This episode was funded by listeners like you. For more details on how to help support our podcast and gain access to exclusive content, please see our Patreon page.

In Episode 98, Cindy interviews Sarah Oberle and Mitch Weathers, experts in executive functioning. They are authors of a new book: Executive Functions for Every K-3 Classroom: Promoting Self-Regulation for a Strong Start.

In this episode, Sarah and Mitch define executive functioning and how it differs from related topics like motivation and working memory. The conversation touches on executive functioning across different grade levels and populations and how to distinguish between more and less evidence-based executive functioning work. During the conversation, Cindy refers to a model of working memory which is described here.

To learn more about executive functioning, you can visit any of the links below:

1) https://www.learningscientists.org/blog/2018/1/9-1
2) https://www.learningscientists.org/learning-scientists-podcast/2018/6/20/episode-21-executive-function-development-with-emma-blakey
3) https://www.learningscientists.org/learning-scientists-podcast/2025/7/3/episode-91-executive-functioning-in-special-education-with-sean-mccormick

This episode was funded by listeners like you. For more details on how to help support our podcast and gain access to exclusive content, please see our Patreon page.

In Episode 97, Althea reads her blog post Thinking is Hard.

In Episode 95, Cindy talks with Myriam Da Silva about believing in yourself to support learning.

This episode was funded by listeners like you. For more details on how to help support our podcast and gain access to exclusive content, please see our Patreon page.

In Episode 95, Cindy talks with Emily Kircher-Morris, M.A., M.Ed., LPC, a licensed professional counselor specializing in supporting neurodivergent kids and adults (and their families). Emily hosts the popular Neurodiversity Podcast and had authored multiple books, including Neurodiversity-Affirming Schools: Transforming Practices So All Students Feel Accepted and Supported.

Cindy and Emily discuss the definition of neurodiversity, the complex legal process of getting accommodations for students, and tips and tricks for educators to recognize and meet the needs of neurodivergent students. In the episode, Emily references several research articles and resources, listed below.

Rinn, A. (2021). Social, emotional, and psychosocial development of gifted and talented individuals. Routledge.

Butera, C., Ring, P., Sideris, J., Jayashankar, A., Kilroy, E., Harrison, L., ... & Aziz‐Zadeh, L. (2020). Impact of sensory processing on school performance outcomes in high functioning individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Mind, Brain, and Education, 14(3), 243-254.

SPACE Training Podcast Episode

This episode was funded by listeners like you. For more details on how to help support our podcast and gain access to exclusive content, please see our Patreon page.

In Episode 94, Althea reads her blog post Retrieval Practice in the Health Professions.

This episode was funded by listeners like you. For more details on how to help support our podcast and gain access to exclusive content, please see our Patreon page.

In Episode 93, Carolina chats with Dr Chiara Horlin, a Senior Lecturer in Psychology in the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Glasgow, about wellbeing in educators and specifically about a phenomenon called ‘compassion fatigue’. Compassion fatigue is the psychological, emotional, and physical strain of consistently emphasizing with people in distress when supporting them. A usual scenario could be educators providing pastoral care to their students and engaging in constant empathic engagement. In this episode, we discuss how compassion fatigue manifests in different educational sectors, explore the risk factors, the personal and professional impact, and highlight ways to manage compassion fatigue. Chiara has conducted studies on this topic and you can read them here.

This episode was funded by listeners like you. For more details on how to help support our podcast and gain access to exclusive content, please see our Patreon page.

In Episode 92, Althea talks with Leonardo Feletto. Leo has a PhD in Molecular Biology and is now a science teacher. But most important for this particular episode, Leo is a science communicator.

Below is a link to the peer-reviewed paper about engaging students in science communication (and, the full PDF is freely accessible!):

• Kiessling, T., Christina, C., Katrin, K., Enzingmüller, C., Kremer, K., Katrin, K., Dittmann, S., Schulenburg, H., & Parchmann, I (2025). How can we enable school students to learn and participate in science engagement initiatives? Roles and tasks of enablers. Journal of Science Communication, 24(4), N02. https://doi.org/10.22323/148020250716165543

This episode was funded by listeners like you. For more details on how to help support our podcast and gain access to exclusive content, please see our Patreon page.

In Episode 91, Cindy talks with Sean McCormick, founder and Executive Director at EF Specialists. They discuss the research on executive functioning training, especially for neurodiverse students, and the degree to which it transfers to everyday life. In the episode, they mention several research studies, including:

1. Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64(1), 135-168. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750

2. Blair, C., & Razza, R. P. (2007). Relating effortful control, executive function, and false belief understanding to emerging math and literacy ability in kindergarten. Child Development, 78(2), 647-663. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01019.x

3. Melby-Lervåg, M., & Hulme, C. (2013). Is working memory training effective? A meta-analytic review. Developmental Psychology, 49(2), 270. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028228

For free resources, please visit efspecialists.com. 

This episode was funded by listeners like you. For more details on how to help support our podcast and gain access to exclusive content, please see our Patreon page.

In Episode 90, Megan reads her blog post Dual Coding: Can There be too Much of a Good Thing?

This episode was funded by listeners like you. For more details on how to help support our podcast and gain access to exclusive content, please see our Patreon page.

For some of our podcast episodes, we are going to read blog posts, audiobook style. This allows listeners to access the written material from the blog in audio form, which we imagine may help some who don’t have much time for reading (but DO have time to listen in the car). It also allows us to bring some of our most interesting, important, and/or popular posts back into the spotlight.

Today’s episode is our first of this type! In Episode 89, Carolina reads her blog post Who should Create Study Plans?