is a beautiful thing to do, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, right? 00:46:38.079 --> 00:46:42.079 You're practicing flexing between these two ways of thinking about a word. 00:46:42.239 --> 00:46:50.800 What I've been pondering lately is some research about how children switch between rules for categorizing. 00:46:50.880 --> 00:47:00.639 And so there's this task called the dimensional change card sort task, which I thought was called the Wisconsin card sorting task, but it turns out the Wisconsin card sorting task is for adults. 00:47:00.800 --> 00:47:03.199 And this is the version that we use for small children. 00:47:03.440 --> 00:47:05.440 Dimensional change card sort task. 00:47:05.519 --> 00:47:09.519 So on this task, children are asked to sort cards based on color. 00:47:09.679 --> 00:47:14.400 So there's red and blue flowers, and there's red and blue trucks. 00:47:14.480 --> 00:47:17.519 So they have to sort into two piles based on their color. 00:47:17.679 --> 00:47:22.960 After a few rounds, the researcher asks them to switch to sorting the cards based on their shape. 00:47:23.039 --> 00:47:28.880 And at three and four years of age, most children continue to sort based on color. 00:47:29.039 --> 00:47:33.360 They can tell the researcher, yes, if it's a truck, it goes in this pile. 00:47:33.519 --> 00:47:35.519 If it's a flower, it goes in this pile. 00:47:35.679 --> 00:47:40.639 And then the researcher hands them another card and they go right back to sorting by color. 00:47:40.800 --> 00:47:45.280 They can't shift how they are sorting the cards, right? 00:47:45.440 --> 00:47:48.559 I actually have a video link of this happening that I'll share with you, Bruce. 00:47:48.639 --> 00:47:49.920 It is fascinating to watch. 00:47:50.079 --> 00:47:57.360 So it's not until around age five that most children are starting to be able to shift from one sorting rule to another. 00:47:57.519 --> 00:47:59.679 Well, what does this have to do with what we were just talking about? 00:47:59.840 --> 00:48:12.079 Russell Barkley says that folks with ADHD or other executive function delays are operating with a roughly 30% delay in executive function skills compared to the same age peers. 00:48:12.239 --> 00:48:25.119 So a five-year-old, if you're doing that activity where you first sort by sound and then sort by what kind of animal it is or something, they are operating similarly to a three and a half year old with that 30% delay. 00:48:25.199 --> 00:48:28.400 So are they going to be able

to shift rules that easily? 00:48:28.639 --> 00:48:34.559 A six-year-old is similar to a typically developing peer executive function-wise, who is four. 00:48:34.800 --> 00:48:44.559 So when we are asking kids to do things they're not ready for and evaluating them based on that, we might be again layering on that emotional baggage we've been talking about. 00:48:44.719 --> 00:48:55.760 So I'm not saying we shouldn't practice those skills because, like I said, that's how we learn executive function skills, but it's important to know about these expectations that we are placing on these developing brains. 00:48:56.079 --> 00:49:02.159 Beth, you do some wonderful things with clocks to help kids with executive functioning challenges. 00:49:02.320 --> 00:49:08.639 And I'd like you to explain them because I think it really makes, again, this whole issue very concrete. 00:49:08.880 --> 00:49:14.639 Yeah, and that is exactly what my intent is, is to make the abstract visible. 00:49:14.800 --> 00:49:21.519 So the work that I do with the clocks that I'll tell you about is to make abstract concept of time visible or concrete. 00:49:21.679 --> 00:49:27.840 The work that we do with word sums and word families, we are making the abstract visible. 00:49:28.079 --> 00:49:30.480 That is my drive through all of this. 00:49:30.719 --> 00:49:36.320 So so many people with executive function issues struggle with feeling time. 00:49:36.400 --> 00:49:39.920 And please note the verb that I use there: feeling time. 00:49:40.159 --> 00:49:41.760 I understand how time works. 00:49:42.000 --> 00:49:46.239 I can concretely think about time, but I do not feel time. 00:49:46.400 --> 00:49:47.920 You can ask my husband. 00:49:48.079 --> 00:49:49.519 I do not feel time. 00:49:49.679 --> 00:49:54.400 So there is no pressure for me to get one thing done by a certain time of day. 00:49:54.559 --> 00:49:56.880 Wherever I am, that's the most important thing. 00:49:57.039 --> 00:50:03.039 When I leave that space, then I no longer feel the urgency of having to get that thing done. 00:50:03.199 --> 00:50:07.440 So how do I work on time sense with my clients? 00:50:07.679 --> 00:50:14.639 The main way is a tool called the working clock, which comes from Sarah Ward and Kristen Jacobson of Cognitive Connections. 