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Rewiring Routines, Expanding Impact: Executive Function in Real Life & Season 3 Finale

As MTG wraps up Season 3 of Making the Grade, Georgia & Christine reflect on just how much has grown, shifted, and expanded over the past year as they enter their 4th season of the show.

This season explored practical executive function skills including time management, motivation, emotional regulation, planning, and follow-through. One core takeaway emerged again and again: most challenges aren’t about doing more - they’re about how we manage our energy, systems, and brains.

Big ideas from Season 3:

• 🧠 Understand your brain: Executive function awareness changes how people approach work and life.
• 🔄 Simple systems matter: The most effective strategies are often unglamorous - but sustainable.
• ⚖️ Balance is built: Support, flexibility, and self-awareness are essential in every season.

Season 3 also marked major growth for The Making the Grade Project, including the launch of the Hack Your Brain course and the completion of the team’s first executive function coaching cohort, with more planned for 2026 across multiple industries.

What’s next:

• 🚀 Expanded with 9 new partnerships & renewals
• 👥 A new instructor supporting children and teens
• 🎧 Client stories coming to the podcast in 2026

On a personal note, Georgia welcomed a new baby and took maternity leave, while Christine traveled internationally for the first time since becoming a parent - all while making progress on their reading goals

✨ With a growing community - now 3,685 new subscribers across social and email - the MTG team is deeply grateful to every listener, learner, client, and partner who made this season possible.

Find out more about Making the Grade here

Learn more about Executive Function: https://makingthegradeproject.com/executive-function-for-educators/

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S3 EP 45 | Season 3 Episode 45: Unleashing Curiosity in Classrooms with Olivia Odileke

How do you spark curiosity, inspire engagement, and create those unforgettable “aha!” moments in learning?

On this episode of Making the Grade, Georgia sits down with Olivia Odileke, CEO of Kampus Insights, curiosity coach, professional development designer, and author of Unleashing Curiosity: Empowering Fearless Educators to Engage and Inspire. Olivia believes that wonder is the secret sauce to joyful, meaningful learning. She’s trained over 20,000 educators and created more than 100 micro-inquiry tasks—all to help teachers bring curiosity to life in their classrooms.

Olivia shares:
✨ How curiosity can transform classrooms and professional learning experiences
🧠 Her insights on executive function skills in practice, including:

• Task Initiation – the hardest first step for kids and adults alike
  
  
• Flexible Thinking (“MacGyver Mindset”) – making magic out of unexpected moments
  
  
• Emotional Control – using curiosity to de-escalate and re-engage
  
  
• Prioritization & Planning – leading with inquiry instead of instruction
  💡 How she built her business and designed Spark Day PD, a curiosity-driven professional learning experience that brings joy, imagination, and impact to schools
  🌴 Fun facts about Olivia: living on three islands, moving to a new country with four kids, and turning leaps of faith into a thriving business

Whether you’re an educator, school leader, or lifelong learner, this episode is full of actionable strategies, inspiring stories, and a reminder of the power of curiosity in every classroom.

Learn more about Olivia and her work:

• Book: Unleashing Curiosity: Empowering Fearless Educators to Engage and Inspire
• Spark Day PD: www.kampusinsights.com
• Instagram: @fearless.educator
  
  

Connect with Making the Grade:

• Learn more about Executive Function: https://makingthegradeproject.com/executive-function-for-educators/
  
  
• Website: makingthegradeproject.com/blog/category/podcast
  
  
• Instagram: @executivefunctionfix
  
  
• Apple Podcasts: Making the Grade Podcast (Listen and leave a rating!)
  
  

Support the show

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S3 EP 44 | Season 3 Episode 44: The Executive Function Guide to Teaching Multilingual Students: Trauma, Communication, and Brain-Based Learning

What does it really take to reach, teach, and connect with English Language Learners and their families?

On this next episode of Making the Grade, Georgia sits down with Andrea Bitner - EL Teacher, Author, Professor, and PD Partner - who has dedicated 25 years to helping educators and multilingual learners build bridges through communication, confidence, and compassion.

From her early days as a high school ELA teacher to her current role teaching English Learners in Philadelphia, Andrea has taught every grade level and worn many hats: Title I Reading Specialist, Teacher Mentor, College Professor, and National Presenter. She now travels the country partnering with schools and universities to help educators strengthen their skills in teaching, reaching, collaborating, and confidently communicating with English Learners and their families.

Andrea shares:
✨ The challenges and solutions to effectively connecting with multilingual students and families
💬 The hidden traumas that many EL students face, and how educators can recognize and support them
🧠 How English learners acquire language and the neuroscience behind the process of becoming bilingual

She also opens up about her book, Take Me Home, the true story of 11 of her former EL students who share what it’s really like to learn English and adapt to life in America. Drawing from her own experiences - including traveling to El Salvador and learning what it feels like to be a language learner herself - Andrea offers powerful insights for any educator striving to create classrooms where every student belongs.

🔗 Learn more about Andrea’s work: www.andreabitnerbooks.com
Connect with Andrea: LinkedIn: @AndreaBitner | Instagram: @andreabitnerbooks

Find out more about Making the Grade here

Learn more about Executive Function: https://makingthegradeproject.com/executive-function-for-educators/

Follow Making the Grade!
🌐 Website | makingthegradeproject.com/blog/category/podcast/
📸 Instagram | @makingthegradeproject
🎧 Apple Podcasts | Making the Grade Podcast (Listen and give us a rating!)

Support the show