Science of Reading: The Podcast

Join leading experts Natalie Wexler, Ernesto Ortiz, Dr. Carolyn Strom, and Susan Lambert for a podcast on making the shift to the science of reading. In this special episode, they discuss how educators can implement the science of reading through an incremental change on all levels, from a classroom to entire districts. Sharing their research and both professional and personal experiences, the panelists share the leadership knowledge, training, and curriculum advice you’ve been looking for. Quotes: ”We need to show how research can translate to practice–making it accessible to teachers and deeply connect it to their local reality.” –Dr. Carolyn Strom, Professor of Early Childhood Literacy and Innovation at NYU“My advice for building leaders: you have the next bigger impact on students after teachers. It’s never too late to start and it’s okay to not know everything.” –Ernesto Ortiz, Principal at McDonald Elementary School, PAShow notes:Plain Talk about Literacy and Learning ConferenceErnesto's blog: Decoding LeadershipCarolyn Strom NYU BioNatalie's books:The Knowledge Gap: The hidden cause of America's broken education system--and how to fix itThe Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and GradeWant to discuss the episode? Join our Facebook group Science of Reading: The Community.

Join Dr. Louisa Moats, President of Moats Associates Consulting, as she unwinds decoding, a strand of Scarborough’s Reading Rope. In the third episode of our Deconstructing the Rope series, Louisa highlights the significance of decoding in the science of reading and discusses the value of becoming students of our own language. She also mentions the reciprocal relationship between decoding and encoding and why both are essential to provide effective phonics instruction to children in the classroom.Quotes:“We need to be students of our own language so that when we accept the responsibility of teaching kids how it works, we’re very comfortable.”“We have much more insight into how kids learn any language-based academic skill, not only from neuroscience but also cognitive, developmental, linguistic, and educational intervention research.”Want to discuss the episode? Join our Facebook group Science of Reading: The Community.Episode timestamps*02:00 Introduction: Who is Louisa Moats?07:00 The Importance of teaching teachers09:00 Changes in literacy education over the years17:00 Decoding and encoding in reading22:00 The complexity of the English language26:00 Systematic and explicit instruction37:00 Spelling in relationship with the reading process43:00 The role of decodable texts46:00 Final thoughts and key takeaways*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute

Join Alice Wiggins, vice president of instructional design and products at UnboundEd, in the second episode of our Deconstructing the Rope series as she unwinds word recognition, a strand of Scarborough’s Reading Rope. Alice also highlights the importance of explicit phonics instruction and urges listeners to advocate for an aligned curriculum to bring forth a systematic approach to reading for all students.Quotes:“By explicitly teaching sound spellings, we’re strengthening students’ abilities to read so they can learn more.”“For equity’s sake, we want to teach reading in a way that we cast the widest net possible and support the most students possible.”Resources:UnboundEdThe Reading Mind: A Cognitive Approach to Understanding How the Mind Reads by Daniel WillinghamLanguage at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can't, and What Can Be Done About It by Mark SeidenbergInternational Dyslexia AssociationThe Reading LeagueWant to discuss the episode? Join our Facebook group Science of Reading: The Community.

Dive into our first episode as Dr. Jane Oakhill, Professor of Experimental Psychology at the University of Sussex, gives a high-level overview of Scarborough’s Reading Rope. She also emphasizes the importance of inferencing in comprehension, why the Simple View of Reading is still relevant almost 40 years later, and how each element of the rope comes together to deconstruct the complexity of reading.Quotes:“We’re often quite surprised at what children don’t understand and we make a lot of assumptions about things we find utterly trivial.”“It’s not just having knowledge that’s important, but also being able to activate that knowledge when appropriate.”Resources:Understanding and Teaching Reading Comprehension by Jane OakhillWant to discuss the episode? Join our Facebook group Science of Reading: The Community.

Join Danielle Damico, Director of Learning Science at Amplify, as she explores the impact of the pandemic on at-risk students and those in need of intervention. She shares the insights drawn from DIBELS 8th Edition and highlights how data is now more important than ever in understanding where students are—whether assessments are administered in person or through a digital platform. Finally, she leaves our listeners with best practices to nurture readers moving forward and ensure growth and success through the end of the year.Quotes:“Teachers and students need the right tools to help accelerate student learning and growth–especially in early literacy.”“We need to lean on the data we can collect and the science of reading.”Resources:Instructional Learning Loss BriefAmplify Literacy HubWant to discuss the episode? Join our Facebook group Science of Reading: The Community.

