Episode 39 - Executive Function's Impact on Mathematics

As I read the article Double Impact: Mathematics and Executive Function, a light bulb came on about why some students are struggling with this new way we are teaching math.  If you have kids who are struggling with Executive Functions and then you ask them to do those things while also doing something that has high mathematical demand, they are going to struggle.  For example, if students have not worked to develop their cognitive flexibility and then we give them a problem that requires them to do multiple attempts to solve the problem and it also requires some mathematical understandings that aren’t fully developed, they are just going to shut down. So, as you design or use tasks in your classroom, this article made me realize that we also need to pay attention to the Executive Function demands that the task is placing on them as well. Get all the info here: buildmathminds.com/39