Monthly Archives: July 2015

executive functioning assessment

Executive Functioning Assessment

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Executive functioning assessment is important if you suspect your child has executive function deficits. Executive function skills play an important role in your child’s performance in school, so getting these skills identified early will allow your child the ability to strengthen them for future years.

Deficits in executive function skills can lead to your child having difficulties with the following everyday activities of a student:

  • Being organized
  • Starting and completing work
  • Remembering to complete homework on time
  • Memorizing and recalling facts
  • Writing essays or reports
  • Working through math problems
  • Being punctual
  • Managing one’s emotions
  • Finishing long-term projects
  • Planning ahead

Executive functioning assessment is actually a recent phenomenon — so new in fact that there is no standardized procedure. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t tests available for executive functioning assessment.

There are a variety of tests available, and this article will introduce you to them so you know what to expect during an executive functioning assessment.

Types of Executive Functioning Assessment

Doctor’s Evaluation

Almost invariably, an interview with a doctor will be an integral part of an executive functioning assessment. The interview will be designed to learn about your child’s performance at school and a bit about his or her home life.

Here are some examples of topics you will be asked about during an executive functioning assessment:

  • How does your child organize school work?
  • How does your child organize their academic life?
  • What are your child’s study skills like? Are they able to start and complete school work on their own, without being supervised?
  • How does your child manage their academic projects and assignments? Do they come with all assignments they need to complete, and actually turn in the homework to the teacher?
  • How does your child organize their bedroom, closet, drawers, backpack, desk or locker?
  • Can you recall a time when your child was particularly forgetful? Has your child ever lost his or her property?

You might sense a common theme in this questions, which is organization. These questions are used to determine the level of your child’s internal and external organization.

The examples above refer mainly to external organization, because they can be observed from the outside by parents and teachers.

What’s more difficult to determine is the level of your child’s internal organization. Internal organization can best be observed through your child’s school work. For example, how your child organizes their ideas into an essay, and how he or she uses formulas to solve math problems.

Your child’s organization skills become more observable during the transition from elementary school to middle school, and the transition between middle school and high school.

Each level of schooling comes with increased demands in organization. In addition, the increased complexity in academic materials may make it more difficult for your child to progress through the years.

Formal Examination

Since the idea of executive functioning assessment is so new, few formal examinations have been created. The ones that are available are designed to test your child’s organization skills, working memory, and ability to retrieve long-term memories. No matter what type of executive functioning assessment you end up getting for your child, you can almost surely expect them to examine the same set of skills.

To help identify your child’s some of your child’s executive functioning skills we welcome you to browse through the games on our site. Show them to your child and watch how they interact with the games. Best of all, gaming is always free at Identifor.

multiple intelligences learning styles

Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles

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When it comes to multiple intelligences and learning styles, it’s believed that each learner has a primary learning style, and he or she can be taught how to study in a way that compliments their particular learning style.

In addition, the theory of multiple intelligences and learning styles suggests that people also have a secondary style of learning which can be used to reinforce their primary learning style.

According to studies, students have been proven to learn more effectively when multiple intelligences and learning styles are considered. When educators teach in a way that complements a student’s primary and secondary learning style, that student has the potential to perform better in their studies.

A person’s learning style can be determined through a variety of ways — for a list of resources see https://www.learning-styles-online.com — and once determined can be used as the person’s strength that will enable them to master new and difficult information.

Matching multiple intelligences and learning styles with educational models compatible with an individual’s preferences has been proven to be beneficial to that person’s academic success.

When considering multiple intelligences and learning styles we’re about to go over in this article, keep in mind that at no time are we suggesting one is better than the other.

Instead, what we’re aiming to do with this article is examine how multiple intelligences and learning styles are different and complementary.

When multiple intelligences and learning styles are matched together this can lead to an increase in student learning.

In a book titled “Developing Students’ Multiple Intelligences”, author Kristen Nicholson-Nelson proposed that people who are smart in an intelligence learn best through methods associated with that intelligence.

That being said, here is a list of Howard Gardner’s eight multiple intelligences and complementary learning styles.

List of Howard Gardner’s Eight Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles

  • Verbal-linguistic: learn best through reading, hearing, and seeing words and speaking, writing, discussing, and debating ideas.
  • Math-logical: learn best through working with patterns and relationships, classifying and categorizing, and working with the abstract.
  • Spatial: learn best in working with pictures and colors, visualizing and using the mind’s eye, and drawing.
  • Bodily-kinesthetic: learn best touching, moving, and processing knowledge through bodily sensation.
  • Musical: learn best with rhythm and melody, singing, and listening to music and melodies.
  • Interpersonal: learn best through sharing, comparing and relating with others, interviewing, and cooperating.
  • Intrapersonal: learn best through working alone, doing self-paced projects, and reflecting.
  • Naturalists: learn best when working in nature, exploring living things, and learning about plants and natural events.

Howard Gardner strongly believes people can develop each of the above multiple intelligences and learning styles to varying degrees. All people are different and have different combinations of the above learning styles, each of which are important.

To help identify your child’s learning style we welcome you to browse through some of the game on our site, all of which have been designed to identify multiple intelligences and learning styles. Show them to your child and watch how they interact with the games. Best of all, gaming is always free at Identifor.