Research Conversation: What is Executive Functioning?

As the 2023-2024 academic season begins, educators, researchers, and parents are scratching their heads about a troubling trend: a continued slide in academic achievement. While many point to the pandemic as the culprit, a deeper, less-visible issue may be at play. Educational researchers have shown that a student’s executive functioning–their ability to plan, focus, and recall information–plays a critical role in their academic achievement. Yet, this concept remains largely unexplored and unaddressed in our educational system. This prompts a critical question: Are we overlooking a crucial element of student success?

In this episode of Change Starts Here, host Dustin Odham invites Dr. Jennifer Chevalier, Dr. Eve Miller, and Kim Yaris to examine the mystery of executive functioning and its impact on academic success. They delve into practical and research-driven insights, discuss ways to improve the current situation, and bring to light the scale and implications of the problem. Additionally, there is an executive functioning handout that lays out many important points and tips about this topic.