Educators: Thinking Skills

Here at LearningWorks for Kids, we use video games and other digital technologies to improve eight core thinking skills: Focus, Flexibility, Organization, Planning, Self-Awareness, Self-Control, Time Management, and Working Memory. Our thinking skills are derived from years of research into executive functions — the brain-based cognitive skills that manage critical thinking. These thinking skills represent both individual executive functions, as well cognitively-linked categories of two or more executive functions.

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Working Memory



Flexibility helps students to adapt and adjust to changing conditions and expectations without becoming frustrated.


Self-Awareness helps students to understand and articulate their own thoughts and feelings as well as the thoughts and feelings of others.


Focus helps students start a task without procrastinating and then maintain their attention and effort until it’s done.


Self-Control helps students to manage their feelings and behaviors, and stop themselves from acting inappropriately.


Organization helps students to arrange and coordinate materials and activities in order to complete a task.

Time Management

Time Management helps students to be aware of their use of time and to manage their schedules and tasks efficiently.



Planning helps students to develop a systematic approach for setting and achieving goals by understanding step-by-step processes.