3 Executive Functional Skills Every College Student Needs for Success
The team at Your Academic Coach has two goals for supporting your family.
- Academic Coaches are here to help take the pressure off managing your student’s academic load so you can get back to playing the role you love most – Mom.
- Help your student to achieve their full potential from any seat in the classroom.
Our team of Academic Coaches wants to be a trusted resource for you as you help your child navigate their educational journey.
Having a frazzled, struggling student off at college can feel frustrating and cause a lot of worry for you as a caring mother.
But there is good news!
Your child can learn the necessary skills they need to become more organized, efficient, and effective in managing all of the demands of college life.
According to the folks at Harvard, “No one is born with executive function skills, but nearly everyone can learn them.”
This is good news! Students are born with the potential to develop these essential executive function capacities.
Executive function and self-regulation skills are the mental processes that students need to help them to plan, focus attention, juggle multiple tasks successfully, and remember instructions. These skills are not only necessary in the classroom, but they also enable students to make positive and healthy choices for themselves outside of the classroom.
You can think of these skills like the air traffic control system for your brain.
It’s not uncommon for college students to struggle with things like time management, project planning, and problem-solving. College demands much more from your student. Transitioning from high school to college can be a big jump. Students leave the world of routine schedules and supportive adults in high school and enter a new world of variable schedules, little oversight, and increased distractions. Some college students struggle with their newfound freedom. But don’t worry; you can help your student learn the skills necessary to succeed and adjust to their new environment.
The 3 Important Executive Functional Skills Your Student Should Learn Today
1. Adaptable Thinking
- This allows a child to problem-solve and adjust to situations when obstacles appear.
- Example: If plan A doesn’t work, think of a possible plan B.
- Adaptable thinking applies to everyday life as well as school. It is essential when faced with tough tasks, tests, subjects, etc.
- You can support this by discussing real-life situations to problem-solve or working with coping strategies to manage stress.
2️. Working Memory
- This is the ability to hold information in the mind while working with it.
- A strong working memory can help accomplish tasks quicker and more efficiently.
- This is especially important for mental math problems, remembering instructions, and even just conversing with someone.
- Support this by practicing mental math, using brain games, & visualization tools.
3️. Time Management
- This involves the ability to schedule, plan ahead, complete tasks on time, and generally use time efficiently.
- This is essential for a student involved in many subjects with many goals and tasks.
- It helps with prioritizing homework assignments, completing projects on time, and pacing yourself throughout tests or quizzes.
- Support this by using visual timers, writing out a daily schedule, and mapping out smaller goals within a large goal.
If your student is still learning and adapting to some of these functions, that is OKAY.
“The brain can relearn executive functions like planning and attention well into the forth decade of life.”
Michael Ruff, M.D.
Learning is a process, and it doesn’t happen all at once. And some students may need more help and guidance than others. If you want to learn more about how to help your student, the book Smart but Scattered for Teens is a great resource.
Check out this resource for Executive Function Activities for Adolescents for more tactical tips on helping your student improve these skills.
Work with us
Each week the team at Your Academic Coach connects 1:1 with students and has one goal in mind. To equip them to achieve their full potential in the classroom and in life. Each student receives a personalized coaching plan to address the gap in their executive functioning skills. Book a 15-minute Discovery Call to learn more!
References:
Executive Function and Self-Regulation – https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/executive-function/
What is Executive Function? How Does It Relate to Child Development? https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/what-is-executive-function-and-how-does-it-relate-to-child-development/
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