When children spend more time in structured activities, they get worse at working toward goals, making decisions, and regulating their behavior, according to a study. Instead, kids might learn more when they have the responsibility to decide for themselves what they’re going to do with their time. Psychologists at the University of Colorado and the University of Denver studied the schedules of 70 six-year olds, and they found that the kids who spent more time in less-structured activities had more highly-developed self-directed executive function.
Wexler, E. (2014, July 02). Study: Too Many Structured Activities May Hinder Children’s Executive Functioning. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- Posted: May 20, 2019
Home » Best Practices » Wexler, E. (2014, July 02). Study: Too Many Structured Activities May Hinder Children’s Executive Functioning. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
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- Why Poverty Matters
- Poverty Data Sources
- Neuroscience & the Classroom
- Why Resources Matter
- 1 – Build Relationships
- 2 – Decrease Stress
- 3 – Increase Status
- 4 – Increase Hope
- 5 – Proactively Guide
- 6 – Use “Me” Strategies
- 7 – Understand Goals of Misbehavior
- 8 – Decrease Health Impacts
- 9 – Build Family/Community Partnerships
- 10 – Align Instruction & Assessment
- 11 – Motivate
- 12 – Grow Mindsets
- 13 – Build Background Knowledge
- 14 – Grow Executive Function
- 15 – Build Memory Trace
- 16 – Grow Emotional & Soft Skills
- 17 – Purposefully Teach
- 18 – Explicitly Teach
- 19 – Question Strategically
- 20 – Use Data
- 21 – Make Learning Fun
- 22 – Accommodate
- 23 – Infuse the Arts
- 24 – Maintain High Expectations
- 25 – Lead