Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) Lab at Utah State University

There is a lot of information stored in our brains. Not only can we apply previously learned information to current tasks but we also need to decide to which information in our current environment we should dedicate our attention. All of the information flow and multitasking in the brain needs to be managed if we are to function well when meeting challenges. Executive functions are the skills the brain develops to manage this incredible complexity. Although different researchers may have slightly different lists of these executive functions, the list below is taken from Dawson and Guare’s book, Smart but Scattered. Developing our knowledge about executive functioning is important for parents because you play a crucial role in developing these skills.
 

• Response Inhibition—The capacity to think before you act, to resist the urge to say or do something to allow the time to evaluate a situation and the impact of the what is said or done.

• Emotional control—The ability to manage emotions to achieve goals, complete tasks, or control and direct behavior.

• Task initiation—The ability to begin a task or activity and to independently generate ideas, responses, or problem solving strategies.

• Organization—The ability to create and maintain systems to keep track of information or materials.

• Goal-directed persistence—The capacity to have a goal, follow through to the completion of the goal, and not be put off by or distracted by competing interests.

• Metacognition—The ability to observe how you problem solve.  It includes self-monitoring and self-evaluative skills.

• Self-Monitoring— Recognizing what is going on inside your own mind, body, environment, and relationships. 

• Self-evaluative skills--The capacity to evaluate how well you did and to make good decisions about how to proceed.

• Working Memory--The ability to hold information in memory while performing complex tasks.  It incorporates the ability to draw on past learning or experience to apply to the situation at hand or to project into the future. Example: while doing a mental math problem (no work paper), working memory allows you to hold the numbers in your head while you perform some simple math operations.

• Sustained attention--The capacity to keep paying attention to a situation or task in spite of distractibility, fatigue, or boredom.

• Planning/prioritization--The ability to manage future oriented tasks.

• Time management--The ability to estimate how  much time you have, how to allocate it, and how to stay within time limits and 

deadlines.

• Flexibility--The ability to revise plans in the face of obstacles, setbacks, new information, or mistakes.  It relates to an adaptability to changing conditions.

• Shifting--The ability to move freely from one situation, activity, or aspect of a problem to another, in reaction to internal or external cues.