Organizational Struggles: The Direct Connection Between Student Behavior and Needed Skills

Posted In Behaviors On January 12, 2025

Middle school is a pivotal time for students as they navigate increased academic demands and social expectations. For teachers in grades 5-8, a common challenge is managing behaviors linked to organizational struggles. These behaviors often stem from deficits in executive function skills—specifically in the area of organization. Understanding this connection and addressing it through targeted executive function instruction can improve student outcomes and classroom dynamics.

Understanding Executive Function and Organization

So, what exactly is executive function? In simple terms, it refers to a set of mental skills that include planning, organization, flexibility, self-control, self-monitoring, emotional control, working memory, and task initiation. When we focus on the skill of organization within executive function, we’re looking at a student’s ability to arrange their thoughts, materials, and time to accomplish tasks efficiently.

Teaching executive function skills to improve organizational struggles involves providing students with tools and strategies to overcome their challenges. Executive function instruction is not just about managing behaviors but empowering students to take ownership of their learning processes. By embedding executive function strategies into your classroom, you can help students build confidence, improve academic performance, and develop essential life skills.

Identifying the Behaviors

Three common behaviors often point to executive function challenges in organization:

Difficulty Organizing a Productive Workspace

• Students who struggle to set up or maintain an effective workspace often lack the executive functioning tools necessary to prioritize, declutter, and optimize their environment. You might notice desks littered with unrelated materials or students consistently losing important items like pencils, handouts, or their agenda books.

Trouble Organizing Concepts for Notes

• Note-taking is a critical skill in middle school, but many students have difficulty identifying key ideas or arranging information logically. They may copy text verbatim without synthesizing, or their notes may lack structure entirely. This reflects an underlying deficit in the executive function skill of organizing thoughts and information.

Difficulty Organizing Priorities

• For students, managing competing demands such as homework, studying, extracurriculars, and personal time can feel overwhelming. These students often procrastinate, complete assignments out of order, or miss deadlines altogether, indicating a need for strategies that teach them how to prioritize effectively.

Strategies for Teaching Students to Overcome Organizational Struggles

Addressing organizational struggles requires intentional executive function lessons that meet students where they are. Here are a few strategies that can make a difference:

Create a Model Workspace:

• Show students what an organized workspace looks like, including the placement of essential items. Use visuals, checklists, or a “workspace audit” activity to help students assess and improve their setups.

Teach Note-Taking Frameworks:

• Introduce methods such as the Cornell Notes system, mind mapping, or outlining. Provide templates and practice opportunities to help students organize their ideas effectively.

Prioritization Tools:

• Use executive function tools like planners, priority matrices, or color-coded systems to teach students how to categorize tasks by urgency and importance. Executive function learning often involves breaking tasks into manageable steps, so scaffold this process with guided practice.

Building Student Confidence Through Organization

High school student overcoming his organizational struggles.

When students learn to organize their spaces, thoughts, and priorities, they experience a boost in academic success. Improving executive function skills doesn’t happen overnight, but consistent practice and positive reinforcement can help students develop lifelong habits.

To foster engagement, integrate student empowerment strategies that allow them to take an active role in solving their executive function challenges. For example, have students design their own workspace or collaboratively set class priorities for group projects. These activities not only improve students’ performance but also enhance their confidence and sense of autonomy.

Resources for Teachers

Teaching executive function skills, particularly in organization, requires a systematic approach. If you’re ready to dive deeper, explore these resources:

• Determine Your Student’s Executive Function Needs: Use these tools to assess which executive function interventions your students require.
• Customize an Executive Function Curriculum: Discover how our platform can help you evaluate student behaviors and develop tailored executive function lessons.

By incorporating these strategies and resources into your teaching, you can address student behavior through a lens of executive function instruction, ultimately improving students’ academic performance and their ability to succeed beyond the classroom.