Executive functioning skills are the transferable durable skills that students need to be successful in school and life, including organizational habits, time management, goal setting, self-regulation, and more.

The two main reasons that schools leave these skills to chance is time and know-how. Especially in secondary schools, the focus is on content and not necessarily the skills to access the content. Mitch is on a mission to change that so that kids are better prepared for college, career, and life in general.

Mitch talks about the science of teaching as another aspect of what continues to be missing in schools, and he ultimately recommends Powerful Classrooms by Patrice Bain.

One of the most important things that teachers can do to set students up for success is to ensure a predictable routine from classroom-to-classroom and day-to-day. Mitch says that it’s as important for teachers to be talking about their routines as it is for them to discuss lesson planning and curriculum resources.

When students have a predictable routine, they can focus their attention on learning and not use their cognitive load on managing the task at hand.

Mitch describes the fact that we’re often preparing students for jobs that don’t exist yet, which is a major reason why they need executive functioning skills even over some of the other content that we teach in schools.

He tells a story about one of his own kids who has 6 teachers per day and that they all require different routines and procedures in their classrooms.

We discuss the movement toward developing a Portrait of a Graduate and how durable skills, like executive functions, fit right into that conversation.

We discuss the Huberman Lab episode about Optimal Protocols for Studying and Learning.

Check out Organized Binder to learn more about Mitch and his work that helps students with college and career readiness.

Learn more about college and career readiness tools at MaiaLearning.com.

Book a time to discuss college and career readiness with the host, Dr. T.J. Vari.