Learn Smarter Podcast

Reading comprehension is critical–even if your student is the most fluid out loud reader…are they really understanding what they’re reading? Reading comprehension weaknesses can be sneaky because it can be difficult to identify. In last week’s episode, Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET dug in to why students can pretend they understand what they’re readin...

Reading comprehension is critical–even if your student is the most fluid out loud reader…are they really understanding what they’re reading? Reading comprehension weaknesses can be sneaky because they can be difficult to identify. In this re-air of episode 17,  Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET  dig in to why students can pretend they understand what they’re re...

 Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET, are joined again by Dr. Ellen Braaten, the author of Bright Kids Who Couldn’t Care Less. She shares the signs of an unmotivated child and discusses “hiding failures.” Dr. Braaten highlights the importance of knowing what gives us pleasure in order to help us get motivated. She discusses the impact that processing speed has on motivation...

 Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET, welcome back Dr. Ellen Braaten to discuss the origin story of her new book, Bright Kids Who Couldn’t Care Less. Dr. Braaten shares her thoughts on how motivation works and how motivation is not generated the same way each time. She shares how parents need to look at their own expectations and look at their child and reconcile the two. Sh...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET welcome Anxiety Expert and OCD Child Therapist Natasha Daniels to the podcast. They chat about how people misunderstand OCD and what the true definition of OCD is. Natasha digs into the different types of OCD and how they play into each other. She shares about how personification of OCD and how it can help. They dig into a conversation abo...

 Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET deep dive into note-taking in this re-air of episode 47. They chat about why it is so difficult, the various types of notes that teachers require and several of their favorite strategies. 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 Educatio...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET welcome back Nikki, who initially joined us back in 2019 when she was 15 years old. She was Steph’s client at My Ed Therapist and is now a sophomore in college. Nikki shares what it was like to listen to her 2019 episode and updates us on what’s changed and what’s the same. She talks about how her development of time has changed as she’s e...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET discuss why systems for time, physical space, and digital space are essential for high functioning learners. They discuss why simplicity is a virtue, how systems impact the quality of life for learners, and how systems create a roadmap for schooling success. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET welcome Rachel’s client, Marshall. He shares his story about what brought him to seek educational therapy and how his executive functioning impacted his relationships and self-esteem. He also shares how accountability, positive social pressure and systems have helped him reach toward his goals. Marshall explains how he uses his systems as...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET do a deep dive on motivation. Hear why they don’t believe any student is ever “lazy” and what language they use instead. Also, they talk about why motivation suddenly stops for students who struggle in school. Then they dissect the differences between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation and the parallels between growth and fixed mindset tha...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET share their experiences about the top five reasons why learners wait for deadlines. 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 Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET discuss the pressure to be productive as business owners and podcasters. They share why they’re talking about this, what led them to some realizations about productivity pressure, how it impacts their quality of life (and the quality of life of their teams) and what they do to mitigate that pressure on themselves.  Other episodes mentioned...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET invited some of the Fall 2022 cohort of Learn Smarter Pro to talk about the experience. These Pro-sters share how they came to be Smarties and what went into their decision to join Learn Smarter Pro. They share what their experience was like and the value of the community that was cultivated. They share their favorite trainings and how Lea...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET get asked a lot of questions about Learn Smarter Pro and today they’re answering it for you. Listen in to get your frequently asked questions about Learn Smarter Pro answered! 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 G...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET discuss ten things they have learned from hosting Learn Smarter Pro . They chat about the common pain points that have emerged from all the Pro-sters who have participated in Learn Smarter Pro the past few years and what they have learned as coaches of the program. Other episodes mentioned:  Ep 134: Learn Smarter Pro Ep 207: Building Momen...

  Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET quickly check in with a holiday message and preview a bit of what’s to come for 2023. 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 , @m...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET discuss a major component of Executive Functioning Skills: metacognition. They share what it is, why it is important, and how to have reflective and reactive conversations to encourage metacognitive awareness. They also each share a real-life example of metacognition in action.  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpo...

 Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET, discuss the messy room dilemma that occurs in the vast majority of our teenagers. They get into the whys, hows and whats of the messy room dilemma and talk about how to approach it in a realistic way.  Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room   Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast   How to connect with us: Join o...

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET, talk through why Educational Therapists, learning specialists and those who “help” need to plan to take care of themselves. What they share about the ONE thing all of us MUST do in order to self-care may surprise you.  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-m...

In this episode, Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET, discuss the whys and hows of how to get learners interested in stories. They discuss why reading is important, why flexibility around what reading can look like is critical and how to get buy-in from the readers in your home.  Links mentioned in this episode: https://bookwizard.scholastic.com/   Support us on Patreon: htt...

Newsflash: there is no such thing as an academic emergency. In this re-air of  episode 90, Rachel & Steph share: what an academic emergency is how parents can respond to an academic emergency strategies for learners to prevent academic emergencies the importance of keeping long-term goals in mind. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join o...

Rachel and Stephanie share why learning who their ideal client is was so essential in building Kapp Educational Therapy Group and My Ed Therapist . They share how you can use your ideal client to battle Imposter Syndrome, simplify your business and elaborate on your expertise.  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-m...

Rachel and Stephanie share why follow through is so difficult for people who struggle with executive functioning skills. They share their tips on how to increase follow through. Ep 38: How to set S.M.A.R.T. Goals 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...

Rachel & Steph have been working with students for so many years that they have seen it all. Today, they share some of the most common Executive Functioning pitfalls and trends they’ve seen over the years. 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 E...

Rachel and Steph dig into the fundamental executive functioning skills of test-taking. They share their principles of test-taking for multiple choice, short answers and essays. They also dig into computer testing, a modern post-COVID phenomenon. Other episodes mentioned: Ep 126: How to Study for a Math Test Ep 21: Executive Functioning Strategies for Writing (Part 1) Ep 22: Executive Functioning S...