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Developing the skills to manage studies, assignments and schedules is often as important as the content of the curriculum itself. Skills used to manage these tasks, like working memory and planning, are called executive functions. Dobbs Ferry Middle School algebra teacher Julianne Laverty spent time this summer in a Professional Development Institute course all about teaching students these crucial skills.
“I was going to teach eighth grade this year for the first time in a long time and I knew some of the students were going to have a hard time staying organized,” said Laverty. “If they don’t do their homework because they didn’t know they had homework, they end up not doing as well. It’s silly that they could have the math ability, but get a worse grade because they lost track of their work.”
Laverty tied a portion of students’ participation grade in class to the use of a personal tracking system of the students’ choice. They would use it to keep track of assignments, school work and important upcoming dates. She checks in with her students regularly to work on using the system of their choice and help students develop these critical organizational skills.
“I didn’t want to force them to use a paper planner, I wanted them to choose what works best for them,” said Laverty. “So I asked them, ‘What do you currently use to stay organized?’ I just wanted to make sure that whatever they chose was something they could use for any class. Eventually, they’re going to go to college with these skills.”
At Back to School Night, Laverty involved parents in the process by telling them about the assignment and her goal to reinforce these executive functions. These are skills that will serve students for the rest of their educational careers and beyond. Students are already embracing the task, using everything from paper planners to Google Docs to sticky notes. One student even coded his own app to use as a planner.
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