Learn Smarter Podcast

We are revisiting this important episode we recorded with Dr. Ellen Braaten to kick off an entire month of episodes featuring her! Dr. Braaten is a leading expert on processing speeds and she joined Rachel & Steph to have a wide-ranging conversation about what processing speed is and how it impacts daily functioning. Her book Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up further explains what processing speed is and the effects slow processing can have on family life, school, and social life. Dr. Braaten also shared what we can do to help the people in our lives who have slower processing while also providing very reassuring and research-based parenting feedback. Connect with Dr. Braaten: www.MGHClayCenter.org Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up 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: Ep 57: How to Create Free Time while Maintaining Grades and Minimizing Anxiety with Nikki  Ep 61: The Assessment Process with Dr. Karen Wilson (Local Professionals Series)

Marcelle Waldman joins Rachel and Steph on the podcast to discuss her company, FeelLinks, an intentional tool related to social/emotional learning for young children. Emotional intelligence is understanding, labeling, and managing feelings while knowing and understanding how others are feeling. Emotional intelligence builds responsible decision making, self-awareness, social awareness and empathy. Rachel, Steph, and Marcelle dig into how amazing FeelLinks is, how it can be used in a variety of ways (or explicitly as directed) and why it is so critical to have “feelings conversations” with your learners. Get 10% off for FeelLinks using code: learnsmarter 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  

College Counselor Melanie Tasoff specializes in helping neurodiverse learners and learners with specialized needs navigate the college process. She takes a well-rounded, whole child approach, talks extensively about best fit and what that means, and gives us the latest information on SAT/ACTs. She discusses the specific fears and concerns that parents are navigating through this process, the importance of independent living skills (like navigating transportation/cooking/managing finances/laundry) in assessing readiness and gap year alternatives that can be the right next step for learners.  Email Melanie Tasoff: melanie@magellancounseling.com  Magellan Counseling Bio 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: Ep 131: Dispelling College Accommodations Myths with Elizabeth Hamblet, LDT-C, M.S. Ed. (Author Series)

Rachel and Steph dig into what re-entry into in-person school will look like and feel like. They discuss the fears, questions, and adjustments learners, parents, teachers, and educational therapists are experiencing as they navigate a slower re-entry into a post-pandemic world.  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: Ep 123: Online Portal Pitfalls (Executive Functioning Series) Ep 02: How to calendar Ep 78: How to Calendar like a Pro (Executive Function Series) Ep 79: The 4 excuses kids have for not calendaring (Executive Function Series) Ep 89: Minimum Viable Product (Educational Therapy Series)

Rachel & Steph continue their conversation from episode 159 with co-authors Dr. William Stixrud and Ned Johnson.  In the second half of their conversation, they dig into self-determination theory even more. They further discuss the parenting shift from helping kids feel safe to helping them learn to be brave. They talk about how figuring out who is responsible for what is critical, how to offer and not force help or our experience on learners and why giving control to kids to make decisions is essential in helping them learn to solve their own problems. Other episodes mentioned: Ep 159: Understanding and Developing Motivation for Your Learner Part 1 (Author Series) Connect with Ned and Bill:  www.selfdrivenchild.com    The Self-Driven Child

Rachel & Steph are giving away their number one study hack! Tune in to hear this easy, simple, and effective strategy that works across ages, grades and subjects! 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: Ep 03: The Do’s and Don’ts of Studying Ep 04: Creating a Study Plan Ep 126: How to Study for a Math Test Ep 140: The Secret to “Studying Harder” (Educational Therapy Series)

Dr. William Stixrud and Ned Johnson, the co-authors of The Self-Driven Child, join Rachel & Steph on the podcast. This important conversation is critical for all those invested in education–so everyone! In addition to talking about stress and why life is stressful, they discuss happiness and shared delusion disorder while further exploring how motivation and control are so linked. Rachel & Steph also chat with the authors about self-determination theory. Connect with Ned and Bill: www.selfdrivenchild.com    The Self-Driven Child 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

Rachel & Steph chat again about active studying vs. passive studying. They talk about how flashcarding can be an incredibly useful tool for studying when done properly, thoughtfully and intentionally. They chat about how time spent on “studying” does not correlate with performance on an assessment. They further open up about what active flashcarding is and how to make it productive for learners.  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: Ep 03: The Do’s and Don’ts of Studying Ep 04: Creating a Study Plan Ep 109: Learning About Learning with Dr. Rishi Sriram Ep 115: Learning About Learning with Dr Rishi Part 2 (Author Series)

Parenting coach and trainer Diane Dempster of www.impactparents.com joins Rachel & Steph on the podcast to discuss the anatomy of a trigger. She takes us through the stages of triggers (aware, alert, alarm) and discusses how different people have different triggers. She talks about raising the level of consciousness and understanding the story that you have told yourself (and then the reaction you have to the story). She highlights the difference between ending an argument versus solving a conflict, how the key to helping someone recover is compassion, how bottom-lining is critical and how important it is to separate the trigger/reaction from problem solving. She also digs deeper into the difference between fake calm and real calm. On Patreon, Diane continues the conversation discussing what yelling works, the PINCH idea that attracts the ADHD brain, and not taking things personally. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast Connect with Diane:www.impactparents.com/learnsmarter  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: Ep 135: Parenting your Complex Kid with Elaine Taylor-Klaus (Author Series) Ep 149: How to Prioritize while Parenting with Elaine Taylor-Klaus and Diane Dempster (Author Series)

Pierce Siebers, the sound engineer of Learn Smarter Podcast, joins Rachel and Steph on the podcast to celebrate their third anniversary of the Learn Smarter Podcast. In this wide-ranging conversation, they talk about the origin of educational therapy, how Rachel and Steph connected originally, and what it was like to launch our businesses and then launch this podcast. They also chat about what they would do if they weren’t educational therapists.  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: Ep 54: One Year of Podcasting Ep 100: How to Set Up Homework Routines (Executive Functioning Series)