BUILDING EXECUTIVE FUNCTION TO SUPPORT STUDENT SUCCESS

Turn attention, planning, and persistence into daily learning routines that raise achievement.

Quick facts

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Format

Facilitated cohort plus self-paced modules

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Time

25 hours total

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Certificate

Yes

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Price

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Agency by Design:

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Agency by Design:

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Agency by Design:

Why this VLC

Executive function drives academic achievement and social-emotional growth. When students can focus, shift, plan, persist, self-monitor, and manage time, learning accelerates—whether in person or online. The good news: these skills can be taught and strengthened. In this VLC, you’ll translate research into classroom routines that make executive function visible and actionable for all learners.

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Agency by Design:

replace tasks with authentic problems and give learners real decisions to make.

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Structures First:

time, resources, choice, and feedback systems that transfer responsibility to the learner.

Who it is for

Teachers and instructional coaches building learner responsibility and independence

Structures First:

School and district leaders aligning PD with structures that improve time-on-task

Executive Function for All:

Corporate and government teams adapting EF routines to performance training

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Evidence of Learning:

use student work to guide the next move, not just to record a grade.

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Human and Tech Together:

tools serve the design, not the other way around.

Professional Learning That Puts Learners in Charge

Great teaching is design. Our Professional Learning Experiences help teams create learner-active environments where people own the work, build executive function, and solve authentic problems.

What you will gain

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Replace tasks with purpose-driven problems

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Build structures for choice, time, and resources learners can manage

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Coach executive function skills that drive results

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Use evidence of learning to adjust in real time

What you will be able to do

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Explain how executive function underpins academic and SEL outcomes across grade levels

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Distinguish learning versus practice activities and design purposeful “grappling”

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Teach and reinforce the seven EF components: working memory, cognitive flexibility, planning, reasoning, problem-solving, inhibitory control, and self-awareness

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Build routines for planning, prioritizing, and persistence that students can manage independently

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Use quick checks and self-monitoring tools so evidence of learning drives next steps

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Accelerate growth with facilitation strategies and structures that transfer responsibility to learners

Syllabus snapshot

  • WHY EF MATTERS

    Six people on a park bench, discussing while using laptops and tablets in the sunlight.

    Takeaway: See how executive function links to academic achievement and SEL through six increasingly complex life-skill areas.

  • HOW EF DEVELOPS

    Group of people working on laptops around a table with holographic icons floating above them.

    Takeaway: Understand typical development and how intentional routines can accelerate growth.

  • LEARNING VS. PRACTICE

    Group of six people outdoors, conversing, holding papers and tablets near a tree and building.

    Takeaway: Design purposeful “grappling” to build durable understanding and EF stamina.

  • THE SEVEN EF COMPONENTS

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    Takeaway: Create activities that target working memory, cognitive flexibility, planning, reasoning, problem-solving, inhibitory control, and self-awareness.

  • ROUTINES AND TOOLS

    Person sitting at picnic table in forest, using laptop. Sunlight shines through trees.

    Takeaway: Build planning/prioritizing systems, self-monitoring checklists, and error-correction cues students can manage independently.

  • IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

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    Takeaway: Combine facilitation strategies and class structures into a practical plan that accelerates learning for all students.

Course materials and access

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Required text: Participants use Building Executive Function: The Missing Link to Student Achievement  by Dr. Nancy Sulla. Please purchase the book in advance.

Included access: MyQPortal  access is included for all participants while enrolled in the VLC.

Evidence and impact

EF routines made differentiation manageable—students took ownership of starting, sticking, and finishing.
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We saw immediate gains in on-task behavior because students knew how to plan and self-monitor.
EF routines made differentiation manageable—students took ownership of starting, sticking, and finishing.
We saw immediate gains in on-task behavior because students knew how to plan and self-monitor.
Six colorful book covers by Nancy Sulla about classroom instruction and student taking charge

Related Resources

Six colorful book covers by Nancy Sulla about classroom instruction and student taking charge

Dr. Nancy Sulla Books

Unlock Educational Success with Dr. Sulla’s Books

Enter the Library
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MyQPortal

The Pathway to Student-Driven Learning!

Open MyQPortal

FAQs

  • HOW MUCH TIME WILL I NEED

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    Plan for 25 hours total including self-paced work and scheduled sessions.

  • CAN OUR TEAM ENROLL TOGETHER

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    Yes. Seat bundles are available. Price:

    VLC PRICE LINE

  • DO I GET A CERTIFICATE

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    Yes. You will receive a certificate noting contact hours and outcomes.

  • CAN THIS ALIGN TO OUR STANDARDS AND PACING

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    Yes. You will design EF routines and tools matched to your curriculum and schedule.

  • DO I NEED THE BOOK

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    Yes. Building Executive Function: The Missing Link to Student Achievement is a required resource for this VLC.

Get Started with Building Executive Function

PO accepted. Seat bundles available.