All educators play a crucial role in counteracting systemic racism and developing equitable approaches that support the success of every student. Our Executive Function (EF) and Equity Fellowship brings together educators from across the US to explore how schools are addressing students’ executive function needs through an equity lens. This post, the last in a three-part series, highlights the lessons that emerged from conversations with our 2020-2021 EF and Equity Fellows and guest speakers.
Draw on Your Community’s Shared Knowledge
During ResearchILD’s monthly EF and Equity gatherings, our Fellows and guest speakers shared their experiences honoring all students’ identities and teaching executive function strategies.
These gatherings and ensuing conversations underscored an important finding—our community contained a rich fund of knowledge and experiences from which we could all learn.
Here are three takeaways from our conversations:
- Teach students to navigate the context of their school system. This can include teaching students how to access existing resources, determine what questions to ask, and understand their school’s culture.
- Helping students develop greater self-understanding can enable them to develop their self-advocacy skills. Executive function strategy instruction begins with teaching students to understand themselves as learners and become aware of their strengths and challenges.
- Executive function strategies are for all students. Explicitly and systematically teaching executive function strategies can open up new pathways as students learn to successfully navigate novel situations in their classrooms, schools, and personal lives.
Conversations with our EF and Equity fellows reaffirmed that we don’t have to look far to find inspiration and ideas. Our colleagues and community members may offer ways to recognize and build upon students’ existing funds of knowledge to make curriculum personally relevant for them.
EF and Equity
Are you interested in becoming a 2021-2022 EF and Equity Fellow? Learn more about the fellowship and application process. If you would like to hear more from equity-minded educators, join us for the 36th Annual Executive Function Conference. Learn more and register today!
- Caitlin Vanderberg, M.Ed., SMARTS Program Associate
SMARTS Executive Function Curriculum: smarts-ef.org
Research Institute for Learning and Development: researchild.org
The Institute for Learning and Development: ildlex.org