Executive Function, Language & Literacy, Tracht, Summer 2020

Note: Course payment or purchase order of $975 payable to CASTLETON UNIVERSITY is due at the time of registration. A purchase order number can be entered into the online registration form. Financial & Registration Services, Castleton University, 62 Alumni Drive, Castleton, VT 05735. To help us ensure that your payment is applied to the correct course, PLEASE WRITE “CFS” IN THE CHECK MEMO LINE. Thank you.

Course Description

The term “Executive Function” has become widely used in the field of education, yet is poorly understood. This course will provide an understanding of this complex term and how it impacts learning, with a particular focus on language and literacy. Participants will learn about the conditions that can interfere with Executive Functioning, including ADHD, as well as the variability in how problems with Executive Functions can appear in students. 

Through readings, videos, and discussions in weekly face-to-face online classrooms as well as online discussions, participants share experiences, challenges, strategies and insights. Educators leave the course with a new lens through which to view students and strategies to enhance success for the students in their classrooms. 

Course Goals & Objectives

1. To identify and describe core characteristics of ADHD and Executive Functions
2. To demonstrate understanding of the impact of processing speed, gender, and trauma on Executive Functions 
3. To demonstrate understanding of the connection of Language to Executive Function as well as Literacy
4. To demonstrate understanding of the impact of Executive Functioning on reading, including decoding and comprehension
5. To demonstrate understanding of the complexity of Executive Function skills required for the task of writing
6. To learn and apply strategies to increase reading and writing success for students with weakness in executive functioning

Course Schedule:

Week 1 – 6/22 - 6/28: Introduction to ADHD and Executive Function

Week 2 – 6/29 - 7/5: Executive Function and the Brain

Week 3 – 7/6 – 7/12: Self-Regulation, Executive Function and Language

Week 4 – 7/13 – 7/19: Executive Function and Reading

Week 5 – 7/20 – 7/26: Executive Function and Writing

Weekly

• Weekly Face-to-Face Zoom Meeting: 2 hours per week
• Significant Take-Away Discussion Board: 2 hours per week - After reading and viewing coursework and completing assignments weekly, you will be required to identify at least one significant new understanding. Each week, you will be required to post a comment by Thursdays, minimum of a paragraph, and respond to at least two of your classmate’s comments by Sunday. The goal of this forum is to produce some lively discussion and deepen our thinking
• Text or Media Related Short Answer Responses: .5 hour per week You will be assigned questions related to the week’s material
• Weekly Quiz: .5 hour per week
• Videos, articles and textbook chapters: 2-4 hours per week

Final Week only

Summary of 3 articles on a related topic: 3-5 hours You will select a topic for further research and read 2-3 articles, provided for you, on this topic. You will be required to provide a 2-3 page summary of the articles

Required Texts

Executive Function in the Classroom: Practical Strategies for Improving Performance and Enhancing Skills for All Students, 1^st    Edition by Christopher Kaufman Ph.D.

Instructor provided articles posted on Canvas

 For additional course information

Debbie Tracht
(802) 349-7222

For additional registration information

Bethany Sprague
(802) 468-1325

Register online now!