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To the Classroom: Conversations with Researchers & Educators — Education
To the Classroom: Conversations with Researchers & Educators

Jennifer Serravallo interviews leading literacy researchers and scholars about their work. In each episode, she’s joined by colleagues from her consulting team, teachers, and coaches, to talk about practical strategies for bringing the research to the classroom.

Copyright: © 2023 To the Classroom: Conversations with Researchers & Educators

Latest Episodes:

33. Dr. Leigh Patel & Shawna Coppola Feb 12, 2024

My guest today is Dr. Leigh Patel who is a transdisciplinary scholar whose research focuses on both the ways schooling delivers inequities and how education can be a tool for liberation. She is the author of Decolonizing Educational Research. We’ll be discussing an essay she published last fall on decolonizing.net. In the second part of the episode I’m joined by my colleague Shawna Coppola, author of the new book Literacy For All.
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For a transcript and more information about the podcast and host Jennifer Serravallo: www.jennniferserravallo.com/podcast
Read Dr. Patel's Essay here.
Learn more about Shawna's book here.
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About Dr. Leigh Patel:
Dr. Leigh Patel is an interdisciplinary researcher, educator, writer, and is the Associate Dean for Equity and Justice in Education at the University of Pittsburgh. She works extensively with societally marginalized youth and teacher activists. Patel is a recipient of the June Jordan Award for scholarly leadership and poetic bravery in social critique and is a national board member of Education for Liberation, a long-standing organization dedicated to transformative education for and by youth of color. She is the author of Youth Held at the Border and Decolonizing Educational Research. Connect with her on Twitter at @lipatel.

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32. Zaretta Hammond -- The Science of Learning: Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain Feb 05, 2024

Today’s guest is the brilliant Zaretta Hammond, author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain. We’ll talk about the science behind her recommended “six core design principles” that she calls “culturally responsive brain rules”. Later, I’m joined by my colleague Jerry Maraia for a continued conversation about practical takeaways.
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To learn more about Jennifer Serravallo: www.jenniferserravallo.com
To read a transcript of this episode: www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
Learn more about Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, Zaretta Hammond's book
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Zaretta Hammond is a former classroom English teacher who has been doing instructional design, school coaching, and professional development around the issues of equity, literacy, and culturally responsive teaching for the past 18 years. She teaches as a lecturer at St. Mary’s College’s Kalmanovitz School of in Moraga, California.

In addition to consulting and professional development, she has been on staff at national education reform organizations, including the National Equity Project and the former Bay Area School Reform Collaborative (BASRC). She has trained instructional coaches in reading development, especially targeted at students of color and English learners. She has also designed national seminars such as the three-day Teaching with A Cultural Eye series for teachers and school leaders. She is regularly invited to present at regional and national conferences. She has authored articles that have appeared in publications such as Phi Delta Kappan.

Along with a focus on culturally responsive teaching, Ms. Hammond has a strong research agenda around literacy, vocabulary development, and equity. She has designed culturally responsive tutor training programs aimed at volunteer reading tutors for a variety of non-profit organizations. She currently designing a literacy program to accelerate low reading skills among high school students. She holds a Masters in Secondary English Education.

She also writes the popular ready4rigor.com blog. Zaretta is the proud parent of two young adult children, both of whom she taught to read before they went to school. She resides in Berkeley, CA with her husband and family.

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31. Dr. Leala Holcomb -- Equitable Literacy Instruction for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students Jan 29, 2024

My guest today is Dr. Leala Holcomb, a researcher of deaf education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who accepted my invitation to teach us all about what true equity and inclusion looks like when supporting deaf children’s language and literacy development. At Dr. Holcomb’s request, I interviewed them in writing via a collaborative online document, and I have hired a voice actor, Ginna Hoben, to read Dr. Holcomb’s words for this podcast interview. As with all episodes, a transcript of this episode is available at my website, JenniferSerravallo.com/podcast.
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To read a transcript and see the instructional videos referenced in the episode: www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast (and click on the thumbnail of this episode).
For more about Dr. Holcomb: https://www.lealaholcomb.com/
To read more about being deaf in a mainstream school, Dr. Holcomb recommends Rachel Zemach's book The Butterfly Cage and her website.
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Leala is a researcher of deaf education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Lealawas a former educator of deaf children in an early childhood program, which inspired the creation of Hands Land. Hands Land is a non-profit organization that promotes language play through signed rhyme and rhythm. Leala has collaborated on initiatives in Viet Nam, Hong Kong, Morocco, and Rwanda as the deaf education expert. Leala providesprofessional development to teachers nationally and internationally on a wide range of topics pertaining to deaf education. Leala is currently a Co-Editor of the special issue, “Translanguaging in Deaf Communities” in the Languages journal and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education journal. Leala won several awards for their work as an early career researcher and got invited to be a keynote presenter at several conferences. Leala is specifically interested in exploring deaf-centered ways of teaching and learning.
Thank you to Alex Rose for audio editing this episode.

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30. Chris Wenz -- Autism and Literacy Dec 11, 2023

My guest today is Chris Wenz, researcher and teacher, whose dissertation focused on profiles of adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders. We begin our conversation with an understanding of the diverse profiles of autistic individuals, and move into a conversation about considerations for literacy assessment and teaching. In the second part of the episode I’m joined by my colleague Elisha Li, a former elementary inclusion teacher, to discuss practical takeaways.

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Read a full transcript of this episode and learn more about the show at

https://www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast

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Follow Dr. Chris Wenz on Twitter @ChrisWenz8

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More about this episode’s guest:

Chris Wenz, PhD, is a researcher and teacher educator at the Landmark College Institute for Research and Training (LCIRT). His recent work has focused on adolescent literacy and literacy instruction for students with disabilities. His dissertation on reading profiles of adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder is supported by grants from the International Literacy Association and the Connecticut Association for Reading Research. Chris previously worked in the Boston Public Schools as an AmeriCorps volunteer, and as a residential dean and humanities instructor at Franklin Academy, a high school for students with autism and nonverbal learner differences.

Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing this episode.

