# 366. Designing Routines for Executive Function Growth: Featuring Sarah Oberle

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/aspire-to-lead-881344/366-designing-routines-for-executive-function-growth-featuring-sarah-oberle
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/aspire-to-lead-881344/366-designing-routines-for-executive-function-growth-featuring-sarah-oberle.md
Podcast: [Aspire to Lead](https://stenobird.com/podcast/aspire-to-lead-881344)
Published: 2026-01-25T04:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://joshstamper.com/designing-routines-for-executive-function-growth-featuring-sarah-oberle
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/c5749dec-2153-4277-8782-d2269976cb52.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/aspire-to-lead-881344/episodes/366-designing-routines-for-executive-function-growth-featuring-sarah-oberle
Duration seconds: 1940

## Resource

What if students’ “attention problems” were really a mismatch between how the brain works and how we structure learning? In this episode of Aspire to Lead, Joshua Stamper talks with first grade teacher, cognitive science scholar, and author Sarah Oberle about what executive functions actually are, core and higher order cognitive processes like working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility, and why they are so often misunderstood as behaviors in schools.​ Sarah describes how explosive development in these skills during the K–3 years should shape our pedagogy, from how we orient attention and chunk directions to how we design routines, structure independent work, and set up the physical and acoustic environment so students can think instead of just “look busy”. Drawing from her upcoming book with Mitch Weathers, she shares concrete classroom moves—mini check ins, EF informed routines, visual and sound management, and tools like dividers and voice recorders—that any teacher can use to promote self regulation and learning without adding another program to their plate. About Sarah Oberle Sarah Oberle is an educator, writer, and professional learning designer with 18 years of experience as a primary classroom teacher. Her work centers on helping educators understand how learning happens and how that understanding shapes daily instructional decisions. Beyond the classroom, Sarah designs and facilitates evidence-informed professional learning for teachers and school leaders, both in person and virtually. She works with national and international organizations to ensure professional learning is research-informed, practical, and responsive to the realities of teaching. Her work focuses on attention, memory, and executive functions, with an emphasis on pedagogy rather tha…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/aspire-to-lead-881344/episodes/366-designing-routines-for-executive-function-growth-featuring-sarah-oberle/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/aspire-to-lead-881344/366-designing-routines-for-executive-function-growth-featuring-sarah-oberle.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.