What are executive functions and how do they help children learn maths and science?

Executive functions are the skills we use to monitor and control our thoughts and actions. They enable us to respond flexibly to our environment and engage in deliberate, goal-directed, thought and action. For example, when going to the supermarket, executive functions enable us to hold and update a mental shopping list, plan a route around the shop, change our plans if a particular ingredient isn’t available, and resist being distracted by enticing treats. Students with good executive functions skills have been shown to have better academic outcomes in mathematics (e.g. Cragg et al., 2017) and science (e.g. Rhodes et al., 2014; 2016). The executive function skills that are particularly important for learning and achievement are resisting distractions (inhibitory control) and holding information in mind (working memory). Both of these skills continue to improve throughout childhood and adolescence. There are also large differences in these skills between individuals of the same age.  

There are a number of different types of distraction involved in learning mathematics and science. As well as external distractions in the classroom, distractions can also arise within the learning context itself; for example irrelevant information in a word problem or related, but currently irrelevant, information from prior knowledge, e.g whole number knowledge when dealing with rational numbers (8 is bigger than 4 but 1/8 is not bigger than ¼). Distractions can also come from misconceptions, such as that the sun moves round the earth. These are distracting because our misconceptions are not replaced by new knowledge but have to be actively inhibited, which requires cognitive effort. This active inhibition can be particularly difficult when students are tired, under time pressure or feeling anxious, such as during a test or exam.  

Mathematical and scientific thinking, especially problem solving, can require holding a large amount of information in working memory. This can include, the aim of the activity, a mental model of the problem to be solved, learning and retrieving facts, identifying conceptual relationships, remembering and manipulating multiple variables and considering a range of possible alternatives. However, the amount of information that can be held in working memory is limited and students may struggle with any of these if their working memory becomes overloaded.  

So, what can be done to support students’ executive function skills in the classroom? Unfortunately, isolated executive function training has not been found to improve outcomes in mathematics and science. Consistently reducing executive function demands is not helpful either, as these demands are integral to mathematical and scientific thinking. However, it is worth being mindful of the executive function demands of classroom activities, avoiding overloading or distracting students unnecessarily, and considering what additional support you could provide.