Support this show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TotheClassroom

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29. Dr. Karen Harris -- Writing Instruction, Self-Regulation Strategies, and Professional Development in Writing Dec 04, 2023

Karen Harris

My guest today is Dr. Karen Harris who joins us to talk about the role of strategy instruction for qualities of good writing such as focus, organization, and detail, as well as strategies for self-regulation. We’ll also discuss a recently-published meta-analysis she coauthored focused on effective professional development for teachers. I’m joined by my colleagues Lea Leibowitz and Lainie Powell in the second half of the episode where we’ll discuss practical strategies for writing you can use right away in the classroom, as well as our takeaways as leaders of professional development.

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Read a full transcript of this episode and learn more about the show at

https://www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast

More on Self-Regulated Strategy Development

Practice-Based Professional Development for Self-Regulated Strategies Development

Effects of SRSD

Scoring Through Rubrics

Powerful Writing Strategies for All Students

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More about Dr. Karen Harris:

Dr. Karen R. Harris is the Mary Emily warner professor in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. She has worked in the field of education for over 40 years, initially as a general education teacher and then as a special education teacher. Throughout her teaching and research career, she has chosen to work in highly diverse schools in low income areas due to her commitment to improving teaching and learning for all students. Her research focuses on informing and improving theory, research, and practice related to writing development among students with high incidence disabilities, students who struggle with writing, and normally achieving students.

She is interested in validating instructional approaches for heterogeneous classrooms derived from integrating multiple, evidence-based theories. Karen Harris’ research focuses on theoretically based interventions for the development of academic and self-regulation abilities among students who are at-risk and those with disabilities, as well as effective models of in-service teacher preparation for writing instruction for all students. In addition, she investigates approaches to professional development on evidence-based practices in writing that result in sustainable changes in the quality of writing instruction.

Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing this episode.

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28. Dr. Steve Graham -- Reading and Writing Reciprocity, and Writing Instruction Best Practices Based on 40 Years of Research Nov 28, 2023

My guest today is Dr. Steve Graham, who has, for over 40 years, studied how writing develops, how to teach it effectively, and how writing can be used to support reading and learning. We'll discuss some of his research around reading and writing reciprocity, and we'll learn about writing instructional practices that have the strongest evidence, as published in his lES practice guides, available on What Works Clearinghouse.
Transcript & More about the show: https://www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
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Steve Graham's research involves typically developing writers and students with special needs in both elementary and secondary schools, with much of occurring in classrooms in urban schools.

Graham is the former editor of Exceptional Children, Contemporary Educational Psychology, Journal of Writing Research, Focus on Exceptional Children, and Journal of Educational Psychology. He is the co-author of the "Handbook of Writing Research," "Handbook of Learning Disabilities," "APA Handbook of Educational Psychology," "Writing Better," "Powerful Writing Strategies for all Students" and "Making the Writing Process Work." He is also the author of three influential Carnegie Corporation reports: Writing Next , Writing to Read , and Informing Writing.

Graham has served as an advisor to a variety of organization, including UNESCO, National Institute of Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Zuckerberg Initiative, National Writing Project, Institute of Educational Sciences, the College Board, and the What Works Clearinghouse. He was the chair of the What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guides for both elementary as well as secondary writing. Steve was a member of the National Research Conference committee on adolescent and adult literacy. He has provided background information for a wide variety of magazine, newspaper, television, and radio reports including National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, La Monde, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, National Public Radio, CBS Sunday Moring News, and NBC Today Show.

He is the recipient of the Thorndike Career Award from Division 15 of the American Psychological Association, Sylvia Scribner Award from Division C of the American Educational Research Association, William S. Gray citation of merit from the International Literacy Association, John S. Nesbit Fellowship from the British Educational Research Association, Exemplary Research in Teaching and Teacher Education from Division K of the American Educational Research Award, Career Research Award from the International Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), the Kauffman-Hallahan Distinguished Researcher Award from the Division of Research (CEC), Jeannette Fleischner Career Leadership Award from the Division of Learning Disabilities (CEC), Samual A. Kirk Award from the Division of Learning Disabilities (CEC), Distinguished Researcher Award from the Special Education Special Interest Group of the American Education Research Association, J. Lee Weiderhot Lecture Award from the Council of Learning Disabilities, and the Don Johnston Literacy Lectureship Award for career contributions to literacy. He was elected to the Reading Hall of Fame for 2018.

Graham is a fellow of the American Educational Research Association, Division 15 of the American Psychological Association, as well as a fellow of the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities.

Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing this episode.

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27. Dr. P David Pearson -- Developing a Research-Informed Reading Curriculum and Literacy Block Nov 20, 2023

Today's guest is none other than THE Dr. P David Pearson. Usually I approach guests with a topic in mind, but because Dr. Pearson had just written on just about every topic there is to write about in the field of literacy education, I asked him what he wanted to discuss. He said: "how to design an ideal literacy block aligned to research." I love the topic and I hope you will too. As always, I'm joined by colleagues in the second half of the episode today. It's Gina Dignon and Macie Kerbs to talk about practical takeaways for the classroom. It's a long episode, but worth every minute.
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Click to read a full transcript of this episode, and learn more about the show, and Jennifer Serravallo.
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P. David Pearson is an emeritus faculty member in the School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as Dean from 2001-2010. His current research focuses on literacy history and policy. He also holds an appointment as a Professor of the Graduate School and is the Evelyn Lois Corey Emeritus Chair in Instructional Science.

Prior to coming to Berkeley in 2001, he served as the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor of Education in the College of Education at Michigan State and as Co-Director of the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. Even earlier, he was Dean of the College of Education, Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Reading, and Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois. His initial professorial appointment was at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis from 1969-1978.

He has been active in professional organizations, serving ILA and NCTE in many capacities (including the IRA Board of Directors and currently Chair of the Research Panel), both the NRC and NCRE as President, and the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education as a member of the Board.

