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Child Development & Early Education vocabulary · Cognitive Development

Executive function

Meaning in child development & early education, with examples

nounCommon term

In child development & early education, executive function means: A group of mental skills that help us plan, focus, remember instructions, control impulses and switch between tasks.

In Turkish: yürütücü işlevler, yönetici işlevler

How it is used

Often plural (executive functions) or called executive function skills. Its core parts are usually given as working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility. Games such as Simon Says give children practice in them.

Example sentences

  1. Freeze games are great for practising executive function skills.

  2. Executive function develops rapidly between the ages of three and five.

Common collocations

  • executive function skills
  • working memory
  • inhibitory control
  • cognitive flexibility
  • self-regulationThe ability to manage your own feelings, attention and behaviour, for example calming down after being upset or waiting for a turn.
  • cognitive developmentThe development of thinking skills such as attention, memory, problem-solving, reasoning and understanding how the world works.
  • ADHDShort for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a neurodevelopmental condition involving ongoing difficulties with attention, very high activity levels or acting on impulse.
  • theory of mindThe understanding that other people have their own thoughts, feelings, beliefs and knowledge, which may be different from yours.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Cognitive Development

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