00:50:14.719 --> 00:50:23.199 And again, I have a beautiful video that we will share that maps out how to do the working clock because it's very hard to describe over a podcast. 00:50:23.280 --> 00:50:34.800 But basically, what I do is I have an analog clock right in my hands, and I will map out with my client how we are going to do the session. 00:50:34.960 --> 00:50:36.639 So I usually have some sort of plan. 00:50:36.719 --> 00:50:37.840 We're going to start with the clock. 00:50:38.000 --> 00:50:45.119 I mean, it's different every session, but let's say that the session is that we're going to review some words that we studied last time. 00:50:45.280 --> 00:50:46.800 We're going

to read a short text. 00:50:46.960 --> 00:50:48.400 We're going to explore a word. 00:50:48.559 --> 00:50:50.960 We're going to write a sentence, and then we're going to play a game. 00:50:51.119 --> 00:50:56.800 So I will with my client write on the clock using a dry erase marker. 00:50:56.880 --> 00:51:01.360 We will block out the first five minutes of the session to work on the clock. 00:51:01.519 --> 00:51:08.880 And then usually what I do is I go to the end of the session with my student and we block out the last 10 or 15 minutes to play the game. 00:51:09.039 --> 00:51:18.480 And now we have a period of time between that clock planning and the game planning that we have drawn in with dry erase that we are going to fit the rest of those activities in. 00:51:18.719 --> 00:51:23.360 So we are learning how to manipulate time to get our tasks done. 00:51:23.519 --> 00:51:31.039 I also like to think that I have now modeled for a student that it's okay to plan into your schedule something fun and rewarding. 00:51:31.199 --> 00:51:35.679 That is an important skill in a society where it's work, work, work as fast as you can. 00:51:35.840 --> 00:51:44.480 No, it's okay to prioritize having a little bit of fun at the end of getting those meatier, maybe more challenging activities done. 00:51:44.719 --> 00:51:53.280 So now we have on our clock, I'm holding one for Bruce to see, all of our session mapped out in different colored little time chunks. 00:51:53.519 --> 00:51:55.440 So how do I use this during a session? 00:51:55.599 --> 00:51:58.159 Well, do you remember that attention flashlight that I use? 00:51:58.400 --> 00:52:04.239 If a child is going off task, I can say to them, I notice your attention flashlight is somewhere else. 00:52:04.400 --> 00:52:09.440 I can point it towards the clock and I can say, is what you're doing part of our plan? 00:52:09.679 --> 00:52:13.599 Is what you're talking about more important than playing the game at the end? 00:52:13.840 --> 00:52:19.119 Is what you're talking about related to what we plan to do in this moment? 00:52:19.360 --> 00:52:23.360 And honestly, all I have to do most of the time is just do that. 00:52:23.440 --> 00:52:25.440 And the child will say, Oh, no, no, no, no, we have a plan. 00:52:25.519 --> 00:52:26.079 That's right. 00:52:26.400 --> 00:52:30.480 Sometimes the child really wants to talk about what they're talking about. 00:52:30.639 --> 00:52:34.320 And so I'll say, Oh, okay, so that's more important than the game. 00:52:34.559 --> 00:52:35.039 Fine. 00:52:35.280 --> 00:52:37.360 Every once in a while I'll let that go on. 00:52:37.599 --> 00:52:39.199 I will shorten the game time. 00:52:39.360 --> 00:52:45.920 It's a little bit of a shock for them when they get to the end and the game time isn't as long, but I'll remind them that they made that choice earlier. 00:52:46.079 --> 00:52:55.360 If a child is doing that repeatedly, I will actually pick up the clock and start to erase the game

time and move the other work into that. 00:52:55.519 --> 00:53:01.199 And it makes concrete for them that time is not endlessly elastic. 00:53:01.440 --> 00:53:06.480 If we take time now, that takes away time from something that we plan to do later. 00:53:06.719 --> 00:53:07.920 So that is really effective. 00:53:08.159 --> 00:53:11.599 The working clock really promotes motivation for my clients. 00:53:11.760 --> 00:53:20.800 And hey, word nerds will know or will want to know that motivation is related to the Latin word movere, which means move. 00:53:21.039 --> 00:53:26.800 And in this case, we are teaching for the student how they're moving through time. 00:53:27.039 --> 00:53:30.639 And that in turn helps motivate them to get tasks done. 00:53:30.800 --> 00:53:35.599 The child is learning to ask, how do I see myself moving through this session? 00:53:35.760 --> 00:53:37.280 And do I feel good about it? 00:53:37.519 --> 00:53:42.320 I have a story about one client who was the bounciest of clients. 