Awards include the 1989 Oscar Causey Award for outstanding contributions to reading research from the NRC and the 1990 William S.Gray Citation of Merit. for his contributions to theory, research, and practice from the IRA. In 2004, he received the Alan Purves Award from NCTE for the Research in Teaching Englisharticle most likely to influence practice, and in 2005, the Albert J. Harris Award from IRA for scholarship on reading difficulties. In 2006, the University of Minnesota honored him with the Alumni Outstanding Achievement Award, the highest non-academic award given at the University, for his contributions to educational research and practice. In 2010, he received the AERA Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award. In 2003, he was elected to membership in the National Academy of Education (NAE) and in 2009 to membership as a Fellow of the AERA. In 2012, the Literacy Research Association (formerly the NRC) created the P. David Pearson Scholarly Influence Award to honor scholarship that impacts literacy practice.

His 300+ books, articles and chapters, written with over 300 co-authors, appear in a range of outlets for a wide range of audiences—teachers, scholars, and policy makers.

Professor Pearson received his B.A. in History from the UCBerkeley, after which he taught elementary school in California and went on to complete his Ph.D. in Reading Education at the U of Minnesota. He completed post-doctoral study at the U of Texas, Austin and Stanford University.
Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing this episode.

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26. Dr. H. Richard Milner -- Multiple Literacies, Including A Wider Scope of Research in SoR Conversations, Effective Leadership Nov 13, 2023

My guest today is Dr. H. Richard Milner, author of the recent Reading Research Quarterly article titled “Disrupting Racism and Whiteness in Researching a Science of Reading” and the new book The Race Card. We talk about the importance of drawing from a wide range of types of research in designing our literacy classrooms, the multiple literacies we should be developing in young people, and what effective leadership looks like in this time.

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Read a full transcript of this episode and learn more about the show here

Follow Dr. H. Richard Milner on Twitter @MilnerHRich

The Race Card: Leading the Fight for Truth in America’s Schools

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More about this episode’s guest:

H. Richard Milner IV is currently, the Cornelius Vanderbilt Endowed Chair of Education and Professor of Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. Professor Milner spent five years as Helen Faison Endowed Chair of Urban Education, Professor of Education, and by courtesy Professor of Sociology, Professor of Social Work, and Professor of Africana Studies as well as Director of the Center for Urban Education at the University of Pittsburgh. Professor Milner began his career at Vanderbilt University where, in 2008, he became the first Black person to earn promotion and tenure in the entire College of Education’s history. His research, teaching and policy interests concern urban education, teacher education, African American literature, and the social context of education. In particular, Professor Milner’s research examines practices and policies that support teacher effectiveness in urban schools.

Professor Milner’s work has appeared in numerous journals, and he has published seven books. His book, published in 2010 by Harvard Education Press, is: Start where you are but don’t stay there: Understanding diversity, opportunity gaps, and teaching in today’s classrooms, which represents years of research and development effort. The book is widely read in teacher education programs and school districts across the United States of America. This book has been recognized with two major awards: (1) the 2012 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education Outstanding Book Award, and (2) a 2011 American Educational Studies Association Critics’ Choice Book Award. He is also author of The Race Card in 2023 by Corwin Press.. In 2017, Professor Milner became the founding Series Editor of the Harvard Education Press Series on Race and Education.

In 2006, Professor Milner received an Early Career Award from the American Educational Research Association. Over the last five years, Professor Milner has appeared on the top 200 Edu-Scholar Public Presence Ranking, published by Education Week.

Currently, he is Editor-in-chief of Urban Education and co-editor of the Handbook of Urban Education, published with Routledge Press in 2014. In the fall of 2015, the Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education assigned his book, Rac(e)ing to Class, to all incoming graduate students and invited alumni across the world to read the book. He was then invited to deliver a prestigious Askwith Lecture at Harvard University, where he discussed research and findings from his book.

Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing this episode.

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25. Dr. Laura Ascenzi-Moreno -- Multilingual Learners: Assessment and Teaching Nov 06, 2023

My guest today is Dr. Laura Ascenzi-Moreno, a NYC-based scholar who studies bi and multi-lingual education. She has several papers about reading assessment practices and considerations for students who speak multiple languages. We also discuss reader models such as the Simple View and Active View, and which are more aligned with biliteracy research, and considerations for phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension instruction for bi and multilingual learners. Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Angie Forero and Cristy Rauseo for a conversation about practical takeaways for the classroom.

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Read a full transcript of this episode and learn more about the show at

https://www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast

Learn more about Laura Ascenzi Moreno:

https://www.lascenzimoreno.com/

Twitter @AscenziMoreno

More on Ideologies in Assessment of Emergent Bilinguals

The Active View of Reading

Literacy Foundations for English Learners

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More about this episode’s guest:

Laura Ascenzi-Moreno is an Assistant Professor and Bilingual Program Coordinator in the Childhood, Bilingual, and Special Education Department at Brooklyn College. She received her doctorate in Urban Education from the CUNY Graduate Center in 2012. Prior to becoming a professor, she was a dual language, bilingual teacher and coach in New York City public schools for more than a decade. She was also an Associate Investigator for the City University of New York New York State Initiative on Emergent Bilinguals (CUNY-NYSIEB) from 2012-16. Her publications can be found in Literacy Research and Instruction, Language and Education, Schools: Studies in Education, and Language Arts.

Ascenzi-Moreno is a bilingual literacy researcher and teacher educator who studies literacy instruction and learning of emergent bilinguals – or students who use two or more languages in their daily lives. Her work is focused on understanding the connection between ideologies and practice and in particular, in examining how monolingual spaces within literacy instruction – such as assessment, guided reading, and the use of mentor texts – can be centered on emergent bilinguals’ multilingual and multimodal practices. Through her research and work with teachers, she also continues to develop and refine how bilingual theories can contribute to an understanding of reading in general.

Her focus in bilingual education is not on the promotion of languages and competencies. While these are important, her research agenda and work in schools is focused on emergent bilinguals’ literacy experiences and how these are related equity. As an applied bilingual researcher and teacher educator, she strives for her research to emerge from questions emerging from practice and contributes back to the field by helping teachers both think about emergent bilinguals in new ways to shape literacy instruction. Therefore, she works to ensure that her research addresses the authentic and urgent needs and concerns of teachers in the field and is relevant to the national community of bilingual scholars.

Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing.

