Graduate Student Research Symposium 2025

The ability to initiate tasks is a critical executive function skill that impacts student success across academic and real world settings. However, many students, particularly those with executive function challenges, struggle to begin assignments due to difficulties in planning and organization. This presentation seeks to engage participants in discussion about explicit instruction of executive function skills in fostering student independence. This study explores how the explicit instruction of the “Get Ready, Do, Done” tool impacts student task initiation in a high school classroom. “Get Ready, Do, Done” is a student initiated graphic organizer, adaptable for both academic and real world tasks, that breaks tasks into distinct phases and supports students in goal setting and task analysis, overcoming task avoidance and improving engagement. Educators, parents, and students will benefit from this conversation, as it offers a practical strategy to scaffold student thinking, ultimately making learning more accessible and empowering for learners.