375. Executive Functions for Every K–3 Classroom: Featuring Sarah Oberle & Mitch Weathers

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of teaching executive functions to young students and shares practical strategies for educators.

What if the reason so many young students struggle in the classroom has nothing to do with behavior, laziness, or defiance, and everything to do with emerging executive functions that have simply not been taught yet? In this episode of Aspire to Lead, Joshua Stamper welcomes back two familiar faces, executive functioning expert Mitch Weathers and primary educator and researcher Sarah Oberle, to celebrate the release of their brand new co-authored book Executive Functions for Every K–3 Classroom: Promoting Self-Regulation for a Strong Start. Mitch and Sarah share the story behind the book, including how Sarah tracked Mitch down through a contact form after realizing his first book, which covered grades three through twelve, left primary teachers without the tools they desperately needed for the youngest learners in the building. Together they explain why working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility look completely different in a five, six, or seven year old, and why what looks like defiance or inattention in a primary classroom is almost always a child whose executive functions are still in the very early stages of development. The conversation is packed with practical…

People in this episode

Host: Joshua Stamper

Guests: Sarah Oberle, Mitch Weathers

Topics covered

• executive functions
• education
• self-regulation
• classroom strategies
• primary education

Keywords

• executive functions
• K-3 education
• self-regulation
• classroom management
• cognitive development

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Executive Functions for Every K–3 Classroom: Promoting Self-Regulation for a Strong Start

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