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24. Dr. Caitlin Ryan and Dr. Jill Hermann-Wilmarth -- The Hows and Whys of LGBTQ-inclusive Curriculum and Texts Oct 30, 2023

My guests today, Dr. Caitlin Ryan and Dr. Jill Hermann Wilmarth, are co-authors of the professional book Reading the Rainbow as well as many scholarly articles. They will help us think about the whys and hows of LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum and texts in K-8 settings. Later, I am joined by my colleague Gina Dignon to discuss practical takeaways for both teachers and school leaders.

Read a full transcript of this episode and learn more about the show at

https://www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast

More on The GLSEN 2021 National School Climate Survey

GLSEN School Climate Survey

The Trevor Project School Climate Survey

Reading the Rainbow

Gender: Your Guide: A Gender-Friendly Primer on What to Know, What to Say, and What to Do in the New Gender Culture

Critical Literacy and Transgender Topics in an Upper Elementary Classroom: A Portrait of Possibility

Follow Caitlin Ryan on Twitter @Caitlin_m_Ryan

Follow Jill Hermann-Wilmarth on Twitter @Bosstetter_edu

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More about Caitlin Ryan:

Caitlin L. Ryan is an associate professor of reading education in the College of Education at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. She previously taught literacy enrichment programs to grades K–5 in the Washington, DC, Public Schools. Her research interests center on the relationships among children’s literature, literacy, social positioning, and educational equity, especially at the elementary school level.

More about Jill Hermann-Wilmarth:

Jill M. Hermann-Wilmarth, a former elementary school teacher, is a professor of social foundations in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Educational Studies at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI. Her research and teaching examine issues of identity inside and outside of classrooms using the lenses of literacy, social justice, and critical and deconstructive theories. She is currently at work on her first children’s novel.

Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing this episode.

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23. Dr. Elizabeth Sulzby -- Emergent Literacy and Language Development Oct 23, 2023

My guest today is Dr. Elizabeth Sulzby whose research focus is on early language and literacy development in Pre-Kindergarten. She talks about research studies she did with preschoolers in NYC years ago where teachers do repeated readings of storybooks—even those with complex language and story structure—and study children’s rereadings and retellings. These studies formed the basis for her emergent reading classification scheme. We also talk a bit about emergent writing development in prekindergarten and its parallels to reading development. Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Gina Dignon and bilingual educator Clarisa Leal for a conversation about practical takeaways for young children and multilingual learners.

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Read a full transcript of this episode and learn more about Jennifer Serravallo.

AccessEmergent Literacy: Writing and Reading

More on Dr. Sulzby’s KLP Literature Program

The Reading Strategies Book 2.0

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More about this episode’s guest:

Elizabeth Sulzby is best known for her pioneering work in emergent literacy. Prior to coming to the University Michigan in 1986, Sulzby was associate professor with tenure at Northwestern University. During 1996-97, she was a visiting professor at Leiden University, the Netherlands, where she collaborates with A.G. Bus and Marinus H. Van IJzendoorn in studies of attachment and emergent literacy. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia and her M.Ed. from the College of William and Mary. She did post-B.A. study in philosophy at Harvard University after receiving her B.A. in philosophy and English from Birmingham-Southern College.

Sulzby is the author, with W. H. Teale, of Emergent literacy: Writing and Reading, and has published her research on children's emergent reading and writing development in numerous journals. Her studies of emergent bookreading and emergent writing have been conducted with diverse groups of children aged 2-7, including African American, Spanish-English bilingual immigrant, Appalachian, and European American children.

Research in emergent literacy has led Sulzby in a number of related directions. She has studied the transition from emergent to conventional literacy, designing techniques for assessing literacy from toddlers to early elementary grades in a manner consistent with emergent literacy insights. Her studies, with Bus, van IJzendoorn, Teale, and Kaderavek have bridged the parent-child intervention studies and children's independent emergent readings.

Her research has been funded by the Spencer Foundation, NIE/OERI, the Research Foundation of NCTE, and by various computer and software companies, including IBM, Apple Computer, and Jostens. Sulzby is a Fellow in the APA and NCRLL and has served on many editorial and research review boards. Recently, she served on OERI's advisory group for a center for early literacy agenda, NCEE's New Standards Primary Literacy Panel and was a member of the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council's Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).

Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing this episode.

Support this show:(https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TotheClassroom)

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22. Dr. Haeny Yoon and Dr. Lalitha Vasudevan -- Play, Conceptual Knowledge Development, and Literacy Skills Oct 16, 2023

My guests today are Dr. Haeny Yoon and Dr. Lalitha Vasudevan, researchers who study play in early childhood and adolescence. We talk about the many benefits of play, the role of adults in setting up and facilitating play, and ways that play supports conceptual knowledge development as well as reading and writing skills. Later, I’m joined by colleagues Emily Strang-Campbell and Gina Dignon, as well as longtime friend Alison Porcelli, former teacher and school administrator and now a district coach, who is a co-author of two practitioner resources: Purposeful Play and Boosting English Language Acquisition in Choice Time.

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Read a full transcript of this episode and learn more about the show

More on The Practice of Listening to Children: The Challenges of Hearing Children Out in an Adult-Regulated World

Mariana Souto-Manning and Haeny Yoon, Rethinking Early Literacies: Reading and Rewriting Worlds

Follow Dr. Haeny Yoon @Haenyyoon

Follow Dr. Lalitha Vasudevan @Elemveee

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Dr. Haeny Yoon is an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Curriculum & Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is recommitting herself to the intellectual capacity and power of teachers to create, (re)imagine, and forward public scholarship and social change. As a former elementary school educator, she has always believed that when given the space, teachers can be engaged citizens who interrupt racism and multiple exclusions inherent in school curriculum, educational policies, and teaching pedagogies. She engages in research that studies how children and teachers create spaces of play or aesthetic experiences where creativity, social relationships, and civic engagement take precedence over standardization and regulation. She lives in New York City with her husband Neal and gets inspired daily by her niece and nephew, Emmy and Max.

Dr. Lalitha Vasudevan is Professor of Technology and Education in the Communication, Media, and Learning Technologies Design Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Over the past 20 years, she has explored the intersection of adolescent literacies, media and technologies, youth culture, and juvenile justice. She engages participatory, ethnographic, and multimodal methodologies to study how youth craft stories, represent themselves, and enact ways of knowing through their engagement with literacies, technologies, and media.

