Learn Smarter Podcast

Rachel and Stephanie welcome back Katie Nolan, the Clinical Director of Kapp Educational Therapy Group. Katie breaks down why she loves formal AND informal assessment. She also explains how intentional informal assessments are flexible tools for progress monitoring, leading to more questions and increased curiosity. Informal assessment also highlights resilience and tolerance levels. Learn Smarter...

The learners that Rachel and Steph work with at Kapp Educational Therapy Group and My Ed Therapist ALL have some emotional response to tasks that they avoid. Rachel and Steph dig into this–they talk about what it means, what it looks like, how to figure it out through getting curious, and some examples from their own experiences.    Learn Smarter Pro is back! Listen to find out more and apply here...

Ever wonder what Rachel and Stephanie think about at moments of transition? In this episode, they discuss what they do with clients at the start of a new semester or school year and share their principles for establishing success.    Learn Smarter Pro is coming back! Listen to find out more and join the waitlist here. Ep 134: Learn Smarter Pro Ep 185: Announcements and Updates Support us on Patreo...

Rachel & Steph take the time to share a quick message of appreciation and some well wishes for all Smarties. Learn Smarter Pro is coming back! Listen to find out more and join the waitlist here. Ep 134: Learn Smarter Pro Ep 185: Announcements and Updates Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Ka...

It’s that time of year again! Stephanie shares her favorite games of 2021. If you’re on our email list, you already received her list in a freebie! If you’re not on the Learn Smarter email list, what are you waiting for? Join us on our website  www.learnsmarterpodcast.com . Learn Smarter Pro is coming back! Listen to find out more and join the waitlist here. Ep 134: Learn Smarter Pro Ep 185: Annou...

Understanding the “all or nothing brain” can be critical for learners. Rachel & Steph talk about what an “all or nothing brain” is, how it shows up in learning, school, and life. They discuss real world examples and why it is so important to understand the choices being made. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e...

Rachel & Steph share 3 very exciting announcements! Rachel shares BIG NEWS and Rachel & Steph announce some new projects and Patreon updates! Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website Steph’s My Ed Therapist website  @learnsmarterpodcast , @kappedtherapy ,...

Rachel and Steph are giving away their greatest study hack today. They deep dive into the 3 questions every learner should be asking on an ongoing basis, why it’s critical and what to do once your learner has implemented this strategy. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy...

Today, Rachel’s client from Kapp Educational Therapy Group joins the podcast to discuss her growth. Arielle started educational therapy in the middle of 11th grade and continued through her first year of college. In this episode, she talks about her early experiences in educational therapy with Rachel, how her home life has changed as a result of intervention, and the impact that procrastination a...

In this critically important episode, Rachel and Steph go through why every learner needs to learn how to do a proper portal audit. They go through just some of the reasons portals are problematic (scroll back to Episode 123 for more on that) and deep dive into the principles of a portal audit and what each learner needs to do on a consistent and persistent basis and why. Support us on Patreon (Ne...

We want all kids to love reading, and that’s why we’re revisiting this important episode this week. Stephanie does a deep dive on how she works with students who find reading challenging. She teaches us about how reading is comprised of two main components (fluency and comprehension). She gives a million ideas on how to support struggling early readers and students who struggle with reading in mid...

Rachel and Steph answer a frequently asked question they receive from parents in their practice and their Smarties audience: What questions should I be asking my learner’s teacher?  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website Steph’s My Ed Therapist website&#16...

Rachel and Steph welcome Annie, Rachel’s client from Kapp Educational Therapy Group. Annie impressively deep dives into her own learning profile, thoughtfully talking about her educational therapy journey. In this episode she talks about how her ADHD has impacted her ability to function and how she has grown through educational therapy. Annie discusses deeply understanding how her ADHD manifests i...

This week, Rachel & Steph re-air their second conversation with Dr. Rishi Sriram from Baylor University. In episode 109, Dr. Sriram begins the conversation about “learning how to learn.” That episode is linked below. In this episode, Dr. Sriram delves more deeply into his GHOSTRIVER to the SEA mnemonic that guides the conversation for how learning occurs. Through this master class conversation...

Today, Rachel & Steph are re-airing one of their all-time favorite episodes! They welcome Dr. Rishi Sriram from Baylor University to the podcast. In this episode, they chat with Dr. Sriram about how learning occurs in the brain, how important and normal forgetting is to learning and the importance of interleaving, spacing and mindfulness. They have an amazing conversation about how essential p...

Rachel and Steph dig into the top 5 reasons why learners procrastinate.  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website Steph’s My Ed Therapist website  @learnsmarterpodcast , @kappedtherapy , @myedtherapist Other episodes mentioned: Executive Functioning Series Client...

Rachel and Steph continue the conversation from episode 172: Why Learners Lie and discuss what they do about learners who lie, avoid reality and avoid the truth. They share some tips and tricks they’ve learned along the way that have dramatically helped the learners in their practices. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join...

This week, we’re re-airing an important episode we recorded with attorney Grace Clark. Grace leads us through a fascinating conversation about what education laws are, IEP vs. 504 plans, and what parents can expect (from deadlines to interventions to goals to collaboration). She also shares her personal story of parenting a child with learning differences and going through this process as a parent...

 Rachel and Steph dig into the many reasons why learners lie in today’s episode. Be sure to listen in a few weeks when they talk about what to do about learners who lie.   Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website Steph’s My Ed Therapist website&#16...

Dr. Julie Caplan joins Rachel and Stephanie on the podcast to discuss how ADHD manifests differently in boys and girls. Dr. Caplan explains ADHD, how it shows up differently from “traditional ADHD” in girls, and why it often gets missed in girls. She further discusses the insatiability of people with ADHD and what parents should look for in their learners if they suspect ADHD.  Connect with Dr. Ju...

This week, we’re re-airing an oldie but goodie to help with the start of school and the anxiety that may be building around the challenging task of writing.  Writing presents a challenge for ALL students–it doesn’t matter if they have a learning or medical diagnosis that interferes with their ability to function in the classroom. Writing. Is. Hard.  In today’s episode, Rachel & Steph do...

Dr. Sharon Saline, author of What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life , joins Rachel and Steph to discuss her goal of improving the connection between parents and learners with ADHD through improving conversation. She walks them through her 5C’s of parenting which are self-control, compassion, collaboration, consistency, and celebration....

For the final episode of Dr. Braaten month, Dr. Braaten guides Rachel & Steph through a conversation about the differences between processing speed and sluggish cognitive tempo. She teaches that processing speed is related to performance and is measurable, often impacting academic performance. Sluggish cognitive tempo, on the other hand, is observed and reported by parents and teacher ratings...

Dr. Braaten month continues as she, Rachel & Steph dig into the impact of processing speed on social skills. Dr. Braaten redefines processing speed and shares that 40% of kids with processing difficulties will report social difficulties. She highlights that processing speeds impact social life in that children with processing difficulties often are the last one to do something or children miss...

Rachel & Steph welcome Dr. Ellen Braaten back for Dr. Braaten month! Dr. Braaten discusses how time perception is an incredibly important part of understanding processing speed and ADHD, and she shares some tips and hints to help respond to time perception issues. She explains meta-time blindness and has a discussion about when it is important to keep track of time and when it should be let go...