When students struggle in school, it’s not always because they have difficulty grasping the subject matter they’re being taught. A student might be great at math and English and history and yet still underperform in their classes, leaving them understandably frustrated.
More than likely, it’s struggles with bigger issues like time management, organization, and studying that are holding them back, bringing down their confidence and potentially their grades.
In these cases, standard subject tutoring typically isn’t the right solution. Students need something more holistic, something that addresses the root of their challenges and helps them improve their executive function skills so they can be more successful in all areas of life.
They need an executive functioning coach. Or, as we call it here at Signet, an academic coach.
The Importance of Executive Functions
Executive functioning is the group of skills students need to perform various daily activities, including planning, organizing, time management, and integrating what they know into a plan of action.
The term refers to a set of mental processes that connect past experience with present action. The ability to self-regulate and manage oneself to achieve goals is the essence of executive functioning.
5 core executive function skills
The five core executive function skills include:
- Inhibition: the first skill required to take intentional action
- Planning/sequencing: sets a course for the behaviors or actions needed to reach that goal
- Organizing: keeping track of the pieces as you move toward intentional action
- Working memory: holding a goal in your brain long enough to achieve it without forgetting
- Emotional regulation: managing and regulating your feelings when you hit a snag or get frustrated
Good Executive Functioning Supports Academic Success
Skills like time management, organization, and studying are crucial to academic success, empowering students to improve their overall performance and build confidence. Students with well-developed executive function skills can become better at:
- Short-term and long-term planning
- Keeping track of time so that they complete their work in a timely manner
- Putting systems in place to get things done, like studying for a big exam
- Multi-tasking
- Integrating prior knowledge into future schoolwork
The right executive function coach can guide them along this important journey.
Holistic Academic Skills Coaching at Signet
At Signet, we use “academic coaching” as an umbrella term that includes executive function coaching. Our academic coaches base their work on a life coaching methodology that they customize to best support each unique student.
Executive function coaches and academic coaches collaborate with students to foster and guide their personal growth. They provide the framework, support, and accountability to empower students to solve their own problems—which can be incredibly powerful for students with executive function challenges!
Students gain not only the tips and tricks needed to master time management, organization, and studying but also a restored sense of purpose, confidence, and self-esteem.
If it sounds like your student could benefit from academic skills coaching, Signet would love to hear from you and discuss how we can help. Contact us today for a free consultation, and let’s start this important conversation!
