At The Haverford School, educators and students receive trainings on executive function, providing a shared language to discuss student learning. This standardized language of learning aids everything from student support to self advocacy.
Lessons begin with the three executive functions:
Working memory “The engine for learning”
The skills that enable us to hold and manipulate mental information for short periods.
Inhibitory control “Self-control”
The skills we use to filter our thoughts and impulses.
Cognitive flexibility “Thinking outside the box”
The skills required to shift attention among various components of a task, helping us recognize new information, mistakes, and fresh perspectives.
These three functions contain a set of executive function skills. From foundational skills like task initiation to advanced skills like problem-solving, executive function skills label cognitive processes.
The Haverford School Enrichment and Learning Center (ELC) continually evaluates and improves how our School develops the executive functions in our students, grade by grade. “Teachers’ instincts are often right,” Director of the Enrichment and Learning Center Nichole Pugliese P’31 ’36 says. The rise in awareness of executive function does not mean our teachers must change what they know aids learning in their classrooms.
Research on executive function proves that it must be built into existing routines so that it is practiced early and often. The Haverford School builds executive function in ways that are seamless and intentional, not scripted or hollow. As one of our teachers jokes, our curriculum is like a “sneaky kale” smoothie. Our students drink a “delicious smoothie” of fun projects that is also full of nutrients for their developing brains.
Executive function skills, developed over time and through experiences, form independent adults. According to Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child, children are born with the “blueprint” to develop these skills. A proliferation of non-certified executive function coaches can lead to the misconception that every child needs specific courses to develop these skills.
While it is true that some students experience executive dysfunctions, most students develop appropriately when provided the scaffolding that helps them eventually become independent. “Our brains are hardwired for these skills,” Pugliese explains. Humans have needed working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility since we were hunter-gatherers.
Think: “Where was that berry bush?” “Don’t whistle while hunting rabbits!” “There’s a bear in my cave; maybe I should sleep somewhere else.”
The advantage of a continuous curriculum from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 is that we can target the cornerstone competencies for each age. Existing research and tools ensure Haverford provides age and developmentally-appropriate challenges for our students.
Knowing the generalized scope of a learner’s development from dependent to independent informs the scaffolding we provide to boys of various ages. Haverford’s curriculum accumulates, building the executive function of our boys from the foundation to the roof. We start with “What does it mean to be a Haverford pre-kindergarten student?” and ask that question for every grade, landing at “What does it mean to be a Haverford graduate?”
By the time Haverford students graduate, they understand who they are as learners, advocate for themselves, and manage their own schedules. Holding our students accountable within our systems helps us identify, early on, when they need help building that independence. Our single-sex environment encourages accountability.
Depending on the student, there is a benefit to the single-sex environment and a program intentionally designed for the way boys’ brains develop. Haverford’s curriculum teaches boys not just how to learn, but how to ask for help. The Enrichment and Learning Center (ELC) is part of the Haverford experience. While other schools may require additional cost for learning support, our ELC welcomes every student, whenever he wants to visit. The vulnerability required to ask for help serves as a basis for the relationship our boys form with the educators here to support them.
When Haverford boys receive their diplomas, they accept our expectation to become men of character. Our intentional curriculum has prepared them for this challenge. On graduation day, the scaffolding comes down and Haverford men stand on their own. And, they are ready.
To learn more about The Haverford School, visit https://www.haverford.org/
