Executive Functioning Workshop

HJMS
Mrs. Weiser

1

Executive
Functioning
Workshop
Information Packet








Executive Functioning Workshop
HJMS
Mrs. Weiser

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Table of Contents:

The Obvious (or not so obvious?) p. 3-4
The Action Plan! p. 5-9
Get Prepared! p. 10-12
Get Active! p. 13-14
Other Helpful Tips p. 15-16











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HJMS
Mrs. Weiser

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The Obvious
(Or not so obvious??)
1. Come up with a few ideas of why it's important to have a complete
set of notes:
a.
b.
c.
d.
2. Give your friends at least two different systems that they can use to
keep their notes organized. Example: Using a binder with dividers.
a.
b.
3. Make a list of supplies one needs to have to stay organized (think of
everything including what you will need to write on, what you will need
to write with, where you will put handouts etc. ).






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HJMS
Mrs. Weiser

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4. Give your friends some strategies of what to do when they are
absent so that they dont fall behind on their notes etc. Divide the
absences into two types:
a. When you know you will be absent in advance.

b. An unexpected absence.

5. Come up with some tips of how to stay organized throughout the
year, ex. When you see you are running low on lined paper, write it in
your agenda so that you remember to bring some in!
a.
b.
c.








Executive Functioning Workshop
HJMS
Mrs. Weiser

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The ACTION Plan:
Information:
What is chunking? Breaking down a very large amount of material into
smaller more manageable chunks. When one sits down and looks at
pile of 50+ pages of notes they start panicking, however if they divide
those 50 pages into 5 piles of ten to be studied over a 5 day period, it
becomes a lot more manageable. You can chunk your notes by
chapter, topic, unit, etc. Your chunks will depend on how the material
was given over to you by your teacher and the type of material you are
working with ie. hand written notes, text books or handouts.
You may want to use paperclips, tabs, sticky notes or report covers to
separate you chunks. Choose whichever tool you prefer as there is no
wrong tool to use as long as it clearly separates you notes from each
other.
After you have chunked your material you are ready to create a study
plan.
What is a study plan? A study plan is when you determine when, how
long and what you will study over a spaced out period of time. It is a
clear action plan of when you will study your chunked material over a
series of days.
Start Early: More than any other technique, the key to performing well
on exams is starting early and using short, frequent study sessions. The
human brain learns academic material faster and better on an exam if
done in brief blocks of time spread out over longer periods of time,
rather than in a few lengthy sessions. For example, you will perform
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HJMS
Mrs. Weiser

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better on an exam if you spend one hour studying each day for 20 days
than if you spend 10 hours studying each day for two days before an
exam. However, starting to study twenty days in advance may seem
farfetched to you, that is why I am recommending to you the five- day-
study plan, a study action plan recommended by schools across
Canada. In the five day plan you take your chunks of information and
spread them out over a series of five days. On each day you further
break down your chunks by preparing your notes. You also designate
time for reviewing the chunks your prepared the day before.

What it looks like:
Tuesday
Prepare 1st chunk 2 hours
Wednesday
Prepare 2nd chunk 2 hours
Review 1st chunk 30 minutes
Thursday
Prepare 3rd chunk 1-1/2 hours
Review 2nd chunk 30 minutes
Review 1st chunk 15 minutes
Friday
Prepare 4th chunk 1 hour
Review 3rd chunk 30 minutes
Review 2nd chunk 15 minutes
Review 1st chunk 10 minutes
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HJMS
Mrs. Weiser

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Sunday
Review 4th chunk 30 minutes
Review 3rd chunk 20 minutes
Review 2nd chunk 10 minutes
Review 1st chunk 10 minutes
Self-Test 1 hour







What does it mean to prepare your notes?
When you are preparing your notes you are taking one chunk of
information and studying the material using different techniques.
This includes:
making flash cards
taking notes from your text book
creating a study sheet
organizing & summarizing class notes
predicting essay questions & their answers
predicting multiple choice questions
drawing a mind map
drawing diagrams
listing practice problems and/or formulas
reviewing study guides
etc.

