Imagine entering a classroom filled with natural light, organized learning spaces, and a calm, structured atmosphere. Now, compare that to a cluttered, noisy classroom with little routine. Which of these environments would best support your ability to learn?
Classroom design greatly affects students’ ability to build important life skills such as organization, planning, and self-control. Research shows that intentional classroom design, consistent routines, and supportive teacher-student relationships can positively support executive functioning development.
This article explores how classroom environments shape executive functioning skills and offers strategies to create spaces that foster cognitive and social-emotional growth.
Refresher on Executive Functioning Skills
Executive functioning skills are like the brain’s control center, helping us plan, organize, remember, and manage our actions to achieve our goals. These skills also include organization, self-control, time management, task initiation, and problem-solving, which are necessary for success in school and daily life. These skills develop over time, starting in childhood and continuing into early adulthood. Differences in executive functioning skills can influence how easily someone stays focused, completes tasks, and adapts to change.
Executive Functioning Skills & Environment
According to the Center on the Developing Child (2019), we are all born with the basic “blueprint” for executive functioning skills. However, these skills do not develop automatically. Instead, these skills require guidance and support from the caregivers and teachers around us. Adults help by creating a “framework,” by providing scaffolding on skills like self-control, organization, and problem solving. This might include setting routines, offering reminders, breaking tasks into steps, or modeling strategies to help with emotional control and focus.
Over time, students typically develop increased independence with these skills as supports gradually adjust. This support can also be thought of as training wheels.
Differences in Executive Function Skills by Age
The classroom environment will affect students differently at different points in their development. Practices that work well for older learners may not be developmentally appropriate for younger learners (and vice versa).
For convenience, some key differences in executive functioning skills by age are described below. This is not an exhaustive description and will not capture the complexities of student development, experiences, and individualized/unique needs. These skills align with developmental expectations outlined by the Center for Disease Control.
Infants & Toddlers
Executive functioning skills begin developing in infancy through interactions and simple actions, such as looking, grasping, and responding. During the first two years of life, children start learning these skills through their environment. As they continue to grow, social play is an essential way to practice executive functions such as attention, impulse control, and problem-solving. An example of this would be increasing a young child’s ability to attend to structured play activities or practice ways to reason and problem solve when playing with cause and effect toys.
Early Learners
Between the ages of 5 and 12, children take on more responsibility at home and school. Caregivers and teachers play a crucial role in the development of executive functioning skills by offering guidance, structured routines, and positive acknowledgment when children demonstrate skills like organization, time management, and emotional regulation. This support is known as “scaffolding” which helps them develop confidence in managing tasks with increasing independence. As children continue to have these experiences, they build the foundation for more complicated executive functioning abilities that are expected as they get older.
Teens & Young Adults
As students enter adolescence, they rely on the executive functioning skills they have developed through prior experiences. Adults will begin to remove the structured support and expect their teens to apply these skills more independently. They must learn to manage time, set priorities, regulate emotions, and solve problems with less guidance. These responsibilities prepare them for greater personal responsibility.
Adults
Adults rely on the independent use of executive functioning skills to manage daily responsibilities and maintain an organized, structured life. Skills such as planning, time management, and organization are essential to complete daily living tasks such as budgeting and paying bills on time, meal planning and grocery shopping, and establishing home routines. Adults self-monitor their schedule and commitments, and adapt to unexpected changes.
Key Factors in Classroom Environments
Executive functioning skills need to be taught and practiced, much like other crucial academic and self-care skills.
Classroom Organization
The design of a classroom plays a big role in helping students develop executive functioning skills like organization, self-control, time management, task initiation, and problem-solving. A well-organized classroom helps students manage their belongings and thoughts and a clutter-free classroom minimizes distractions. When students know where materials are, they can start tasks on their own more easily. When a classroom has less clutter, it helps students focus more on their goals and less on the materials in the environment to complete the goal. Organizing the classroom environment to support focus and task initiation helps students gain the independence necessary to complete tasks on their own.
