Learn Smarter Podcast

In this re-air of episode 186,  Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET explore the concept of the “all or nothing brain” and how it impacts learning, school, and daily life. Rachel and Steph break down what it means, how it commonly shows up, and why recognizing this pattern is so important. Through real-world examples, they highlight the ways an all-or-nothing mindset can infl...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET welcome Dr. Brennan Chandler, Assistant Professor at Georgia State University, for the second half of their conversation. Dr. Chandler shares what works: effective instruction and support can lead to skilled, confident readers. He discusses his role of breaking down the research and talks about the benefit of targeted, direct, explicit ins...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET welcome Dr. Brennan Chandler, Assistant Professor at Georgia State University for the first part of our conversation. He defines dyslexia for us in 3 different ways (legal, medical, IDA/practical) and discusses myths of dyslexia. He discusses risk factors and protective or resilience factors which impact risk for dyslexia. He talks about h...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET, discuss their favorite word: studenting. They explain the concept, why it’s important to understand and how to use it as an effective tool to understand how time is best spent for learners.  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast   How to connect with us: Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Ther...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET welcome Rachel’s client, Luke, to the podcast. Luke initially started working with Rachel to support his ability to organize, study, and learn how to be less reliant on his memory. Luke shares how simplifying his systems, learning to keep everything in one place and learning HOW to study was a gamechanger for him. Support us on Patreon: ht...

In this re-air episode, Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET, sit down with Diane Gould to explore Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA). Diane shares how she became interested in PDA, her role in raising awareness in the United States, and why traditional behavioral strategies often fall short for individuals with PDA. She explains the “can’t, not won’t” perspective, offering...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET welcome Dr. Johan Wiklund, a Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship at Syracuse University. He chats with Rachel and Stephanie about how ADHD can be a huge benefit for entrepreneurs with ADHD. He discusses benefits of the high adaptability of individuals with ADHD and their ability to outsource tasks for which they’re not well-suited....

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET explore the connection between ADHD and executive functioning in this re-air of episode 10. The discussion includes practical strategies to support skill development in reading, writing, and math, as well as methods for strengthening executive functioning. This episode highlights effective ways to build collaboration and promote academic g...

In this re-air of episode 141, Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET sit down with clinical psychologist Dr. Donna Henderson to explore how our understanding of autism has evolved over time. Dr. Henderson shares the benefits of receiving a diagnosis, when it can be most useful, and why autism is often misunderstood—especially in girls. She offers expert insight into the nuance...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET chat about a familiar story–“This year is going to be different.” Students start off the school year optimistic, energized, and determined to stay on top of their assignments, keep their binders neat, and avoid procrastination. Rachel and Steph unpack why students are so certain each new year will be different, typical executive functionin...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET share all the ways strengthening executive functioning skills are layered into all the traditional summer things: beaches, camps and vacations. In this episode they break down all the executive functioning skills that learners can and do acquire over the course of their summers and some simple, non-demanding ways the adults in their lives...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET are excited to share this much requested episode about independent games that learners can play. Steph, the resident Game Guru, shares some of her favorite games and why they strengthen skills in an independent, fun, engaging way that mitigates learner resistance. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast   Ho...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET welcome Integrative Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Sara Langley. She talks about what integrative psychiatric nurse practitioners do, how nutrition works in tandem with medication, and why it’s beneficial to look at the whole picture of a learner. She also makes some simple recommendations that are easy to implement and can have a tremendo...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET are thrilled to welcome Anya Kamenetz to the podcast to discuss her book, The Stolen Year: How COVID Changed Children’s Lives, and Where We Go Now.  This is an incredibly rich discussion about how remote learning was a force multiplier for inequity, what it revealed about our values in the United States, and so much more.    Support u...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET welcome parent educator, coach, former elementary school administrator and former special education teacher, Sari Goodman. She talks about the importance of empathy, being a resource for parents who don’t know what to do and need help, and how critical a village is. We talk about how important it is to demystify educational jargon and some...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET welcome LCSW Debbie Murad. She shares how digital addiction is akin to other addictions and the consequences. She shares the differences between heavy screen use and digital addiction. She discusses risk factors and discusses how relationship issues are often evident in digital addiction. She shares suggestions for reestablishing connectio...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET talk about one of the hidden and often overlooked elements of educational therapy–bandwidth. Bandwidth is the mental energy one has to devote to a task and understanding bandwidth in relation to school, learning and studenting is critical in the educational therapy process. In this episode, Rachel and Stephanie explore the impact of bandwi...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET, welcome Emily Kircher-Morris and Amanda Morin on the podcast to discuss their new book, Neurodiversity Affirming Schools: Transforming Practices so All Students Feel Accepted & Supported. During this wide-ranging conversation, they discuss collaboration, neurodiversity affirming schools, and neurodiversity vs neurodivergent. They also...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET discuss summer slide. They talk about all the opportunities for growth over the summer and share their own summer experiences. They chat about why it’s important for most learners to continue educational therapy over the summer. Of course, they also share some tips on how to maintain skills and avoid a summer slide. Support us on Patreon:...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET discuss negative self-talk. They discuss what it is, why it happens and, most importantly, what to do about it.   Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast   How to connect with us: Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website Steph’s My Ed Therapist website  @learnsmarterpodcast ,...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET are back to discuss their favorite topic: calendaring! Today they dig into ALL THE THINGS adults need on their calendars. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website Steph’s My Ed Therapist website  @learnsmarterpodcast , @ka...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET discuss how executive functioning skills impact social skills. They share how it impacts friendships, relationships, and conversations. They chat about how emotional regulation and opportunity cost is a significant factor for learners who struggle with executive functioning skills. They discuss how weaker executive functioning skills impac...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET get asked all the time about how to get learners to read more. In this episode they dig into some big ideas about reading.  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast   How to connect with us: Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website Steph’s My Ed Therapist website  @learnsmarterpodc...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET discuss how progress works in educational therapy. Some learners click immediately with the process which thrills the student, the parents, and educational therapists alike. However, sometimes this doesn’t happen and slow progress can be one of the more frustrating aspects of educational therapy for educational therapists, for parents, and...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET discuss how to help learners research quicker, faster and more effectively through getting specific, structured and neutral. They also give ideas about how to use AI to move learners through research faster. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast   How to connect with us: Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp...