Executive Functions in the School Setting

Applying Memory Strategies for Developing Primary School Pupils Vocabulary Acquision

“…In other words, executive functions are used as the 'how' we strategize to encode the 'what' that we must learn. There are multiple theories of the structure of our executive functioning abilities, with some being as simple as one ''central executive'' that directs and oversees working memory (Baddeley, 1996) to McCloskey's Holarchical Model of Exective Functions which includes multiple tiers, domains, levels and 32 self-regulation executive functions that interact on all of these different levels (McCloskey & Perkins, 2013).…”

“…McCloskey's model is the most comprehensive and inclusive model, and includes the key points from the most well-known models from the past sixty years (McCloskey & Perkins, 2013). Although all of the aspects of McCloskey's model interact in every realm of an individual's life, not just when learning academic content, there are certain clusters within the selfregulation tier that have particular relevance for how one can most efficiently learn academic material.…”

“…According to McCloskey's model (McCloskey & Perkins, 2013) there are six clusters within the self-regulation tier which are composed of 32 individual self-regulatory executive functions, all of which are necessary, to some degree, to function optimally in daily activities, including studying and learning. The first is the attention cluster, which includes abilities such as attending to relevant external information for as long as is necessary.…”

“…Young adults brains are still in the midst of development, particularly the myelination of white matter tracts within the frontal lobes (Sowell et al, 2003). These white matter tracts are necessary for various executive functioning abilities which help individuals self-monitor, organize information, and problem solve, among other tasks necessary for academic success (McCloskey & Perkins, 2013). When adolescents and young adults are learning in a high school setting, teachers impose external organization on the information that needs to be learned, including study guides and practice problems.…”