EP. 376: Rethinking How We Learn (Because It’s Not Working) with Deena Kara Shaffer

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What if the problem was never that you were bad at learning, but that no one ever taught you how to learn in a way that fits your brain?

Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer is the founder of Awakened Learning, bestselling author of Feel Good Learning and Raising Well Learners, and a learning strategist who helps students, families, educators, and leaders build systems that work in real life.

Her work began with bright students who were struggling, not because they lacked ability, but because they lacked the right support. Over time, she realized that study skills alone were too narrow. What people really need are learning strategies that take attention, memory, time, well-being, and emotional capacity into account.

In this episode, Tracy and Deena talk about why sleep matters for learning, how chunking tasks can reduce overwhelm, why learning styles are a myth, and how tools like NotebookLM, Magic To Do, and ChatGPT’s study mode can support ADHD brains. 

If learning has ever felt harder than it should, this conversation is a reminder that struggling does not mean you are not smart. It may simply mean you have not been taught in a way that fits your brain.

Resources:

Website: https://www.awakenedlearning.ca/deena
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/deenakarashaffer
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awakenedlearning
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@awakenedlearning 

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ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.

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