When you are reviewing your material you are going over the material
you prepared the night before.
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HJMS
Mrs. Weiser

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This includes:
practicing flash cards
reciting main ideas from your notes without looking
quizzing yourself on the predicted essay or multiple choice
questions
re-creating diagrams from memory
completing practice problems and recite formulas from memory
explaining concepts to study group members
etc.



Now that you know what a study plan is and what preparing and
reviewing are you are ready to start organizing your action plan!

First write down the names of your four chunks of notes:

A: __________________________________________________

B: __________________________________________________

C: __________________________________________________

D: __________________________________________________

2. For each of your four chunks (A, B, C, D), you will need to select
PREPARATION and REVIEW strategies. Take a look at the examples of
the PREPARE and REVIEW strategies listed on the previous page.
Select 2-3 PREPARATION and REVIEW strategies for each of your four
groups of study materials, and list them here (you may decide to revise
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these as you begin to implement your plan). Make sure that your
review strategies complement your preparation
strategies.
e.g.,
A: PREPARE strategies: create outline, make flashcards
REVIEW strategies: review flashcards, self-quiz on outline
Record all the preparation and review strategies you chose on the
attached chart. Good Luck!
























Executive Functioning Workshop
HJMS
Mrs. Weiser

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Get Prepared!

Information: What does it mean to prepare you notes? When it comes
to sitting down and studying for an exam we often are not sure how to
study. Does studying simply mean reading over you notes ten times or
do you need to do a little bit more to really internalize the information?
For most people, reading over their notes is not going to cut it, rather
we need to interact with our notes, preparing them in to new formats
that clearly demonstrate an understanding of what your notes mean.
Today I am going to share with you a number of techniques that one
can use that will help you get the words written in your notes in to your
brains!! Now when you are studying it is not likely that you will use all
of the strategies in one shot, rather you will want to select a couple of
them to try out for each test. This will help you determine which
strategies you like and which ones help you retain the information
best.

Strategies for preparing notes:
Making flash cards- make flash cards of hard vocabulary words
and what they mean, names of people, places or events you need
to know or any dates you need to have memorized.
Taking notes from your text book- Read over your text books
and jot down any key information that you think will be on the
test. Be sure to write the information down in your own words.
That forces you to really think about what the text book is actually
saying.
Creating a study sheet - When you create a study sheet you cram
as much information as you can on to no more than 1 or 2 pages.
That forces you to really only pick out the most important
information that your really think you have to know for the test.
Organizing & summarizing class notes- Often when we are taking
notes we write down way more then what we actually will be
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tested on. We also sometimes simply write down what our
teacher is saying word for word without thinking of the actual
meaning. When you summarize and organize your notes you
rewrite your notes again, making sure your understand everything
that you're writing and only writing down the important
information that you are actually being tested on.
Predicting essay questions & their answers - If there are going to
be essay questions on the test you may want to try and guess
what they might be and practice writing out the answer. This will
help you practice your essay taking skills and will also get you
thinking deeper about the material you are studying. This is a
great technique to do with a friend as you can brainstorm possible
topics together and "mark" each other's answers.
Predicting multiple choice questions - This is another creative
way to get you thinking about the material you are studying in a
more fun and interesting way.
Drawing a mind map - Mind mapping is when you literally map
out your notes by drawing them out using either pictures or
words. You start by putting your main idea in the center of your
paper and then using lines or branches to connect the rest of your
information to your main idea.
Drawing diagrams- Diagrams are another great way to organize
information. You can choose any type you like, flow charts, pie
charts, Venn, as long as they help you to organize and understand
the information.
Listing practice problems and/or formulas- This is a great
technique for a math test.
Reviewing study guides - If a teacher has handed out a study
guide, USE IT!!! You may also want to jot down notes as you go
through it to make it more detailed.

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HJMS
Mrs. Weiser

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So now that you know what it means to prepare your notes, let's see
what you can do! Good luck!






