One of our most popular guests, Tim Shanahan, returns! In our most recent episode, he reminisces about the creation of the National Reading Panel in 1997 and the release of its subsequent groundbreaking report. He highlights how reading instruction has evolved and discusses how new research seems to be changing the landscape of the “reading wars” he thought were settled long ago.Quotes:“We continue to learn, and we continue to refine.”“When people are trying to tell you how you should teach, I think you need to ask some real basic questions about what evidence supports those recommendations.”Show notes:National Reading Panel ReportThe Review of Educational Research JournalERIC, Educational ClearinghouseShanahan on Literacy BlogWhat Works Clearinghouse Want to discuss the episode? Join our Facebook group Science of Reading: The Community.Episode timestamps*01:00: Celebrating the National Reading Panel Report 02:00: Context and history of the National Reading Panel11:00: The experiences of being a panel member15:00: Reflections on the panel's work and its legacy21:00: Current relevance of the nation reading panel report25:00: Defining the term science within the context of reading and literacy research35:00: If you were to do the national reading panel again, what would change?44:00: Advice for Educators and Conclusion*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute

Join Sonia Cabell, Assistant Professor of Education at Florida State University, as she shares findings from her research trials on content-rich literacy curricula and whether activating students’ background knowledge alongside explicit phonics instruction is more effective than traditional approaches. She also explains what constitutes “compelling evidence” in the science of reading and why students need to interact with both written and spoken language while learning to read.Quotes:“The knowledge that you have about a particular subject matters for your reading comprehension.”“When I think about content-rich English language arts, I think about how we can integrate science and social studies into the language arts in ways that make sense.”Resources:Florida Center for Reading ResearchCore Knowledge Language ArtsWriting Into Literacy TEDx Talk by Sonia CabellNational Reading Panel Report 2000EdWeek Science of Reading Article by Sonia CabellSpecial Issue: The Science of Reading: Supports, Critiques, and QuestionsLive with the Author interviewThe Power of Conversations: Building Primary Grade Students’ Vocabulary and Comprehension in a Changing Educational Landscape by Sonia CabellTwitter: @SoniaCabell Want to discuss the episode? Join our Facebook group Science of Reading: The Community.

Join Kelly Moran, Curriculum Supervisor of Chardon Local Schools in Ohio, as she shares her journey of implementing a curriculum based around the science of reading. Hear about the steps her district took to reshape literacy instructional practices and about the challenges they faced along the way. Find out how the fostering of reading achievement in students renders all efforts worthwhile. Quotes:“We’re really taking advantage of every minute of direct, explicit instruction we have with our students.”“Once we invested the time in professional development and high-quality materials aligned to the science of reading, we could see a difference.”Resources:Why Our Children Can't Read and What We Can Do About It: A Scientific Revolution in Reading by Diane McguinessNatalie Wexler’s The Knowledge Gap Want to discuss the episode? Join our Facebook group Science of Reading: The Community.

Join Margaret Goldberg and Alanna Mednick from the Right to Read Project as they address the science of reading and its translation into easy practice for educators. They break down the Seidenberg and McClelland Four-Part Processing Model and explain how it relates to the simple view of reading. They also reflect on how educators should approach reading as scientists and be ready to teach in a way that may be uncomfortable for a time—the “labor of love” stage of literacy instruction.Quotes:“We should anticipate reading difficulties and we should be prepared to be able to address them.” —Margaret Goldberg“We need to go at the pace of the child and we can’t leave anything up to chance.” —Alanna MednickResources:The Seidenberg & McClelland Four-Part Processing ModelBeginning to Read: Thinking and Learning about Print by Marilyn AdamsNancy Young’s Ladder of ReadingRight to Read Project  Want to discuss the episode? Join our Facebook group Science of Reading: The Community.

Join Afrika Afeni Mills—a leader at BetterLesson—as she discusses how to integrate students’ schemas to nurture language comprehension in early literacy, discuss the difference between asset- and deficit-based teaching, and highlight the impact “windows and mirrors” have on students’ classroom experiences.Quotes:“A lot of the foundational work starts by making sure that we’re inquisitive about the resources we’re providing students.”“We don’t spend enough time thinking about students’ families as their first teachers.”Resources:BetterLessonTedTalk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Danger of a Single StoryWant to discuss the episode? Join our Facebook group Science of Reading: The Community.