Executive Function in Education: From Theory to Practice [Hardcover]

Lynn Meltzer PhD (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 10, 2007 | ISBN-10: 1593854285 | ISBN-13: 978-1593854287 | Edition: 1

This uniquely integrative book brings together research on executive function processes from leaders in education, neuroscience, and psychology. It focuses on how to apply current knowledge to assessment and instruction with diverse learners, including typically developing children and those with learning difficulties and developmental disabilities. The role of executive function processes in learning is examined and methods for identifying executive function difficulties are reviewed. Chapters describe scientifically grounded models for promoting these key cognitive capacities at the level of the individual child, the classroom, and the entire school. Implications for teaching particular content areas—reading, writing, and math—are also discussed.

(20100901)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"From an impressive list of contributing authors, this book goes well beyond the traditional 'frontal lobe metaphor' in describing the executive function construct, challenging its conceptualization as a static, unitary skill. In doing so, the contributors consider the unique roles of brain development, personal experience, and the changing demands and supports in the classroom setting. Not only do Meltzer and colleagues explain the role of executive dysfunction in the classroom, they provide explicit strategies for intervention, with clear teaching examples. Hence, this volume will be a welcome resource for educators, psychologists, and other practitioners."--E. Mark Mahone, PhD, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

 

"Meltzer has put together a much-needed text addressing the skills involved in high-order thinking. This is a timely volume that speaks to the array of issues in executive processing. The book assembles an excellent cross-section of researchers and clinicians with expertise in both theoretical issues and classroom instruction. This text succeeds in its quest to bridge the gap between research and educational practice."--H. Lee Swanson, PhD, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Riverside

 

"Finally, a book that clearly describes the significant role that executive function plays in learning! More importantly, this book presents very practical suggestions for effectively teaching students to use their executive functions. The contributing authors are among the leading experts in the field. This book provides a level of specificity on how to improve executive function through the teaching process that is not available in any other source."--Donald D. Deshler, PhD, Center for Research on Learning, University of Kansas

 

"This timely and much-needed book focuses on executive function (EF) from an educational perspective. While acknowledging that aspects of EF remain poorly understood, the book succeeds in offering practical guidelines and clear examples of how to teach and promote students' use of EF across the curriculum. Clearly, instruction in EF is essential for some students with special educational needs, but emphasis is also given to how EF instruction will benefit all students within inclusive classrooms. This volume will be an excellent addition to the libraries of teachers and psychologists. It will serve as an invaluable resource for discussion in graduate courses in education, educational psychology, clinical psychology, educational neuroscience, and developmental psychopathology."--Rosemary Tannock, PhD, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto; Program in Neuroscience and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children

"This is a very useful book for specialists working with children and adolescents as it brings together research and practice in a readable format."--Schooldays Magazine

(Schooldays Magazine )

About the Author

Lynn Meltzer, PhD, is Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Institute for Learning and Development (ILD) and ResearchILD in Lexington, Massachusetts. She holds appointments as an Associate in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Tufts University Department of Child Development. Dr. Meltzer's clinical practice, research, publications, and presentations have focused on understanding the complexity of learning and attention problems using a multidimensional model to bridge the gap between theory, research, and practice. A fellow and past president of the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities, she is the founder and chair of the national Learning Differences Conference.

 

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: The Guilford Press; 1 edition (January 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593854285
• ISBN-13: 978-1593854287
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #658,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful for your educating school personnel, December 23, 2007

By 

schleppenheimer (Pennsylvania USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Executive Function in Education: From Theory to Practice (Hardcover)

This is an excellent, informative book on executive function, which is often a lot of the problem with students further on the spectrum and who are mainstreamed in school. It explains things I haven't really understood previously about executive function problems that my son deals with -- why he doesn't get started on a project, why he doesn't continue through a project and finish it to the end. Various authors contributed to this book, and so you get a psychological, physical, and educational perspective that is necessary for understanding the situation, and some very good tools to help. Also of benefit is a full explanation of the battery of tests that are used to figure out if a student has executive function problems.

I took the book with me to our son's IEP this year, and used it quite a bit to help our son's teachers understand what might be issues in the coming year.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Resource for Parents and Practitioners, February 5, 2009

By 

Christopher J. Alexander, Ph.D. "Christopher ... (Rio Rancho, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Executive Function in Education: From Theory to Practice (Hardcover)

As a child psychologist who works primarily with foster and adopted children, I use this book quite frequently as a resource. I also recommend it to parents who have children with learning disorders, cognitive problems, or just a tough time being in school.

It's an edited book, so one advantage is that the reader gets various perspectives on helping children with executive delays and challenges. The first part of the book is more clinical, however, which means most parents will derive the greatest benefit from the last 6 chapters.

Collectively, the authors do a nice job of helping the reader to understand what the child's experience is like. This helps broaden empathy on the part of teachers and parents alike, as too often, everyone spends too much time being mad at or frustrated with the child.

I hope the book is selling well, as it is a good resource; in fact, it is one of the better books I've come across in this classification. I'd like to see it as required reading for special education teachers and in classes for parents of special needs kids.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thinking Process Clarified, May 28, 2007

By 

Thomas( Doc Savage 45) (St. James, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Executive Function in Education: From Theory to Practice (Hardcover)

As a psychologist with 30 years experience, I have been focusing on issues of attention, memory and cognition, as it relates to self esteeme, performance, and the development of emotional difficulties. The text is more focused on school which is where we developed and where we met our most difficult challenges in performance. It is exciting to see that educators are doing more to help children who are between the special education criterion and the kids who don't have difficulty. It is also important to understand the process of learning so we can better teach to the student rather than the student learning how we teach! This book can help open the educators doors to higher learning.