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HJMS
Mrs. Weiser

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Get Active!


Information: Studies have shown that the more senses ( touch, taste,
smell, hearing, sight) that are engaged when studying, the better one
retains the information in their mind. That is why it is so important to
study actively not passively. Passive studying is when one sits down
and reads their notes in their head without thinking too much about it.
Active studying is when one interacts with their notes and really
engages their different senses.

What does active studying look like?
Review your material then explain it (without looking) in your own words and
out loud (if possible) .Then check to see if you are correct
Teach the material to a classmate. When you have to teach and explain a
concept to someone else, you are actively understanding and interacting with
the content. Have your classmate ask you questions for further explanation.
Construct a practice quiz for each topic in your notes.
Look over old tests and quizzes, saying the answers out loud, not in your head.
Put a mark beside test questions you found challenging. Go back and redo those
that you did not get correct.
Look online for sample multiple choice or other types of questions that have to
do with the topic you are studying.
Look for sample midterms and exams to also access practice questions.
Different textbooks on the same subject may also have practice questions at the
back of each chapter
For courses with problem sets ( ie. math test), practice solving the problems.
Upon solving the problems, try to explain your answer for each problem out
loud! If you are just regurgitating memorized solutions, you arent prepared to
handle new problems on a test. Put a mark beside those problems that gave you
trouble. Review the solutions for these questions. Follow this method until you
finish a round with no marked problems

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HJMS
Mrs. Weiser

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A sub category of active studying is utilizing different memory techniques that can
help you memorize specific names, dates, places, vocabulary terms etc.
Some of these are:
o Mnemonics (i before e except after c)
o Acronyms (HOMES is an acronym for Great Lakes - Huron, Ontario,
Michigan, Erie and Superior)
o Acrostics (Kings Play Chess On Fairly Good Soft Velvet is an acrostic
for Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species, Variety)
o Analogies (lungs = trees, pump = heart)
o Keywords linked to other information














Executive Functioning Workshop
HJMS
Mrs. Weiser

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Other Helpful Tips:
When is the best time to study?
Everyone is different - choose a time you are most awake.
Students find the most effective time for studying to occur between when they wake
up and when they eat dinner. Yet some students work very well late into the night.
Choose a time that is quiet and when your brain is ready to learn.
Where should you study?
Most students work best in isolation.
Find a number of isolated study spots on or off campus and rotate through these
locations when you study. Seek out those study spots so that you have choices and can
change venues to prevent procrastination or avoid distractions. Studying in the dorm
room or at home on your bed often just doesnt work for everyone.
How long should you study?
Generally, no more than one hour at a time without a break.
Your break needs to be only 5-10 minutes, but its important that you take an
intellectual breather during this period. Doing something completely different on your
break (e.g., reading a newspaper article, sending a few emails) will help refresh your
mind. Generally, 30-60 minutes is an appropriate learning period for studying before
taking a break.
Review Material Regularly
Before you can begin studying for an exam, good study habits begin much earlier in
the term. To effectively study, it is essential you review regularly the material from
lectures, seminars and textbooks in a consistent fashion. Get into the habit of:
Reviewing Your Notes Daily
Edit your class notes as soon as possible after class to fill in any gaps. Re-read/skim
for comprehension. Make sure you staple/collect all related handouts/problems so that
everything is organized. Review your notes before the next class.


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HJMS
Mrs. Weiser

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Reviewing Your Notes Weekly
At the end of each week, go through your notes for all of your classes to ensure you
understand the content. Rewrite any notes if they are too messy or disorganized.
Organize your notes into binders or file folders. Ensure the notes are placed in
sequence with other notes. Make summary notes on the important concepts and
information. Look at how the material covered relates to the subject as a whole.
Identifying When You Need Help (long before the exam)
Get in the habit of asking questions, going to see the teacher or seeking out friends to
help you grasp something that isnt making sense.















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HJMS
Mrs. Weiser

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