Lalitha has conducted a variety of studies with court-involved youth. She has also explored the pedagogical practices of inclusive and special education teachers, the literacy and identity practices of middle school adolescents inside classroom settings, and the multimodal literacy and media engagements of adolescent boys. Lalitha has co-edited two volumes that explore the intersections of youth, media, and education: Media, Learning, and Sites of Possibility and Arts, Media, and Justice: Multimodal Explorations with Youth (both published with Peter Lang), and is currently writing a book about education, multimodal play, and belonging in the lives of court-involved youth.

Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing this episode.

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21. John Walker and Dr. Jan Wascowicz -- Speech to Print Approach to Phonics and Spelling Instruction Oct 09, 2023

John Walker and Jan Wasowicz

Today’s episode is a double – I have two guests to teach us about a speech to print approach to spelling and phonics instruction. John Walker is the UK-based creator of Sounds-Write. Jan Wasowicz is the US-based creator of Spell Links. We’ll talk about the differences–and benefits–of using a speech to print approach. Later, I’m joined by colleagues Macie Kerbs and Rosie Maurantonio, as well as the author of We Do Writing, Leah Mermelstein, for a conversation about practical takeaways for the classroom.

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Read a full transcript of this episode and learn more about the show at: https://www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast

Cognitive Load Theory

Miller’s Studies on Memory

Speech to Print Approach

Sounds Write UK
SPELL-Links

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More about Dr. John Walker:
John is the founder and CEO of Sounds-Write and one of the co-authors of the programme.

John has been a qualified teacher, university lecturer and teacher trainer for over thirty years, teaching English language and literature in many different countries and settings.

He trains practitioners in Sounds-Write and promotes the Sounds-Write programme in schools and other educational institutions across the world.

John is an enthusiastic edu-blogger, who posts regularly on all aspects of literacy teaching at his site theliteracyblog.com.

More about Dr. Jan Wasowicz:
Dr. Jan Wasowicz has over 40 years of experience working with academically struggling students, and she specializes in assessment and intervention for K-12 students with language-based reading, writing, and spelling problems including dyslexia, dysgraphia, and other language-based learning disabilities. In addition to providing direct assessment and remediation services, she participates in school meetings to counsel parents and to advocate for the student to receive appropriate public-school services, including modification of the classroom language arts curriculum to meet the learning needs of the student. Dr. Wasowicz is frequently invited to speak on best practices for literacy assessment and instruction and has conducted countless professional development workshops for schools. She has held faculty positions at leading universities and clinical training programs including Northwestern University and Elmhurst College. Dr. Wasowicz is a certified speech-language pathologist and a Board Certified Specialist in Child Language licensed to practice in the states of Illinois and Florida and is a licensed professional educator with elementary and secondary endorsements from the IL State Teacher Certification. She is a SPELL-Links Certified Provider.

Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing this episode.

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20. Dr. Tim Rasinski -- Fluency Instruction, and Blending the Art and Science of Reading Oct 02, 2023

Today’s guest is Dr. Tim Rasinski. We’ll talk about his newest book, Artfully Teaching the Science of Reading, along with several of his recently published studies that offer ways to support students’ fluency development through the use of poems and Reader’s Theater. This conversation is packed with ideas you’ll be able to use right away. After my converstion with Dr. Rasinski, I’m joined by four of my colleagues – Darren, Lainie, Macie, and Gina – where we’ll share our responses, ideas, and further questions.
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For more information about Jennifer Serravallo, to read transcripts of any episode, or to learn about inviting Jen's colleagues to work in your school or district, visit her website: www.jenniferserravallo.com
For more information about Tim's Book, Artfully Teaching the Science of Reading, click here.
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About this episode's guest:
Timothy Rasinski is a professor of literacy education at Kent State University and director of its award winning reading clinic. He has written over 200 articles and has authored, co-authored or edited over 50 books or curriculum programs on reading education. He's published numerous best-selling books with Teacher Created Materials and Shell Education, and has also authored books for Scholastic. His scholarly interests include reading fluency and word study, reading in the elementary and middle grades, and readers who struggle. His research on reading has been cited by the National Reading Panel and has been published in journals such as Reading Research Quarterly, The Reading Teacher, Reading Psychology, and the Journal of Educational Research. Dr. Rasinski is the first author of the fluency chapter for the Handbook of Reading Research.

Dr. Rasinski served a three year term on the Board of Directors of the International Reading Association and was co-editor of The Reading Teacher, the world's most widely read journal of literacy education. He has also served as co-editor of the Journal of Literacy Research. Dr. Rasinski is past-president of the College Reading Association and he has won the A. B. Herr and Laureate Awards from the College Reading Association for his scholarly contributions to literacy education. In 2010, Dr. Rasinski was elected into the International Reading Hall of Fame.

Prior to coming to Kent State, Timothy Rasinski taught literacy education at the University of Georgia. He taught for several years as an elementary and middle school classroom and Title I teacher in Nebraska. Tim is a veteran of the US armed forces.
***
Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing this episode.

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19. Dr. Laura Steacy and Dr. Don Compton -- Set for Variability Sep 25, 2023

Today’s guests are Drs. Laura Steacy and Don Compton, researchers who explore and write about the skill Set for Variability. You’ll hear them talk about this new area of research which offers an explanation for how students self-correct pronunciations of words when reading, and may have interesting implications for how we learn to remember spellings of irregular words. After my interview, I’m joined by my colleagues Macie Kerbs and Lainie Powell for a discussion about takeaways for the classroom.
Learn more about Jennifer Serravallo and read a transcript of this episode.
Twitter @LMSteacy
Twitter @Don_Compton
The Self Teaching Hypothesis
Set for Variability

More about this episode's guests:
Dr. Laura Steacy is an assistant professor of SpEd and research faculty at the Florida Center for Reading Research. Her research interests include early reading development, early predictors of reading achievement, and interventions for students who have or are at-risk for reading disabilities. Prior to her doctoral studies, she was a classroom teacher with experience teaching grades K-6. Up to this point, her research interests have focused on three broad strands relating to identification and intervention for struggling readers: (1) modeling the stability of early reading subtypes of children at-risk for reading difficulties, (2) child- and item- factors that predict individual differences in word reading skills, and (3) future directions for interventions for children with and at-risk for reading difficulties. These strands serve her overarching goal of identifying and serving students with the highest needs in the area of reading.

