Increasing Readiness to Learn: Benefits of Executive Function Training in Kindergarten Carry over to First Grade

摘要

Executive Function skills such as focused attention, inhibition or self-control, and working memory in preschool and kindergarten predict reading and math achievement in elementary school and beyond. A growing body of research indicates that these skills can be improved by repetitive practice of progressively more difficult tasks that require Executive Function. We report that children who participated in an integrated program of computer presented and physical exercises to improve Executive Function when in kindergarten then entered first grade with greater attention and self-control skills than their first grade classmates who had not participated in the program.