Executive Function

Student reflection, task completion, & time management are the main areas of focus for improving executive function with the students I work with. I have employed email and phone conversations as my main forms of communication. Moving forward, I would like to also implement the use of Google Forms so that I can keep track of student responses over the duration of the semester. Currently, I keep notes on an excel document for all students on my caseload (around 300 courses).

Building a rapport and relationship with students is very important in order for them to feel comfortable communicating and advocating for their needs. One of the challenges in a student-centered approach is student motivation. While much of the course is teacher led and driven, by ensuring the student knows that I am a person on the other side of the computer helps with their desire to communicate with me. In order to get to know students, I email students regularly with questions to get to know them. When they respond, I typically go deeper with questioning and responses. Once they know I am focused on providing them the support they need, they are much more likely to come to me with questions and concerns.

For the reflection piece, I focused on having the student reflect on how they are using their time in their course, the feedback the instructor is leaving, and if they need to make any changes to get different results. In addition, I encourage them to make goals related to task completion, especially if they are feeling rushed on each deadline to finish up assignments. I use task completion tools within Canvas to determine the percent of assignments completed throughout the semester. If a student is not making progress in completing their coursework, then I communicate more frequently.