Dr. Compton is Professor of Psychology at Florida State University/Florida Center for Reading Research. He was formerly Professor and Chair of Special Education and a John F. Kennedy Center Investigator at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University. He earned a Ph.D. from Northwestern University's School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, with a specialization in learning disabilities. While working on his Ph.D., and for several years after its completion, he was employed as a learning disabilities resource teacher in Skokie, Illinois. Compton then worked for four years as an assistant professor in the department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He then accepted a NICHD post-doctoral research fellowship at the Institute for Behavior Genetics, University of Colorado. From there he accepted a position at Vanderbilt University that he held until the spring of 2015 when he transitioned to FCRR. He has over 75 peer-review publications and is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Educational Psychology, Journal of Learning Disabilities, Scientific Studies of Reading, and Exceptional Children. Compton is the past President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading and currently serves as associate-editor of Scientific Study of Reading.
Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing this episode.
Support this show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TotheClassroom

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18. Dr. Peng Peng -- Comprehension Strategy Instruction: What Strategies and Most Effective for Older Struggling Readers? Sep 18, 2023

My guest today is Dr. Peng Peng, co-author of a recently-published meta-analysis that examined the role of strategy instruction with struggling readers in grades 3-12. The analysis sought to understand which strategies, and which strategy combinations, are most important to prioritize in a time-crunched intervention setting. Later, I’m joined by my colleague Elisha Li for a conversation about practical takeaways for the classroom.

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Read a full transcript of this episode, and learn more about the show at https://www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
More about Peng Peng’s research on working memory

More on the Effectiveness of Multi Stratergy Reading

Dr. Kintsch’s ReadingComprehension Model

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More about Dr. Peng Peng:

Dr. Peng Peng's research aims to bridge cognitive psychology and special education. He is interested in embedding high-level cognitive skills training into academic instructions for children with severe learning difficulties. In particular, he has been working on projects to design instruction that can incorporate cognitive strategy, meta-cognition, and reading skills. Another line of his research is meta-analysis that examines reading and mathematics learning across cultures and languages. Currently, he is working on several meta projects to investigate the bidirectional relation (and mechanism) between general cognition and learning during development.

Dr. Peng Peng's work has been published in journals including Psychological Bulletin, Review of Educational Research, Journal of Educational Psychology, Journal of Learning Disabilities, Educational Psychology Review, Learning and Individual Differences, Exceptional Children, Scientific Studies of Reading, Child Development Perspectives, Journal of Special Education, Learning Disability Quarterly, and Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. He is the recipient of 2018 Early Career Award from International Dyslexia Association, the associate editor of Reading and Writing, and serves on the editorial board of Psychological Bulletin, Review of Educational Research, Journal of Educational Psychology, Journal of Learning Disabilities, Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, and Annals of Dyslexia.

Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing this episode.

Support this show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TotheClassroom (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TotheClassroom)

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17. Dr. Kristin Conradi Smith, Dr. Steve Amendum, and Tammy Williams -- Effective Small Group Instruction in Reading Sep 11, 2023

My guests today are three authors of a recent article in The Reading Teacher about Maximizing Small Group Instruction: Dr. Kristin Conradi-Smith, Dr. Steve Amendum, and Tammy Williams. They’ll share essential recommendations for forming and conducting effective group lessons for readers. After our conversation, I’m joined by my colleagues Emily Strang-Campbell, Clarisa Leal, and Cristy Rauseo for a conversation about practical takeaways.

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Learn more about Jennifer Serravallo and read a full transcript of this episode at www.jenniferserravallo.com

Dr. Steve Amendum on Twitter @SteveAmendum

Dr. Conradi-Smith on Twitter @KConradiSmith

Read the article Maximizing Small-Group Reading Instruction

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More about this episode’s guests:

Dr. Steve Amendum

Dr. Steve Amendum is a professor specializing in literacy education and Interim Director of the School of Education at the University of Delaware. He teaches courses related to literacy research, assessment, and instruction at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. His research areas include early reading intervention, literacy development and instruction for multilingual learners, and evidence-based classroom instruction, as well as professional development for teachers in each of these areas.

Dr. Conradi-Smith

Kristin Conradi Smith is an associate professor of reading education at William & Mary. She has taught both pre-service and in-service teachers, on various literacy topics, for over a decade at W&M, NC State, and the University of Virginia (where she completed her master's and doctoral degrees in Reading Education). In addition to two co-edited books, she has published over 25 articles on topics such as better understanding students who struggle with reading, text complexity, and reading motivation. Kristin also serves on three editorial review boards.

Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing this episode.

Support this show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TotheClassroom

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16. Dr. Margaret McKeown -- Vocabulary Development, Explicit Vocabulary Instruction, and the Questioning the Author Intervention Sep 04, 2023

Today my guest is Dr. Margaret McKeown. We’ll start our conversation discussing vocabulary development and explicit vocabulary instruction, including how to choose words for instruction, how to teach words so students understand them deeply, and how to help students build connections between words. Our conversation then shifts to the Questioning the Author instructional intervention, which focuses on developing comprehension through conversation and can be used to foster independence and discussion amongst students. Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Gina Dignon and Rosie Maurantonio for a conversation about how we’ll bring what we learned to the classroom.

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Read a full transcript of this episode and learn more about the show and Jennifer Serravallo at JenniferSerravallo.com

Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction

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More about Dr. Margaret McKeown:

Margaret G. McKeown, PhD, is Clinical Professor Emerita of Education at the University of Pittsburgh. Before her retirement, she was also a Senior Scientist at the University's Learning Research and Development Center. Her work addresses practical, current problems that classroom teachers and their students face. She has conducted research in the areas of learning, instruction, and teacher professional development in reading comprehension and vocabulary. Dr. McKeown is a recipient of the Outstanding Dissertation Award from the International Literacy Association, is a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association, and was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame. She is coauthor of books including Bringing Words to Life, Second Edition; Creating Robust Vocabulary; Robust Comprehension Instruction with Questioning the Author; and Vocabulary Assessment to Support Instruction.

Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing this episode.

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Season 2 Trailer Aug 28, 2023

Season 2 of To the Classroom begins on September 4, with new episodes every Monday.
Check out this season's guests: www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
Together, we’ll explore a wide range of topics that honors the complexities of what it means to teach literacy to a diverse population of students. We’ll stay rooted in science, but explore practical and artful applications to real classrooms.

Please subscribe or follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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15. Dr. Gholdy Muhammad -- Including Identity, Skills, Knowledge, Criticality, and Joy in a Literacy Instructional Framework May 29, 2023

Today I welcome Dr. Gholdy Muhammad. She’ll teach us about the importance of including qualitative research, her studies of the Black Literary Societies of the 1800s, and how that research has inspired her instructional framework which includes identity, skills, knowledge, criticality and joy. In the second half of the episode I’ll be joined by my colleagues Angie, Emily, Lea, and Jerry for a conversation about practical strategies and takeaways for the classroom.
***
To learn more about Jennifer Serravallo, find transcripts, and learn more about this podcast: www.jenniferserravallo.com
Unearthing Joy, Dr. Muhammad's newest book
Cultivating Genius, Dr. Muhammad's first book
"What do we have to lose: toward disruption, agitation, and abolition in Black education"
About this Episode's Guest:
Dr. Gholnecsar (Gholdy) Muhammad is an Associate Professor of Language and Literacy at Georgia State University. She also serves as the director of the GSU Urban Literacy Collaborative and Clinic. Dr. Muhammad’s scholarship has appeared in leading educational journals and books. Some of her recognitions include the 2014 recipient of the National Council of Teachers of English, Promising New Researcher Award, the 2015 NCTE Alan C. Purves Award (honorable mention), the 2016 NCTE CEE Janet Emig awardee, the 2017 Georgia State University Urban Education Research Awardee, the 2018 UIC College of Education Researcher of the Year and the 2018 Emerald Literati Award.
Audio editing by Alex Van Rose. Thanks, Alex!

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14. Dr. Edmund Adjapong -- Hip Hop Ed, and Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Pedagogies May 22, 2023

Today’s guest is Dr. Edmund Adjapong, a scholar whose work focuses on engaging youth through culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies centered around embracing Hip Hop culture in the classroom. In the second half of the episode, I’m joined by my colleague Elisha Li, and Eric Royo, elementary educator and founder and director of Hip Hop Building Blocks, for a discussion of ways to bring what we learned from Dr. Adjapong to the elementary and middle school ELA classroom.
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To learn more about this podcast, see the first season's guests, read full transcripts and blog responses from listeners, and read more about Jennifer Serravallo and her work, visit www.jenniferserravallo.com
More on Dr. Adjapong's work:
https://edmundadjapong.com

https://www.shu.edu/profiles/EdmundAdjapong.cfm
New article published April 2023 "For White Folks who Teach Hip Hop--and the Rest of Y'all Too: Interrogating the Positionality of Hip-Hop Educators and Researchers" (full text): https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/KEWAKWHD9IWWQVFBXI9T/full?target=10.1080/10665684.2023.2200208

More on Eric Royo's work:
https://hiphopbuildingblocks.com/
**
More about this episode’s guest:

As a product of New York City Public schools, Dr. Adjapong is committed to promoting equitable practices in STEM classrooms, especially in urban settings. Dr. Adjapong believes that every student has the ability to learn and does so differently. He also believes that engaging urban youth with media and utilizing youth culture–despite its unconventional method–is an effective means to educate. Dr. Adjapong is the co-founder and director of the Science Genius Program, a program that engages urban students in the sciences through Hip-Hop, and the director of The Science Genius Academy, a program that encourages and prepares students to pursue STEM careers while providing mentoring and support. Dr. Adjapong is a contributing writer for The Huffington Post and The Good Men Project, where he writes and speaks about issues of race, diversity, social justice and education.
Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/

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13. Dr. Carla España and Dr. Luz Yadira Herrera -- Supporting Multilingual Students with Culturally and Linguistically-Affirming and Sustaining Practices May 15, 2023

Today I welcome Dr Carla España and Dr. Luz Yadira Herrera for a conversation about supporting bilingual and multilingual students in monolingual or dual language classrooms. We discuss culturally and linguistically-affirming and sustaining practices, their advice for choosing texts to use for literacy lessons, and they share examples of some lessons we can use in classrooms right away. In the second half, I’m joined by my colleagues, bilingual educators and consultants, Cristy Rauseo, Clarisa Leal, and Angie Forero to discuss what we’ll bring to the classroom right away.
***
To learn more about this podcast, see the first season's guests, read full transcripts and blog responses from listeners, and read more about Jennifer Serravallo and her work, visit www.jenniferserravallo.com
Links to resources referenced in this episode:
En Comunidad Collective

En Comunidad: Lessons for Centering the Voices and Experiences of Bilingual Latinx Students

Translanguaging Collections: Affirming Bilingual and Multilingual Learners

***
About this episode's guests:

Carla España, Ph.D.

Carla is a teacher, literacy consultant, researcher, author, and co-founder of the En Comunidad Collective. Her love of stories and teaching comes from her roots in Chile and has been nurtured by hundreds of teachers and students across schools in New York City and beyond.

She has a BS in communication studies from New York University, an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, an MA in childhood education with a bilingual extension from Hunter College (City University of New York), and a Ph.D. in urban education from the Graduate Center (City University of New York). Dr. España’s teaching journey began in Harlem, New York with bilingual sixth graders and continues with teaching language arts in a middle-grade summer program.

She is currently an Assistant Professor of Bilingual Education, Puerto Rican/Latinx, and Latin American Studies at Brooklyn College, City University of New York.

Her teaching, research, coaching and writing live at the intersection of critical literacies, children’s literature, and bilingual education. Dr. España is co-author of En Comunidad: Lessons for Centering the Voices and Experiences of Bilingual Latinx Students with Dr. Luz Yadira Herrera. Find her on Twitter @ProfesoraEspana.

