FocusED Show Notes with Mitch Weathers and Sarah Oberle
In this episode of FocusED, Mitch Weathers and Dr. Sarah Oberle discuss their book, Executive Functions for Every K-3 Classroom, and share practical insights on embedding executive function skills into everyday instruction to support learners of all ages.
Sarah explains that executive functions are interrelated cognitive processes responsible for self-regulation and impulse control—powering actions like staying focused, managing materials, and controlling attention rather than acting on reflex.
Mitch points out that executive functions split into core skills (working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility) and higher-order skills (planning, reasoning, and problem-solving), noting that while core skills emerge early, higher-order skills begin taking off around third and fourth grade.
Sarah highlights that educators often take for granted what young students know, explaining that telling a child to “pay attention” requires teachers to explicitly define, model, and teach what those behaviors actually look like in practice.
She suggests reducing cognitive load by chunking instructions into smaller, actionable steps and auditing the physical classroom environment to remove acoustic and visual distractions that compete for a child’s mental bandwidth.
Mitch shares that when stress and cortisol levels rise, executive functioning drops. He advises leaders to look at misbehavior through an executive functioning lens and get curious about classroom structures rather than jumping straight to discipline.
He emphasizes that executive function support belongs in Tier 1 core instruction for all students, stating that these skills are grade and subject-agnostic and should not be treated strictly as special education interventions.
In response to critics who argue against providing scaffolds because students won’t have them in later grades, Mitch shares his “water analogy”—arguing that withholding support today to prepare a student for future struggle makes as little sense as refusing to drink water today to prepare for tomorrow’s dehydration.
Sarah stresses that executive function skills are foundational to how students learn, reminding educators that if kids can’t manage their attention or space, even the best academic content won’t make an impact.
Mitch and Sarah close by encouraging educators to adopt an asset-based mindset toward every learner and visit organizedbinder.com and sarahoberle.com to explore their books and resources.
This episode of FocusED is brought to you by Bullseye. If you’re doing walkthroughs without the support and tracking of Bullseye, head to bullseye.education/ to schedule your sponsored Lunch and Learn today.
