I’m Gretchen! I can’t wait to inspire your audience…

with cutting-edge science, creative strategies, and motivating stories of how real educators and their students have de-stressified school the anti-boring way.

I love sharing ideas around…

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    Science of Learning

    All my talks include the latest research from cognitive psychology and neuroscience in easy to understand language

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    Unconventional Strategies

    Walk away with surprising and effective strategies for de-stressifying school that educators and students can use immediately.

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    Inspiring Stories

    Get inspired by stories from teachers, tutors, and academic coaches who have helped students succeed despite the odds stacked against them.

Watch Gretchen in Action

Explore my latest talks…

  • Worried that students’ academic skills won’t cut it in college and beyond? Neuroscience to the rescue!

    Join us as we unravel the complexities of how the brain learns, condensing key findings from cognitive psychology and the science of learning into a simple formula called "The Study Cycle."

    Attendees will understand the science of how human brains learn most effectively. They'll also be prepared to teach a simplified version of the science to students, to inspire them to take ownership of their learning.

    Attendees will also walk away with practical strategies to motivate them to upgrade their academic habits.

    The "Study Cycle" is practical, actionable, and immediately applicable in classrooms and coaching sessions.

    Get ready to hear your students say, "Why didn't anyone teach me this before?!"

  • “How do you help students be more motivated?” is the most common question I get asked as an academic coach. The motivation dilemma has long been on the minds of educators and parents, but in our post-pandemic world, it’s even louder. Students struggle with lagging academic skills, increasing mental health concerns, and identity-based oppressions. In this presentation, we’ll do a deep dive into the science (and art!) of motivating students from the unique perspective of an academic coach.

    We’ll look at a checklist of reasons students struggle to be motivated and identify strategies to help them access their internal drive. We’ll discuss how educators can adopt a “coach approach” to better support students’ motivation, no matter their age, and offer show you a new tool you can use in your work with students, whether you’re a classroom teacher or work with students one-to-one or in small groups.

  • What the heck are executive functions and why should educators care? Join us for this introduction to executive function theory the anti-boring way. Let’s learn about why Executive functions are so important for both students AND teachers to understand, especially in this post-pandemic educational landscape.

    You’ll learn a simple model for how to explain executive functions to your coworkers and your students. We will then apply this model to understanding and unpacking several real-world examples of executive function challenges in action in the classroom. You will walk away with practical strategies to empower students in understanding and troubleshooting their executive function challenges. Ready to make sense of it all? Join me for this EF journey.

  • Let’s create a “bespoke” experience for your audience. Beyond the above topics, I’m also happy to work with you to create a unique offering for your audience. I’m happy to chat on a podcast, be interviewed on your favorite platform, speak on a panel, or create a consulting package for your school or institution. Let’s start by booking a chat!

Meet Gretchen

Gretchen Wegner is the founder of the Anti-Boring Learning Lab, where educators obsess over discovering the best science-backed study skills and executive function strategies every student needs to thrive.

A former classroom teacher and academic coach, she now specializes in consolidating the science of learning into fun, digestible, actionable, executive function-friendly nuggets for educators and their students.

Gretchen is also a tireless learner, consistently and transparently modeling the Anti-Boring Study Skills Toolkit in her speaking presentations and throughout her courses and community.

  • Gretchen Wegner is a lively speaker, master teacher, and creative strategist about how to rethink learning and teaching the anti-boring way. A former teacher turned academic coach, she is now the founder of the Anti-Boring Learning Lab, an online professional learning community where educators obsess over the science-backed study skills and executive function strategies every student needs to thrive.

    She is best known for her Anti-Boring Approach to Powerful Studying, where she combines insights from brain science with practical strategies to help educators help students become more effective, engaged, and self-sufficient learners. Teachers, tutors, and coaches around the world use the Anti-Boring learning tools to inspire a wide array of students including (but not limited to):

    • those with ADHD and other diagnosed learning disabilities,

    • first-generation, low-income college students,

    • students suffering from anxiety, overwhelm, and perfectionism,

    • the unmotivated as well as the high-achieving, and

    • those in the middle who have fallen through the cracks of our overworked school systems.