Instructional Practices
Executive functioning skills improve when clearly taught and demonstrated. Some effective instructional practices include teaching effective study strategies and note-taking techniques. Educators guide students in organizing information, creating study guides, and finding ways to improve their memorization of material. Students can benefit from learning ways to comprehend information, pull out key details, and link newly learned information to things they already know and are interested in. Examples of different, helpful strategies to incorporate into instruction include Cornell notes and concept mapping.
Clear and Predictable Expectations
Classrooms that have clear expectations provide the structure that learners need to be able to learn executive functioning skills. When expectations are clear and consistent, students can focus their mental energy on learning rather than trying to figure out what comes next. Predictability also helps students feel more secure and confident in their environment, which helps foster self-control. Common methods of making the classroom clear and predictable include having visual schedules (e.g., daily or weekly classroom schedule), checklists, and clear instructions for classwork and homework.
High Expectations for All Students
You’ve likely heard about the importance of holding high expectations for learners long before this article. These expectations play a crucial role in teaching valuable executive functioning skills like problem-solving and cognitive flexibility. When educators set challenging yet attainable goals, students are more likely to rise to the occasion and develop strategies to navigate obstacles. With the right support, teachers can model problem-solving techniques and empower students to apply creative thinking in future situations.
Perceptions of Belonging
When students feel like they belong in the classroom, it also helps them stay motivated, focused, and in control of their learning. Students who feel accepted and supported by their teachers and classmates are more likely to stay engaged in classroom activities, even when they get more challenging. Incorporating students’ background and experiences makes them feel like they belong in the classroom, which is especially true for students with executive functioning difficulties. Some ways to do this include having high expectations for all students, promoting student agency, and incorporating student experiences into lessons.
Importance of Self-Advocacy
Teaching self-advocacy skills in the classroom empowers students to understand their own learning needs and communicate the support they need to feel successful. Since the end goal is often independence, it’s important for educators and other adults to help students take on an active role in their education.
Additional Resources
Looking for more ways to support executive functioning in the classroom? Our Executive Functioning 101 Resource Hub is a valuable place for educators, families, and professionals who are looking for ways to support executive functioning skill development. When you follow this link, you’ll find a variety of activities, tips, and tools that can be easily incorporated into any learning environment. These resources can be adapted for universal classroom, small group, or individualized support.
TL;DR – (Too Long; Didn’t Read)
A well-structured classroom environment plays a critical role in developing students’ executive functioning (EF) skills, such as organization, time management, and self-regulation. Clear expectations, consistent routines, and intentional classroom design help students stay focused, initiate tasks, and work independently. Educators can support EF development by:
- Minimizing classroom distractions
- Explicitly incorporating techniques for studying and note taking into instruction
- Establishing predictable routines
- Modeling problem-solving techniques
- Maintaining high expectations for all students
- Fostering a sense of belonging
- Encouraging self-advocacy skills
As students grow, their EF needs evolve, requiring different levels of support. Learners require structured scaffolding in early years, which leads to increased independence in adolescence and adulthood. For more strategies and tools, visit our Executive Functioning 101 Resource Hub to find adaptable supports for classrooms, small groups, and individualized learning.
Further Reading
- Center for Disease Control (2022) – Milestones
- Center on the Developing Child (2019) – What Is Executive Function? And How Does It Relate to Child Development?
- Children’s Health Council (2024) – 4 Ways Classroom Design Impacts Executive Functioning
- Cornell University, The Learning Strategies Center (n.d.) – The Cornell Note Taking System
- Cornell University, The Learning Strategies Center (n.d.) – Concept Mapping
- Hancock, Christine, & Carter (2016) – Building Environments That Encourage Positive Behavior: The Preschool Behavior Support Self-Assessment
- Institution of Education Sciences (2025) – The Importance of Student Sense of Belonging
- Thomas Fordham Institute (2021) – High Expectations Drive Student Success
- Life Skills Advocate (2020) – Executive Function Skills By Age: What To Look For
- Life Skills Advocate (2024) – Practicing Real-World Self-Advocacy: A Guide for Neurodivergent Individuals
- Life Skills Advocate (2025) – Executive Functioning 101 Resource Hub
- Life Skills Advocate (2022) – What is Executive Functioning? A Comprehensive Guide