2023 Pennsylvania Department of Education (In-Person) Conference
53. Smart but Scattered: Improving Executive Skills to Promote School Success
Session Dates
Friday March 03, 2023 8:30 AM - 9:30 AM - Hershey Lodge and Convention Center
Closed
Youngsters with weak executive skills are disorganized or forgetful, have trouble getting started on tasks, get distracted easily, lose papers or assignments, forget to bring home the materials to complete homework or forget to hand homework in. They may rush through work or dawdle; they make careless mistakes that they fail to catch. They don’t know where to begin on long-term assignments, and they put the assignment off until the last minute, in part because they have trouble judging the magnitude of the task and how long it will take to complete it. Their workspaces are disorganized, and teachers may refer to their desks, backpacks, and notebooks as “black holes.” Some students struggle with executive skills more than others, but just as the pandemic produced “learning loss” in students in general, it also had a negative impact on executive skill development. This workshop will introduce the “Smart but Scattered” model of executive skills, beginning with an overview of the 11 skills that comprise this model. Three broad strategies to support students with executive skill challenges will be described.
Target Audience
General education and special education administrators and teachers, paraprofessionals, school psychologists, professional development staff, and families of students with disabilities are encouraged to attend.
Reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate individuals who have special needs as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act and who need assistance at this event. Contact: Debra Jordan at (610) 878-7224 or
djordan@pattan.net.