Why Executive Function Matters for Every Child with Sarah Oberle, Mind the Gap, Ep.127 (S6,E25)
episode
Mind the Gap: Making Education Work Across the Globe
1h 2m
3 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 1 month ago
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Who is Sarah Oberle and what is her background in education?
Hello and welcome to Mind the Gap, Making Education Work Across the Globe with me, Tom Sherrington and Emma Turner. Hello, Emma.
Hello, Tom. Goodness me, it's warm.
Yeah, here we are right in the the the heat wave. of gene in in the in the UK. But we are very pleased today to be welcoming Sarah Oberley. Thank you so much for joining us.
I'm so glad to be here.
It's actually fantastic. We we've met um on the kind of US research ed circuit a couple of times at least. And you're someone I know there's a handful of people that I kind of I fair I I'd say fairly switched into UK um social media, traffic around education and there's a reciprocation there. Um but I don't know if you feel that that you're sort of like one of a small little cr gang that does that.
Yes, it does feel like a a bit of a a gang. I I would never use the word cult, but I've I've heard that term before too.
Yeah, I mean it's people like um I don't know, you, Zach Groschel, um I mean Patrice Bain is always someone who's always on there. And uh you know, there there are numerous other people. But it's it's I think it's fantastic that you know, that you engage uh i in the ideas and the research ed community has sort of helped foster that. But So I've met you and and and been aware of your ideas, but I just want to give you a chance to say to people who perhaps b might not have come across your work before, so where you work, what kind of work you do, where you are and everything, and then then we'll kick off from there.
Sounds good. And I'm sorry I don't have my fabulous bookshelves prepared like you all do. I I didn't have time to get to it. But um I am a primary teacher. So I just finished year 18. Uh it was actually a second career for me. So I came into teaching. Um, I was doing R D for an investment firm before that. So quite a change. Um, and I would say about ten years in, I just started feeling like some of the practices that were normed were uh ineffective inefficience. Um, but no one really seemed to know why. No one really seemed to want to questions. Uh and when we would question, you know, we'd go to administration, we'd get basically uh you know try it out and we'll circle back. So I decided to start my own research.
Um, I went back to school. I got a doctorate in ed leadership and cognitive sciences because I started um following the research behind how learning happens. And um how we can make that accessible and actionable for practitioners in the classroom. Um, so that's what I worked on for several years. And since then I've been um working with school districts, working with uh nonprofits, doing some advocacy work. um with state education associations to help them start to understand the relevance and the importance of keeping this research on the forefront. Right now we're very heavy into science of reading. and digital literacy. So I'm doing the best I can in my very small way to nudge um the cognitive science research towards the forefront here.
Uh just came out with a book that I co wrote with Mitch Weathers. It I think it came out by you very recently.
Yes, thank you. Sharing it on the screen, executive functions. Yes.
Yeah. So being a primary teacher for so long I My um perspective has always been that we get clumped in with K twelve. Which I think for you, I think our kindergarten might be your is that reception year? Is that what you call it?
Yeah. Appreciate it.
And our world is just so different. Our students are so different and we have such nuanced needs that a lot of what is given to school districts to teachers is not applicable to us. So it's very hard to align to a primary setting. So um understanding the relevance of executive functions and understanding how desperately primary teachers need to be spoken to specifically and contextually in a way that matters for us and resonates with us, we decided to write this book. Um and uh you know it's been it's been out here since March. And um has been well received and I hope that you know, I think I think it just came out by you recently. So hopefully it Yes, and I would I would like to say that I did tell our publisher, I said, Can we do primary years? 'Cause the title is executive function for every
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Who is Sarah Oberle and what is her background in education?
0:10–6:16
2
What are executive functions and why are they important for K‑3 learners?
6:16–14:12
3
How do working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility affect everyday classroom tasks?
14:12–21:23
4
Why should teachers aim to decrease interference and increase automaticity in lessons?
21:23–28:39
5
What does the ‘Betty and the Bats’ example reveal about hidden cognitive demands?
28:39–36:28
6
How can classroom layout, routines, and resources be designed to support executive functions?
36:28–44:39
7
What challenges do mixed‑age or multi‑stage classes pose for executive‑function development?
44:39–54:06
8
What’s next for Sarah Oberle’s work and how can listeners apply these ideas in their schools?
54:06–1:02:03
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from Mind the Gap: Making Education Work Across the Globe
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Comparative Judgement and the Future of Assessment with Daisy Christodoulou Mind the Gap, Ep.125 (S6,E23)
Where the Magic Happens: Inside an Exceptional EYFS Classroom with Dixie-Louise Dexter, Mind the Gap, Ep.123 (S6,E21)