Playtime is many things. It’s fun for children. It’s an escape for busy parents. But it’s much more than that. According to Dr. Stephanie M. Carlson, distinguished McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota, and Reflection Sciences co-founder, “Play is about as ‘blueprinted’ a behavior as you can have in terms of basic survival…
Everyday, we are bombarded with new information on and experiences with COVID-19. While we may be acutely aware of how the pandemic impacts us personally we may not know how the pandemic is impacting our children or students, or how to prevent possible long-term negative effects. It’s logical to presume that many children are experiencing…
Whether you know it or not, Executive Function (EF) is present in your classroom. From lining up for recess in elementary school to performing a lab experiment in high school, the brain’s air traffic control system is being fine-tuned at these moments. According to EF expert and co-founder of the Reflection Sciences, Dr. Stephanie Carlson,…
Executive Function, or “EF”, is a distinct set of skills imperative to school readiness and academic success. Scientists refer to these skills as the biological foundation for adaptation and learning throughout life. They argue that strong working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control – the 3 components of EF – provide the basis upon which…
Teachers are Being Asked to Do Even More This Fall If you’re brave enough to try Googling “going back to school this fall”, you’ll get over 2 BILLION results. And while there are countless predictions about how learning will be delivered amidst the pandemic, the only certainty is that teachers will bear much of the…
After more than a year of planning and hard work, we are proud to announce our new line of Executive Function professional development courses for educators! These new online, mobile-friendly courses are the product of more than 50 years of collective teaching experience.
“Trauma” has become a buzzword of sorts. You might have heard the term “trauma-informed education” or heard someone say that they feel “triggered”. These words and phrases have gained popularity, with some even suggesting that “trauma” was the mental health buzzword of 2018. The American Psychological Association defines trauma as, “an emotional response to a…
As an educator, you know how important it is to find learning and behavioral issues as early as possible in children to give them the best chance for academic and social emotional success. Reading proficiently by the end of third grade (as measured by NAEP at the beginning of fourth grade) can be a make-or-break…
Reducing Stress and Supporting Executive Function Development Stress is the enemy of Executive Function. It undermines reflection, attention, self-awareness, thinking, and problem-solving capacity. Watch the video below to see how prolonged stress can be mitigated by mindfulness training and help to promote successful problem solving. Want to learn more about activities you can do with…
Successful problem solving depends on reflection Successful problem solving depends on reflection: considering the information you know and how it relates to the problem at hand. Performance on the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) Task, a precursor to the Minnesota Executive Function Scale, improves after children are prompted to *stop* and *reflect* briefly before responding.…