00:53:42.480 --> 00:53:43.199 I love her. 00:53:43.440 --> 00:53:48.960 My sessions with her are always a joy, but the working clock is huge for her. 00:53:49.199 --> 00:53:58.000 One session, I blocked out a solid 30-minute chunk on the working clock and didn't really think about it. 00:53:58.159 --> 00:54:00.639 That was one of our more difficult sessions. 00:54:00.800 --> 00:54:05.840 She was constantly bringing up other things, moving out of her chair, bouncing around. 00:54:05.920 --> 00:54:14.000 And it wasn't until that after our session when I was erasing the clock, that I thought, wait a minute, I did a really long chunk on the working clock. 00:54:14.159 --> 00:54:16.480 I wonder if that is what was at play here. 00:54:16.639 --> 00:54:24.079 So the next week I made sure that there was no section on my clock that was longer than 15 minutes and the session went so much smoother. 00:54:24.239 --> 00:54:27.679 It's hard to know if that was the cause, but I'm not going to experiment and find out. 00:54:27.920 --> 00:54:34.639 We are going with short 10 to 15 minute chunks that she can really feel when she looks at that clock. 00:54:34.800 --> 00:54:38.000 I also use my working clock with older students to predict time. 00:54:38.159 --> 00:54:41.679 So I might ask them, how long do you think it will take you to write this sentence? 00:54:41.760 --> 00:54:46.960 And after they write it, I'm going to ask them to estimate how long it took them to write it. 00:54:47.119 --> 00:54:50.000 And then we compare that to how long it actually took. 00:54:50.159 --> 00:54:52.320 We might do that with a paragraph too, right? 00:54:52.480 --> 00:54:59.280 That just takes a minute or two out of my literacy focused session, but it's laying the groundwork for developing their time sense. 00:54:59.360 --> 00:55:03.840 I don't know how many people have had a high schooler say, oh, I have an essay due tomorrow, but it's okay. 00:55:03.920 --> 00:55:05.679 It's only going to take me like 15 minutes. 00:55:05.840 --> 00:55:07.199 It's not going to take me that long to do. 00:55:07.280 --> 00:55:10.880 And you're like, ah, no, it's going to take you like two hours. 00:55:11.119 --> 00:55:17.199 Well, what I'm doing is planting those little seeds that say, oh, this takes longer than I thought it would. 00:55:17.360 --> 00:55:28.320 And we're developing that feedback loop that I talked about at the beginning of the session about using a previous experience to revise my predictions of how long something is going to take in the future. 00:55:28.559 --> 00:55:35.440 I read recently that attention deficit disorder could be also called intention deficit disorder. 00:55:35.599 --> 00:55:37.599 That people intend to do things. 00:55:37.760 --> 00:55:44.559 And I see this in myself, though I really don't think I have either executive functioning issues or ADHD. 00:55:44.719 --> 00:55:47.039 You know, I've got a plan, I'm going to get it done today. 00:55:47.199 --> 00:55:48.559 And it doesn't happen. 00:55:48.719 --> 00:55:49.679 You get distracted. 00:55:49.760 --> 00:55:52.480 I think it's a very interesting way of looking at it. 00:55:52.639 --> 00:55:57.360 A lot of times, students want to get something done and they just can't do it. 00:55:57.599 --> 00:56:01.039 We need to recognize there's deeper issues behind that. 00:56:01.280 --> 00:56:01.519 Right. 00:56:01.760 --> 00:56:05.360 Initiation is one of the executive function skills, right? 00:56:05.519 --> 00:56:11.119 And in order to initiate a task, you have to be able to picture it and know what you're working towards. 00:56:11.280 --> 00:56:14.000 And again, that is your nonverbal working memory. 00:56:14.079 --> 00:56:19.280 And then mapping the verbal working memory of how you're going to approach that task is part of that picture. 00:56:19.519 --> 00:56:26.079 And as you're doing the task, you're monitoring yourself and giving yourself feedback, like this is the direction I need to be going. 00:56:26.239 --> 00:56:28.800 Wait, no, this is taking me down a random path. 00:56:28.880 --> 00:56:32.639 I have to stop myself, inhibition, and go in a different path. 00:56:32.800 --> 00:56:35.679 It's all part of that executive function picture. 00:56:35.920 --> 00:56:39.519 So, Beth, I've loved the way that you pull all these pieces together. 00:56:39.599 --> 00:56:43.280 And I can see them all working together as a system. 00:56:43.440 --> 00:56:46.559 And for me as a biologist, I love systems. 00:56:46.719 --> 00:56:48.800 All these parts, they all work together. 00:56:48.960 --> 00:56:54.239 But I'd like to give you a chance to pull a few more pieces together in your final comments. 00:56:54.559 --> 00:56:58.079 There are three things that I really want to leave listeners with. 00:56:58.320 --> 00:57:03.119 One is to remember that we are modeling and coaching these skills. 00:57:03.440 --> 00:57:10.639 We may never see the student actually demonstrate any of

