For this work, I first shared a Google Doc with the students, entitled Executive Function Rubric and consisting of four columns, the first column listing 11 common executive function skills.
In the second column, I had the students define — in their own definitions — each of the 11 executive function skills appearing in column one; and then in the third column, I wrote down my own definition for each of these skills.
Finally, in the fourth column, I had my students rate themselves on a scale of 1-4, with a 1 being “low skill” and a 4 being “impressive skill.”
This rubric was a nice way to get my students to think about themselves more as they would if they were being evaluated — focusing on the areas where they have strengths and those areas where they have struggles.
After doing the rubric, students were able see where they were currently and could easily pull up this rubric later in the year to see how far they had come in a particular area of executive function based on the lessons and work we did throughout the school year.
Google Slides
From there, I called upon my students to develop a Google Slideshow presentation, with these presentations, which when completed, would be shared with the class. For their Google Slideshow presentation, the students were required to describe, for the class, the three executive functioning skills for which they specifically need support. Students could choose from the executive function skills appearing below:
| Executive function skill |
Definition |
| Response inhibition |
Being able to ignore distractions in your environment |
| Working memory |
Being able to keep information in your head to use |
| Emotional control |
Being able to regulate emotional responses to different things that happen in our lives |
| Flexibility |
Being able to think things out in more than one possible way |
| Sustained attention |
Staying on task and avoiding distractions |
| Task initiation |
Being able to independently begin and organize tasks |
| Planning/prioritization |
Being able to plan out your tasks so that they meet an expectation or objective |
| Organization |
Putting your life into organized areas – school, work, personal and maintaining this |
| Time management |
The ability to use your time effectively |
| Goal-directed persistence |
Using and maintaining goals to help you meet objectives, being able to refuse to give up when things get too difficult |
| Metacognition |
Awareness and understanding of your own thought process |
For my students who struggle with identifying their three areas of need, I sat down with them individually and looked at their rubric to figure out which areas they wanted to focus on.
The students’ slideshow presentation consisted of at least four slides — one being an introduction slide which includes their name and the title of their project. The other three slides included the three main executive function skills and details about each. The details they included were definitions they worked on from their rubric, as well as details about what the skills looked like in a student.
After the slideshow presentations were complete, I had each of my students present their slideshows to the class as an understanding of who they were and what skills they had or needed to work on.
Google Calendar
In addition to the above, I would call upon my students to access Google Calendar via their Chromebooks or cell phones on a daily basis and then to write down their assignments for each of the classes in their schedule. Some students have an easier time with this than others as it teaches them three of these executive function skills (planning, organization and time management all at once.) However, many other students require assistance in one or more of the areas we go over, which is supported through their Individualized Education Plan (IEP). For some, the idea of an entirely digital calendar is scary, so for these students a handwritten planner is still the best way to go. However, for most of my students, they find it easy to use Google Calendar and they even seem to enjoy the task of entering assignments and due dates.
Conclusion
Using the Google programs to help support my students in their class with their executive function needs has really helped them to develop an understanding of both real-world technology and how it can easily be applied to how they manage their lives. Learning how to organize information, write things out appropriately and professionally, as well as keeping track of their time, are all important skills that the students have been learning throughout the school year in my class. Although there are many programs out there, Google products work the best with my students in our classroom because of the students’ access to Google Chromebooks and internet accessibility.
