Executive Function Skills

Executive Function Skills: Measure What Matters

What are Executive Function skills for children, why are they important, and how do they develop? Is there an easy, scientific measurement tool to identify and support strengths and areas for improvement? Attend this workshop to learn about Executive Function skills and the unbiased assessment tool developed at the University of Minnesota.

Executive Function refers to social emotional learning and the neurocognitive skills that are most vital to academic and life success. These skills, which can be taught and learned, are centered on attention, impulse control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility.

Executive Function skills make it possible for children to learn effectively and efficiently in a classroom context, and they protect children against academic failure associated with socioeconomic status. MEFS^TM provides new and important data to help teachers better meet the needs of students. Because MEFS^TM  only takes five minutes to complete, it is easy to test multiple times through the year, to track data over time, and to use it to inform your teaching practices.

KEY IDEAS:

· What is Executive Function?

· Why should we measure it?

· What is the MEFS?

· How is the assessment tool different?

· How are districts using it?

Who should attend: District and school administrators, early learning coordinators, curriculum directors, social workers, and other leaders will want to attend this workshop.

Presenters: Marie Lister, M.A.Ed., UMN, is an instructor in the Early Childhood Education Program and a teacher at the Shirley G. Moore Laboratory School. She has designed and implemented Executive Function kindergarten readiness curricula and created and lead a variety of PD trainings on Executive Function. Nicole Stucke, B.S., Developmental Psychology/Neuroscience, UMN, spent over three years working at the Developmental Social Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at the U of MN’s Institute of Child Development. At Reflection Sciences, Nicole works to determine how the MEFS can best support client assessment needs.

FEE: Members $30; Non-members $60

 

 

Cancellation: You can cancel your own registration for an event before the cancellation deadline. (Please check the event information for specific cancellation details.) If the event has a fee, refunds are possible only if cancellation is prior to the deadline. If you do not attend and do not cancel prior to an event, you are still responsible for payment and will be billed.

Special Accommodations: Please alert BrightWorks 2-3 weeks prior to the workshop/event if you need special accommodations, including sign language interpreters. (BrightWorks requires a notice of 2 business days to cancel a sign language interpreter. If you fail to cancel, we reserve the right to bill your school/district for this expense.) Update your profile as needed. Special accommodations are not included with each registration, but are stored in your profile until you make changes.