{"id":5739,"date":"2020-07-09T08:00:30","date_gmt":"2020-07-09T13:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/braindevs.net\/blog\/blog\/?p=5739"},"modified":"2020-07-08T19:18:56","modified_gmt":"2020-07-09T00:18:56","slug":"executive-function-isnt-what-you-think-it-is-maybe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learningandthebrain.com\/blog\/executive-function-isnt-what-you-think-it-is-maybe\/","title":{"rendered":"Executive Function Isn’t What You Think It Is (Maybe)"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a soccer coach, I want my students to get better at\u00a0soccer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As an English teacher,\u00a0<\/em>I want my students to get better at\u00a0English<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And, as a hip-hop dance instructor, I want my students to get better at\u00a0hip-hop dance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

To accomplish those goals, I usually teach them soccer, English, and hip-hop dance.<\/p>\n

That is: I need to tailor my teaching\u00a0SPECIFICALLY<\/strong> to the topic I want my students to learn. Sadly, for instance, when I teach English, I’m not helping students learn soccer (or math, or dance…)<\/p>\n

Wouldn’t it be great if I could teach some\u00a0GENERALLY<\/strong>\u00a0useful skill that would boost their abilities in all those areas? This broad, overarching skill would make my students better soccer players, English essayists, and hip-hop dancers. That would be\u00a0amazing<\/em>…<\/p>\n

Answer Number One<\/h2>\n

For a few decades now, we have mostly thought that the answer to that question is “no.”<\/p>\n

Despite all the hype, for example, teaching young children to play the violin doesn’t make them better at math later on.<\/p>\n

The exception to that general rule: EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS.<\/p>\n

When children get better at, say,\u00a0inhibition<\/em>, they improve across all their studies.<\/p>\n

In soccer, they resist the temptation to run to the ball, and instead play their position.<\/p>\n

In English, they break their bad habits — like using too many dashes — and choose good ones instead.<\/p>\n

And in dance, they follow the tricky choreography that steers them away from the (super-tempting) downbeat.<\/p>\n

So, executive functions — task switching, prioritizing, self-control, etc. — help students\u00a0generally.<\/strong><\/p>\n

No wonder we spend so much time talking about them.<\/p>\n

Answer Number Two<\/h2>\n

Professor Sabine Doebel wonders: what if that account of executive function is just wrong<\/em>.<\/p>\n