these skills independently, but we are preparing that soil. 00:57:10.800 --> 00:57:12.960 We are choosing which seeds to plant. 00:57:13.119 --> 00:57:29.280 And if you can share that same perspective with families that they are helping prep soil and they are planting these seeds, and then it may take years to see it pay off, that can be really encouraging for us as instructors and for parents, right? 00:57:29.519 --> 00:57:37.760 So we are sort of acting as frontal lobe surrogates while our students or our children are building these really important executive function skills. 00:57:38.000 --> 00:57:42.239 Executive functions develop until around age 25. 00:57:42.400 --> 00:57:47.039 And then if you think about that 30% delay, it may take even longer for some of our students. 00:57:47.199 --> 00:57:49.760 So patient is the word of the day here. 00:57:49.920 --> 00:57:54.400 I also wanted to say that listeners may find themselves thinking, oh, I do this already. 00:57:54.559 --> 00:57:59.760 And when a parent says that to me about something that I'm recommending to them, I'm going to celebrate. 00:57:59.920 --> 00:58:03.119 Yes, you are doing it because that is a yay thing. 00:58:03.280 --> 00:58:09.679 But I'm also going to encourage them to go ahead and pay special attention to that thing they're doing for the next week. 00:58:09.840 --> 00:58:14.400 Or if you're an instructor or a tutor or a therapist for a session, I do this too. 00:58:14.480 --> 00:58:26.320 I try to mix up what aspect of development or what skill I'm centering during a session because the lens that I'm bringing to the session influences what I notice a client is doing. 00:58:26.480 --> 00:58:27.280 We're human. 00:58:27.519 --> 00:58:30.559 We cannot observe all the things all the time. 00:58:30.719 --> 00:58:36.159 So what we pay attention to during a session can shift the nature of the whole session. 00:58:36.320 --> 00:58:37.039 And you know what? 00:58:37.199 --> 00:58:40.480 That is putting our own executive function to use right there. 00:58:40.559 --> 00:58:51.039 We are stepping out of the automaticity of our regular session, and we're using our meta-awareness skills in very intentional ways to change what is happening during a session with a student. 00:58:51.280 --> 00:58:56.480 And then lastly, I encourage everyone to think about their own executive function skills as an instructor. 00:58:56.719 --> 00:58:58.000 What are your strengths? 00:58:58.159 --> 00:59:00.719 Where do you need to externalize your supports? 00:59:00.880 --> 00:59:10.960 I do that working clock activity to boost my students' awareness of time, but I'm also 100% doing it because I need support in my own timelindness. 00:59:11.119 --> 00:59:18.480 If I get into some topic during a session that is fascinating to me, I will gladly go 20 minutes over our session time. 00:59:18.639 --> 00:59:21.920 I will just keep talking and having a wonderful time with a student. 00:59:22.079 --> 00:59:29.440 So I need the working clock and a timer that might be also used at the same time to keep me on task. 00:59:29.599 --> 00:59:33.599 Setting timers helps me with my executive function differences. 00:59:33.760 --> 00:59:35.280 So those are my three final points. 00:59:35.599 --> 00:59:36.719 Beth, this has been great. 00:59:36.800 --> 00:59:43.840 And I want to thank you because we can often think about executive functioning skills as something that's very abstract. 00:59:43.920 --> 00:59:46.559 And you brought it right down to the concrete. 00:59:46.719 --> 00:59:50.719 And we are dealing with these all day when we work with students. 00:59:50.880 --> 01:00:01.920 But as I mentioned a few times, like with the post-it notes, we also need to reflect on how our executive functioning is working both for us and for our students. 01:00:02.079 --> 01:00:05.119 I want to thank you very much for this wonderful discussion. 01:00:05.440 --> 01:00:20.559 I'm providing a new service that putting all the information in the show notes, contact information, and for teachers that have products such as books or apps will all go into a new website called language-literacy.org. 01:00:20.800 --> 01:00:23.760 Language-literacy.org. 01:00:24.079 --> 01:00:30.159 And you can go back and find all the information you want about all my previous guests at that website. 01:00:30.320 --> 01:00:36.880 I want to thank the ever growing number of people who are listening to our podcast on Spotify and on Apple Podcasts. 01:00:37.039 --> 01:00:44.320 And if you'd like to provide me feedback or suggestions, please email me at Bruce at Readingschiff.com. 01:00:44.480 --> 01:00:45.599 So thank you very much.