    Her “super power” lies in consolidating the science of learning into fun, digestible, nuggets for educators and their students -- and teaching actionable and executive function friendly strategies for putting that science into practice. Anyone attending Gretchen’s presentations is inspired and ready to take action in small and large ways. Gretchen aims to make teaching and learning less of a chore and more engaging and productive for students and their educators.

    A former Fulbright Fellow, Gretchen has a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction and was a credentialed middle and high school teacher. Always an advocate of playful rigor in school and life, she is also a public speaker, improvisational performer, lindy hop dancer, avid backpacker, and proud resident of Oakland, California.

    • Keynote speaker at New England Educational Opportunities Conference 2024

    • Speaker at TEFOS (The Executive Function Online Summit) every year since its inception

    • Host of the College Prep Podcast producing over 400 episodes across 7 years

    • YouTube channel with over 447+ Public videos for students, parents and educators

    • Trained 1000+ educators in the Anti-Boring Student Success Toolkit

    • Coached 200+ students one-to-one. Presented to another 1000+ students in group settings.

    • Trained educators at 20+ organizations including non-profits, public schools, independent schools, charter schools, private academic coaching companies, universities, and more.

    • Professions using the Anti-Boring Toolkit with students include academic, ADHD, and executive function coaches; classroom teachers and college instructors; school principals, counselors, psychologists; therapists in private practice; occupational and educational therapists; special educators and learning specialists; university learning center employees; medical school instructors; college admissions consultants; educational nonprofits; and more.

    • Inventor of “MuseCubes”, a productivity toy and iPhone App

    • Improv teacher and performer in Wing It!, an improv and performance art troupe, from 2006-2016

    • Fulbright Fellow 1996-1997

  • Here is a google drive folder that contains headshots and bios for Gretchen Wegner. If there is something you need that is not here, please contact us to ask for it. Thanks for your interest in getting the word out about Gretchen Wegner!

Love Notes

  • Gretchen, You're such a show-off. You should post these survey results on your mirror and read them daily just to start off your day with a "strut"!!! They LOVE YOU!!! If you present next fall or spring, I'll have to get you a MUCH LARGER room. Hope we can count on you for one or both of our conferences next year!

    Roxanna Summers, Administrator
    California Consortium of Independent Study

  • Wow, I loved your webinar! You truly are doing what you were put on this earth to do. Your gifts, authenticity and joy ooze from your soul! So many great ideas to add to my repertoire……and it was validating to learn that my low-tech, hands-on, and playful coaching have advantages over the high-tech approach I’ve been feeling pressure to move to.

    Karen, Attendee
    The Executive Function Online Summit

  • Turning the 'Science of Learning' into practical study advice is not easy - but Gretchen has done it incredibly well, incredibly effectively, and in an incredibly engaging manner. I am so impressed and am certain you will walk away with a far better sense of how to take control of your own learning (as a student) and how to lead and inspire others (as an educator).

    Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, PhD, MEd,
    Cognitive Neuroscientist

Some of the places I’ve spoken…

Want to experience Gretchen in action before you book her?

Watch

We’re over 500 videos strong on our YouTube Channel @AntiBoringLab Here are a few of our favorite playlists to get started:

Listen

You can always find her latest podcast interviews here on Listen Notes. In addition, here is a curated list of appearances:

  • Episodes 1-440 of The College Prep Podcast, co-hosted by Gretchen Wegner and Megan Dorsey

  • Neurodiversity Podcast with Emily Kircher-Morris

    Listen Here

  • The Coach for Tutors Podcast with Michael Gibben

    Listen Here

  • The Online Tutor Business Podcast with Joanne Kaminski

    Listen Here

  • Tests and the Rest Podcast with Amy Seeley and Mike Bergin

    Listen Here

  • Earn More Tutoring Podcast with Sean McCormick

    Listen Here

  • Parenting with Impact with Elaine Taylor Klaus and Diane Dempster.

    Listen Here

Let’s Collaborate!

Want Gretchen to speak at your campus, event, or podcast? Tell us what you’re organizing and how she fits in. Our team will get right back to you!