Category: Resources for Educators

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Surprising Results from the Marshmallow Test

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis recently posted their recording of their Fall Education Conference featuring Dr. Stephanie Carlson‘s surprising research on children’s ability to delay gratification and the Marshmallow Test. In her presentation, Dr. Carlson discusses the long-term outcomes associated with the ability to delay gratification in the early years as well as the…

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Achievement Gap & Child-Parent Centers

Four-year-old Lola lives with her mother and three siblings in an impoverished, high-crime neighborhood, where even walking to school can be dangerous. Lola’s mother works two jobs, but as a single parent, she barely earns enough to pay for childcare and living expenses. Lola’s mother notices that Lola has trouble managing her emotions and following…

child happy about executive function
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Does the Batman Effect help some children more than others?

The tennis ball hits the net for the fifth time in a row. You are discouraged and want to give up. But then you picture Serena Williams serving the ball flawlessly over the net. You picture her form, her swing, the racket’s contact with the ball, and her follow through. Thinking about how Serena would…

mother and son improving child self control
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Preschool Promise Measures Executive Function

The Preschool Promise program, a nonprofit serving Dayton, OH area preschoolers and their families, is closing the achievement gap through school readiness, equity, and resources. The program concentrates on a prominent issue experienced not only in the Dayton community but across a number of US communities: that far too many African-American and Appalachian preschoolers do…

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Language and Executive Function

Language and executive function skills are both critical to a child’s development. But did you know they are related to each other in important ways? Language development and executive function (EF) skills have a reciprocal relationship, meaning each relies on the other for optimal growth. EF skills represent a set of cognitive processes that underlie…

Children and Teacher in Classroom
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Childhood Brain Rhythm + Executive Function

Research agrees that there are prominent changes in brain rhythm (repeated patterns of brain wave activity across different areas of the scalp) from early to middle childhood. Currently, researchers are investigating if – and how – these changes are related to key developmental outcomes such as Executive Function (EF). EF is an umbrella term that…

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Cohort Effects on Delay of Gratification

The Marshmallow Test is conceivably one of the most prominent developmental research studies on delay of gratification. In the late 1960s to early 70s, American Psychologist and Stanford University Professor, Dr. Walter Mischel, and his team sat children down at a table and placed a marshmallow (or other treat chosen by the child) in front of…

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Think Small Video Testimonial

Dianne Haulcy, Think Small‘s Senior Vice President for Family Engagement, talks briefly about Think Small’s experience with the Minnesota Executive Function Scale (MEFS) App. “We looked at several different tools and we landed on the MEFS for a couple different reasons: one, because it was very easy to administer, and two, because as we really…

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National Effort: Improve Student Outcomes

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) are teaming up in a national effort: improve student outcomes through research and development. Yesterday (May 8, 2018), the two nonprofits announced that they are extending a public Request for Information (RFI) about innovative ways to facilitate, accelerate, and improve the academic and non-academic outcomes that…