Get started with Executive Function
Get started with Executive Function, the root of academic and social emotional skill development. Prepare your organization for greater success.
Try the award-winning MEFS App™ today!
Executive Function
Get started with Executive Function, the root of academic and social emotional skill development. Prepare your organization for greater success.
Try the award-winning MEFS App™ today!
What is Executive Function?
As illustrated in the EF Tree of Success, Executive Function (EF) directly correlates to academic success and socioemotional learning. Often called the air traffic controller of the mind, Executive Function is a key set of brain-based skills required for impulse control in children. In fact, Executive Function can be a better predictor of academic and social-emotional skills than traditional IQ tests. Executive Function, unlike IQ, can also be improved through reflection and practice. In short, Executive Function is one of the most important set of skills that children need to acquire in order to succeed in life.
There Are Three General Skills That Fall Under Executive Function:
Cognitive Flexibility, Working Memory & Inhibitory Control
Cognitive Flexibility
Thinking about something in multiple ways. For example, considering someone else’s perspective on a situation, or a different way to solve a problem.
Working Memory
Holding information in mind so it can be used to guide behavior. For example, keeping a question in mind in order to formulate an answer.
Inhibitory Control
Ignoring distractions and inhibiting impulsive responses. For example, paying attention to a teacher and resisting a side conversation with a friend.
Why Measure Executive Function?
Executive Function can be a better predictor of academic and social-emotional skills than traditional IQ tests. It can also be improved through reflection and practice. Executive Function supports the process of learning including: focusing, remembering, planning, reading, writing & computation.
“Research on the developing brain shows us that early childhood experiences build the foundation for a skilled workforce, a responsible community, and a thriving economy. A new evidence base has identified a set of skills that are essential for school achievement, for the preparation and adaptability of our future workforce, and for avoiding a wide range of population health problems.” – from the Center of the Developing Child, Harvard University
3 Step Process to Improve SEL in Every Student
To maximize every child’s potential for success, Reflection Sciences encourages implementation of our 3 Step Process – Professional Development, Assessment, and Intervention Activities. Step 1 (Professional Development) will provide the foundational knowledge of Executive Function. Step 2 (the MEFS App™) is the reliable and valid assessment of the students. Step 3 (Intervention Activities) provides simple tools and games to improve Executive Function. Get started today!
UNDERSTAND
Professional Development
Reflection Sciences offers a variety of professional development courses centered around the understanding, measurement, and improvement of Executive Function.
MEASURE
MEFS App™
Our award-winning MEFS App™ is research reliable and valid down to age 24 months. MEFS provides a direct score of Executive Function in approximately 5 minutes or less. Children love the game-like app!
IMPROVE
Activities
From digital games, to downloadable guides, Reflection Sciences and its reputable partners offer Executive Function activity strategies for students of all ages in a variety of means
Executive Function & Social Development:
What’s the connection?
Executive Function skills are consistently associated with social development. Individuals with better Executive Function skills are better able to understand someone else’s perspective and beliefs, as well as predict the behavior of others in a social setting. One form of social cognition associated with Executive Function is called Theory of Mind. Having a developed ‘Theory of Mind’ means having an understanding that people have their own thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and opinions. Individuals also possess their own mental states that might or might not align with reality or with someone else’s mental state.
There is an implied connection between a preschooler’s ability to demonstrate their Theory of Mind and the development of executive functioning skills. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics states that much like early Executive Function skills, healthy early childhood social-emotional development is essential for educational readiness, social well-being, and preventive mental health.
“Theory of mind” is the understanding that peoples’ actions are caused by idiosyncratic mental states like beliefs, desires, and intentions.”
-Wellman, H. M. (1990). The Child ‘s Theory of Mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
What your organization gets with their Reflection Sciences Plan
Free Plan
For Individual Classrooms
Premium Plan
For B2B Customers
What your organization gets with their Reflection Sciences Plan
Features
Free Plan
For Individual Classrooms
Premium Plan
For B2B Customers
Basic Executive Function (EF) and Introductory Assessment Training (60 minutes)
EFgo™
MEFS™
Up to 35
Unlimited
Free Classroom Activity (Bear/Dragon)
Personalized Activities Recommendations
Advanced Research Data Export / Trials
Premium Products
Available with respective plan(s)
Upgrades Available
For Classrooms
Premium Plan
For B2B Customers
Executive Function MEFS Certification
Professional Development
RS Activities Guide
Partner Activities
Consulting / Advanced Data Analysis
RS Provides Examiners for Professional Development + MEFS Deployment/Assessment