Welcome to the LD@school Executive Functions online learning module for educators.

This module is intended to provide an in-depth exploration of executive functions, as they relate to students with learning disabilities (LDs) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), at all grade levels. The eight pillars of executive functioning will be described, along with indicators and strategies for the classroom. You will gain familiarity with screening measures, and draw connections to the Learning Skills and Work Habits that Ontario educators must teach and report on.

The menu on the left hand side of this screen shows you the outline of this module, which should take approximately 45 - 60 minutes to complete. To begin the module, you will complete a self-assessment to gauge your current understanding of this topic. Then, the body of the module will provide you with in-depth information, strategies, and resources to help you support your students. To conclude, you will complete an activity to integrate your new knowledge of executive fucntions with the learning skills and work habits.

Learning goals

  • Understand executive functioning as it relates to LDs and ADHD;
  • Understand the effects that executive functioning difficulties can have on various aspects of learning;
  • Identify the indicators of executive functioning difficulties in your students, at all grade levels;
  • Identify effective strategies to support students with their specific executive functioning difficulties as well as their overall executive functioning development;
  • Deepen your understanding of the Learning Skills and Work Habits in Grades 1 to 12, as referenced in the Ontario Ministry of Education document, Growing Success, and how you can support the continued development of these skills;
  • Identify tools that can be used with your students to gauge their executive functioning strengths and needs.

Upon completion, it is our hope that you will use what you learn here in your everyday and working life to help support the needs of students with LDs, as well as any other students who may struggle with the various aspects of executive functioning.

Thank You to our Collaborator!

This online learning module was developed in collaboration with Dr. Marie-Josée Gendron, Ph.D., C.Psych. The LD@school team would like to sincerely thank Dr. Gendron as we could not have accomplished this work without her contribution!

Dr. Gendron has been a school and a clinical psychologist for the past 15 years, specializing in the mental health of children and youth. She has often taken an eclectic approach to understanding mental health, borrowing from cognitive-behavioural theories of behaviour. She has worked in various school boards, helping students and their families. More recently, she has been a mental health leader, working with various ministries to develop and implement an overall mental health strategy, focusing on positive mental health for all students. Over the years, she has given numerous workshops, spanning the entire mental health continuum, from suicide prevention and awareness to developing resiliency and promoting positive mental well-being.