LearnFire Founder Dr Wartenberg to Address Executive Function and Study Skills at AGIS 2026

Reece Wartenberg

2 days ago

3 min read

Updated: 11 hours ago

LearnFire Founding Director Dr Reece Wartenberg will co-facilitate a full-day workshop on the explicit teaching of executive function and study skills for IB students at the 2026 Association of German International Schools (AGIS) Conference in Potsdam, Germany.

The 24th Annual AGIS Conference takes place from 18–20 September 2026 at Kongresshotel Potsdam am Templiner See.

This year's theme, “Skills for Now – Mission: Education – Decoding Learning” brings international school educators, leaders and learning support professionals together to share ideas and discuss how a better understanding of how students learn can shape educational practice.

Dr Wartenberg will join experienced colleagues Lise Fines and Geena George for the “Evidence-based, Explicit Teaching of Executive Function and Study Skills for IB Students” workshop on Friday, 18 September.

**AGIS Conference 2026, themed:** **Mission: Education – Decoding Learning.**

Why do capable students struggle with schoolwork?

“Some of the most capable students are also the most disengaged,” says Dr Wartenberg. “They understand the material and often know they are capable of doing well. But when they repeatedly struggle to keep up, it can affect their confidence, motivation and willingness to engage with school.”

Understanding a subject is only part of academic success. Students also need to manage their schoolwork and workload.

When they struggle with this, they often spend more time studying without making the progress they expect. School, sport, activities and responsibilities at home become harder to manage, leading to frustration and disengagement.

These signs indicate that disengagement is affecting a student’s schoolwork:

Getting started

A student understands what an assignment is asking, but sits down to work and does not know where to start. They know what to do. But getting started becomes the hardest part.

Breaking larger tasks into smaller steps

A large project becomes overwhelming when a student does not know how to break it into smaller tasks. As schoolwork becomes more demanding, students need to know how to approach large projects step-by-step.

Managing several deadlines

Then there are the weeks when everything happens at once. Three tests, two projects, sport and other commitments quickly become difficult to manage. What worked before starts to fall apart.

Changing how they study

Study habits also need to change as students progress through school. Re-reading notes or cramming might have worked in middle school, but these approaches often fall short as students move into the IB Diploma and other more demanding programmes.

Planning, organisation, time management, attention and self-regulation all affect how students approach their academic work, extracurricular activities and responsibilities at home.

Students take on more responsibility for managing these areas as they move into more demanding programmes.

What are executive functioning skills?

Executive function refers to the skills students use to plan, organise, manage their time, focus their attention, monitor their progress and adjust their approach when something is not working.

How can teachers teach study skills and executive function?

The AGIS workshop will look at how teachers can make these skills more explicit. Students need to know how to approach a large task, plan their workload, prioritise what needs attention, track their progress and change their approach when something is not working.

“These are skills that we can teach,” says Dr Wartenberg. “The important thing is to understand where the student is struggling and then work on that particular gap.”

This is also how LearnFire works with students across international curricula.

Its academic directors identify where a student needs support and match them with an experienced international career teacher who understands both the subject and the student’s needs.

The aim is to give students a clearer way to approach their work and build systems they can use throughout their studies and into working life.

Continuing the Conversation at AGIS

The 2026 workshop builds on Dr Wartenberg’s 2025 AGIS workshop on study skills and metacognition, extending the discussion to the explicit teaching of executive function and study skills for IB students.

Both workshops focus on practical ways to understand how students learn and teach the skills they need to manage academic work.

LearnFire will also return as an exhibitor in 2026. International school teachers can meet the team and learn more about becoming LearnFire coaches specialising in study skills and executive function.