An after-school EF/VS intervention improves directly assessed executive function in kindergarten and first-grade children (intent-to-treat)¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2018 · checked against its sources 2026-11-02 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Assignment to the after-school EF/VS intervention condition improved directly assessed EF skills relative to control, controlling for school, age, sex, grade, and pre-test scores. → Brock et al. 2018

Evidence¶

Brock et al. 2018¶

Laura L. Brock, William M. Murrah, Elizabeth A. Cottone, Andrew J. Mashburn, and David W. Grissmer. (2018). An after-school intervention targeting executive function and visuospatial skills also improves classroom behavior. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 42(5), 474–484. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025417738057

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Intent-to-treat regression analyses of the randomized trial (N = 87) controlling for school, age, sex, grade, and pre-test scores found the intervention improved EF, with the article reporting "b ¼ .28, p < .001". No standardized effect size is printed for this coefficient.

"As hypothesized, the intervention improves directly assessed EF ( b ¼ .28, p < .001) and VS ( b ¼ .26, p < .001) skills."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Executive Function — outcome: instruction changes it
• Self-Regulation — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• An after-school EF/VS intervention improves directly assessed visuospatial skills in kindergarten and first-grade children (intent-to-treat) — related
• The after-school EF/VS intervention showed no direct intent-to-treat effect on teacher-rated classroom behavior composites, with a trend for problem behaviors — related
• Executive functioning and early numeracy skills assessed in kindergarten directly predict mathematical performance in second grade, jointly explaining 57.3% of its variance — related
• Executive function at 48 months positively predicts mathematics ability at prekindergarten, with effects persisting after cognitive covariate controls — related
• Preschool executive functions robustly predict mathematical skills during preschool and later in development — related
• Preschool working memory–flexibility predicts later math achievement, especially in Grade 3 — related
• Bidirectional EF–mathematics relationships are reported but the longitudinal evidence is mixed and method-dependent — related
• Tools of the Mind and Montessori curricula improve children's EFs, with Tools children outperforming controls especially on more EF-demanding conditions — related
• Improvements in executive function mediate the intervention's effects on learning-related behaviors and problem behaviors — related