- By Eden
- Salley
Navigating Knowledge: How Executive Function Helps Children Learn, Adapt, and Resolve Conflicting Information
This article is part of our weekly series, Executive Function Tips for Families.
Why Understanding EF and Learning Matters
Executive function (EF) skills play a crucial role in a child’s ability to learn and grow academically. Understanding the relationship between EF and the types of knowledge your child encounters can help you support their educational journey. In this article, we examine a study explaining how EF skills work with factual and conceptual learning, particularly when children’s prior knowledge is challenged.
Before We Continue:
The study discussed in this article, Individual differences in executive function and learning: The role of knowledge type and conflict with prior knowledge (Grenell, A., & Carlson, S. M. (2021) Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 206, Article 105079), focused on how information that conflicts with a child’s prior knowledge can influence the connection between executive function (EF) and learning. Researchers examined the ability of children to learn two types of information: factual and conceptual. Factual information involves simple, verifiable bits of information about a particular topic while conceptual information involves a broader understanding of a topic that can involve several facts. Check out the study for more information.
Examples of Factual and Conceptual Knowledge in Math, Literacy, and Science:
Math
- Factual: 1 + 1 = 2.
- Conceptual: Adding numbers increases the total, while subtracting decreases it.
Literacy
- Factual: The letter ‘T’ is pronounced as ‘tah’.
- Conceptual: Punctuation, such as commas and question marks, affects how sentences are read and understood.
Science
- Factual: Water freezes at 32°F.
- Conceptual: Temperature changes can lead to different states of matter, like melting and freezing.
Key Takeaways
While it’s well-known that EF skills support learning, this study reveals new insights: EF uniquely predicts specific learning outcomes, such as factual and conceptual knowledge acquisition, and its impact varies depending on factors like task demands and conflicts with prior knowledge. Key findings include:
- Executive Function Uniquely Predicts Learning
Individual differences in EF skills predicted children’s learning of both factual and conceptual knowledge, even after controlling for age, verbal IQ, and prior knowledge–factors that are known to influence both EF skill level and learning. This demonstrates that EF uniquely influences the construction of new knowledge, beyond simply enabling children to express previously acquired information. - Different EF Components Predict Different Types of Learning
- Working memory and cognitive flexibility predicted conceptual learning, aligning with the need to overcome conflicting prior knowledge.
- Motor inhibition predicted factual learning, potentially due to its indirect impact on attention and the ability to sit still during learning. This finding diverges from prior research and suggests that task design (e.g., requiring behavioral regulation) may influence outcomes.
- Conflict with Prior Knowledge Interacts with EF
The degree of conflict between children’s prior knowledge and new information significantly influenced how EF skills predicted conceptual learning. Children with stronger working memory and cognitive flexibility skills were better at resolving conflicts and constructing new conceptual knowledge when prior knowledge was challenged. This finding highlights the importance of EF in navigating and reconciling conflicting information.
Actionable Steps for Parents
- Use Story Time to Support Factual and Conceptual Learning
Story time is a great way to build EF skills while helping your child distinguish between factual details and broader concepts.- Strengthen factual learning with direct questions: “What did the hungry caterpillar eat next?”
- Foster conceptual understanding by exploring deeper ideas: “Why was the caterpillar eating so much?”
- Encourage cognitive flexibility by discussing alternate outcomes: “How would the story change if the caterpillar skipped eating apples?”
- Try: Beyond the Book: Four Mini Executive Function Games for Story Time.
- Help Your Child Handle Conflicts with Prior Knowledge
Activities that require integrating new ideas with existing knowledge are excellent for building EF skills, and helping your child practice handling conflicts with prior knowledge.- Engage in games or imaginative play that challenge your child to reconcile new and old information.
- Use puzzles to enhance working memory and cognitive flexibility, skills that the study showed to be predictors of conceptual learning.
- Play: Let’s Sort It Out! to practice organizing facts and concepts while using EF skills.
- Remember: Ask questions like “What animal made that sound?” or “How did you build that tower?” to prompt your child to explain their reasoning, further developing EF.
Why It Matters
Understanding the connection between executive function skills and learning equips parents with tools to better support their child’s education. EF not only helps children acquire and apply factual and conceptual knowledge but also enables them to adapt when new information conflicts with what they already know. By nurturing skills like working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control, parents can help prepare their children to approach challenges with confidence and adaptability.
