This Isn’t Typical Adult Learning
Today I received a note from someone in my course.
They shared that they had been talking with another coach about how they each organize themselves as learners.
And then they said something that made me pause.
They realized… their learning might actually be better if they stopped using the workbook format I provided as a starting point and started taking notes in a way that worked for their own brain.
And they’ve been trying it.
And then they shared this reflection:
“I’m fascinated watching my own learning needs emerge in this course… and even in the last one I took.”
That line stayed with me.
Because I’ve been noticing something similar… just from a different angle.
I felt it when I took a paper quilling class. And again when I was at South by Southwest, moving from workshop to workshop.
In every session, I found myself reaching for Notability.
Not because it was required. But because I knew something about my own brain in that moment. My working memory and processing speed weren’t going to keep up.
So instead of trying to hold everything…
I captured what I could so I could come back later and actually refine my thinking.
Executive Function Lens
This is what executive function looks like in real time.
Not just organization.
Not just note-taking.
But coordination between:
Working memory → recognizing limits in the moment
Processing speed → adjusting to pace
Cognitive flexibility → shifting the approach
Metacognition → knowing what your brain needs
But here’s what makes this different.
This isn’t typical adult learning.
Many of you reading this are:
educators
academic coaches
professionals becoming executive function coaches
And because of that… You’re not just learning content.
You’re learning the science behind how learning works.
You’re seeing:
how executive functions interact
how capacity shifts in real time
how tools either support or overload the system
Which means your brain is doing something different. You’re not just participating in learning. You’re analyzing it while it’s happening.
And that changes more than your own learning…
👉 It changes how you see every student you work with.
And that shift changes everything.
Because once you start seeing your own learning this way… You begin to recognize it in your students.
You notice:
when a system doesn’t match their capacity
when pacing exceeds what they can process
when a tool is creating load instead of reducing it
And instead of seeing resistance… You start to see mismatch.
Between:
the task
the tool
and the brain in that moment
This is where executive function becomes real. Not as a checklist of skills. But as a system that adjusts in real time.
Because executive functions don’t operate independently. They coordinate under load.
So in moments like this, what’s actually happening is:
Working memory is being managed
Processing speed is being accounted for
Cognitive flexibility is shifting the approach
Metacognition is guiding the decision
That’s not just strategy use. That’s strategy selection based on capacity.
Independence Looks Different Now
This is why independence can’t be defined as:
“following the system correctly”
Because real independence is:
adjusting the system based on what your brain needs in that moment
Full Circle
So when I read that message…
I didn’t see someone stepping away from the structure. I saw someone stepping into a different level of awareness.
And that’s exactly what this work is meant to do.
If you want to go deeper into how executive function actually shows up in real time—and how to use that awareness to guide your coaching—
Using Executive Function Data to Guide Summer and Fall Coaching
Thursday, May 14 | 6:00–8:00 PM EDT
This is where we move from understanding executive function… to applying it with intention.
