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M. Clara Barata,
ProLEER
April 11, 2013
SELF-REGULATORY / EXECUTIVE
FUNCTIONS SKILLS: PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BUILDING
BLOCKS OF SCHOOL READINESS
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ROADMAP
1. What is executive function and how does it relate to
self-
regulation?
2. Why does EF/SR matter?
3. Can we promote EF development?
• Basic elements of the Tools intervention.
• 7 guiding questions for the two presentations.
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Executive Functions
What is EF?
How does EF
develop?
Is EF Universal?
Is EF unitary?
How do we measure it?
Does EF relate to school
readiness?
Is EF context-
dependent?
Can we promote EF?
Executive Functions
What is EF?
How does EF
develop?
Is EF Universal?
Is EF unitary?
How do we measure it?
Does EF relate to school
readiness?
Is EF context-
dependent?
Can we promote EF?
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WHAT IS EXECUTIVE FUNCTION?Children’s ability to focus and pay
attention is like Air
Traffic Control at a busy airport. Some planes have to land and
others have to take off at the same time, but there’s only so much
room on the ground and in the air.
In the brain, the mechanism that acts as Air Traffic Control is
called executive
function. It regulates the flow of information and the focus on
tasks, creates
mental priorities to avoid delays, and keeps the system flexible
and on time.
In children, this mechanism needs to be actively geared up as
early as
possible.
Kendall-Taylor, N., Erard, M., Simon, A. & Davey, L. (2010).
Air traffic control for your brain: Translating the science
of executive function using a simplifying model. Washington, DC:
FrameWorks Institute.5
WHAT IS EXECUTIVE FUNCTION?
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WHY DO WE USE THE TERM SELF-REGULATION
WHEN TALKING ABOUT EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS?
• EF is the set of cognitive processes that are integral to
the
emerging self-regulation of behavior and the developing
social
and cognitive competence in young children.
• One part of the self-regulatory system (emotion,
social, behavior regulation)
• Self-regulation is a term that is more familiar and intuitive
to
teachers.
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EF DEVELOPMENT: GROWING BODY OF RESEARCH RECOGNIZES
STEEP DEVELOPMENTAL GROWTH IN EF SKILLS FROM 3 TO 6 (E.G.,
DIAMOND, 2002; ZELAZO & MULLER, 2002).
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• Neurobiological evidence
seems to substantiate a
common ontogeny for
executive function skills (e.g. Posner & Rothbart, 2007;
Blair, Granger
and Razza, 2005).
• A strong genetic
component for executive
function skills and its
subfactors (Friedman et al, 2008; Rueda, Rothbart,
McCandliss,
Saccomano, & Posner, 2005)
IS EF UNIVERSAL?
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EF COMPRISES A SET OF 3 ABILITIES
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Inhibitory control
Ability to suppress automatic
responses
Working memory
Ability to retain and manipulate
unrelated information
Ability to sustain and switch
attention from stimulus to
stimulus
Attention shifting or
cognitive flexibility
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• Executive functions affect academic achievement in
preschool and elementary school (e.g., Blair & Razza, 2007;
McClelland, Morrison, & Holmes, 2000; McClelland, Acock, &
Morrison, 2006;
McClelland et al., 2007; Howse, Lange, Farran, & Boyles,
2003; Welsh et al.,
2010);
• Evidence is stronger for mathematics (Bull, Johnston &
Roy, 1999; Bull & Scerif, 2001; Bull, Espy & Wiebe, 2008;
Ponitz, et al., 2009;
Clark, Pritchard & Woodward, 2010)
WHY DOES EF/SR MATTER?
Executive Functions
Academic Achievement
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WHY DOES EF/SR MATTER?
• Attention persistence at age 4 predicted:
• Math and reading achievement at age 21
• Probability of completing college by age 25 (McCelland et
al,
2012; ECRQ).
Executive Functions
Academic Achievement
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CAN WE PROMOTE EF DEVELOPMENT?
Yes! We can use:
• Computerized training programs (Dowsett & Livesey, 1999;
Klingberg, Forssberg & Westerberg, 2002; Klingberg, et al.,
2005; Olesen,
Westerberg, & Klingberg, 2004; Rueda et al., 2005; Thorell,
et al., 2009)
• Classroom-based interventions (Bierman, Domitrovich, et al.,
2008; Bierman, Nix, et al., 2008; Diamond, Barnett, Thomas, Munro,
2007;
Domitrovich, Cortes, Greenberg, 2007; Lipina & Colombo,
2009; Raver, et al., 2008,
2011; Webster-Stratton, Re
• Yoga, dance, mindfulness training, exercise?
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• Sardes Educational Services: adaptation to teacher training
program
• Un Buen Comienzo: an approach to preschool quality based on a
Learning Collaborative
TOOLS OF THE MIND: A STARTING POINT
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• Diminish exposure to
situations where executive-
function skills tend to fail
(Blair & Diamond, 2008).
• Increase opportunities for
children to practice self-
regulated learning
throughout the day.
CREATING ORGANIZED, STIMULATING
CLASSROOM CLIMATES
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WHY CREATE AN ORGANIZED STIMULATING
CLASSROOM CLIMATE?
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0.080.07
0.13
0.090.08
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
U.S. Chile Chile Chile Chile
Instructional
Support on
Mathematics
Organizational
Support on
Literacy
(dictation)
Organizational
Support on EF
Instructional
Support on
Literacy
(dictation)
Instructional
Support on
EF
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CAN WE PROMOTE EF DEVELOPMENT?
1. Vygotskyan approach to scaffolding
• The continuum of self-regulation
Regulatedby others
“Shared” regulation
“Masters” of their ownbehavior
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Teacher directed
Dirigido por el profesor
Peer directed
Dirigido por sus pares
Self-directed /Auto-dirigido
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CAN WE PROMOTE EF DEVELOPMENT?
1. Vygotskyan approach to scaffolding
• The zone of proximal development
A space for
drawing
A space for
writing
Tool for
scaffolding
CAN WE PROMOTE EF DEVELOPMENT?
2. Use of mental tools
• Developmental path to thinking
Externalspeech
PrivateSpeech
Internalspeech
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CAN WE PROMOTE EF DEVELOPMENT?
2. Use of mental tools
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CAN WE PROMOTE EF DEVELOPMENT?
2. Use of mental tools
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CAN WE PROMOTE EF DEVELOPMENT?
3. Sophisticated planned play
• 2 hours
7 GUIDING QUESTIONS
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1. Why are SR interventions necessary? Who asked for
them or who proposed them?
2. How does SR relate to quality in ECCE? Or not?
3. What were the initial obstacles to SR interventions in
your context?
4. What seem to be the essential components of SR
interventions for your classrooms?
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7 GUIDING QUESTIONS
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5. In the initial phases of implementation / piloting /
design, what was most fascinating and/or unexpected?
6. How did stakeholders (teachers, policy makers, other
team members) react to the SR intervention?
7. What is the next big challenge for your SR
intervention? (even if not related to scale-up, also
consider the potential difficulties and advantages of
scale-up)
M. CLARA BARATA
([email protected])
Thank you! Gracias! Obrigada!
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