Luz Yadira Herrera, Ph.D.

Luz Yadira is a teacher, researcher, author, and co-founder of the En Comunidad Collective. She has over fifteen years of experience in the education of emergent bilinguals in both mainstream and bilingual settings.

She has a BA in international development studies and Portuguese from UCLA, an MA in TESOL from Pace University, and a Ph.D. in urban education from the Graduate Center (City University of New York). She started her teaching career in New York City public schools, teaching emergent bilinguals in K-6 in Harlem. Also, she taught undergraduate and graduate courses at the City College of New York, Long Island University, and Brooklyn College.

She is currently an Assistant Professor of Bilingual Education in the School of Education at California State University, Channel Islands.

Dr. Herrera's teaching and research are in culturally and linguistically sustaining pedagogy, translanguaging, critical pedagogies, and bilingual education policy. She is the co-author of En Comunidad: Lessons for Centering the Voices and Experiences of Bilingual Latinx Students with Dr. Carla España. Find her on Twitter @Dra_LuzYadira.
Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode.

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12. Dr. Debbie Reese -- Native American Representation in Children's Literature and Our Literacy Classrooms May 08, 2023

Today I welcome Debbie Reese to talk about her scholarship focused on Native representation in children’s literature, her AICL resource, and advice for teachers about selecting texts to use in the classroom. Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Lainie Powell, Angie Forero, and Molly Wood to discuss practical takeaways.

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To learn more about this podcast, see the first season's guests, read full transcripts and blog responses from listeners, and read more about Jennifer Serravallo and her work, visit www.jenniferserravallo.com
**

About this episode’s guest:

Deb Reese is tribally enrolled at Nambé Owingeh, a sovereign Native Nation. Born at the Indian Hospital in Santa Fe, she grew up on Nambé's reservation, went to Nambé's Day School and later, to public school. She got a teaching degree from the University of New Mexico and taught elementary school in Albuquerque before moving to Oklahoma to work on a Master's degree in school administration. She taught at Riverside Indian School in OK, Santa Fe Indian School in Santa Fe, and Pojoaque Elementary School in Pojoaque.

In the early 1990s she moved to Illinois to work on a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction. At the time, the University of Illinois had a stereotypical Indian mascot. She worked alongside Native students and allies, and helped establish the Native American House at the University, and soon after that, launched an American Indian Studies program. A few years later, the university's mascot was discontinued.
During graduate school at Illinois, she reviewed for Horn Book. She has written for library publications such as Horn Book Magazine and School Library Journal, and educational publications like Language Arts, published by NCTE. She served on the Multicultural Advisory Board for Reading is Fundamental, and the board for Reach Out and Read American Indian/Alaska Native. In 2018, she was selected to deliver the American Library Association's 2019 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture.
Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/

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11. Dr. HyeJin Hwang -- Bidirectional Relationship of Knowledge and Comprehension in Mono and Multilingual Learners May 01, 2023

Today I welcome Dr. HyeJin Hwang to talk about her recently published study on the bidirectional relationship of knowledge and comprehension in monolingual and multilingual readers. In this conversation we talk about different types of knowledge, ways to support knowledge building, the use of informational and narrative texts in the classroom, and frameworks that can help us think about comprehension. Later, I’m joined by my colleague Gina Dignon about practical takeaways.
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To learn more about this podcast, see the first season's guests, read full transcripts and blog responses from listeners, and read more about Jennifer Serravallo and her work, visit www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
Links to articles mentioned in this episode:
Hwang, Cabell, & Joyner (2022): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10888438.2021.195400
Hwang, Lupo, Cabell, & Wang (2021): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ytBxun1Uew_QRvNnWWdJkISL_HSm-5tG/view
Hwang (2019): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1041608019301189

Reading Research Quarterly article:
https://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rrq.481

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About this episode’s guest:

HyeJin Hwang is a President’s Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Educational Psychology at University of Minnesota. She is known for her work in the area of literacy development in K-12 settings, particularly in multilingual students. Specifically she focused on developmental processes of comprehension and content knowledge and instructional approaches to support comprehension and content knowledge. She has authored or co-authored publications that appear in peer-reviewed journals such as Reading Research Quarterly, Scientific Studies of Reading, Learning and Individual Differences, and AERA Open. Her work has been funded by organizations such as American Educational Research Association and American Psychological Association Division 15 Educational Psychology. She received Ph.D. in Literacy, Language, and Culture from University of Michigan.
Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/

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10. Dr. Tanya Wright -- Vocabulary Development, Knowledge Building, and Comprehension Apr 24, 2023

Today’s guest is Dr. Tanya Wright whose research and writing focus on vocabulary and knowledge-building, and comprehension. She’ll help us think about how to infuse vocabulary instruction into before, during, and after reading activities to move from passive word learning such as just parroting back a dictionary definition, to active processing where readers really engage with words to understand them more deeply. We’ll talk about what research says about explicitly teaching word meanings, and what research has shown about effective strategy instruction for vocabulary development. Later, I’m joined by my colleague Macie Kerbs for a discussion of how we can bring this research to the classroom.
**
To learn more about this podcast, see the first season's guests, read full transcripts and blog responses from listeners, and read more about Jennifer Serravallo and her work, visit www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
Check out Dr. Wright's most recent professional book for teachers about vocabulary instruction here.
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About this episode’s guest:

Tanya S. Wright is an associate professor of Language and Literacy at Michigan State University. Wright is a former kindergarten teacher whose research and teaching focus on curriculum and instruction in language and literacy during the early childhood and elementary years. Her research examines instructional practices that promote oral language, vocabulary, and knowledge development for young children. Wright is co-author of several books for teachers and parents. Her work has been published in many scholarly journals, has been funded by the multiple foundations. In 2012 she was the winner of ILA’s Outstanding Dissertation Award in 2012, and is now the Senior Editor of The Reading Teacher. She’s the lead author of the open access SOLID start curriculum and the leader of 55 open access PD videos at literacyessentials.org.
Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/

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9. Dr. Rachael Gabriel -- Teacher Quality, High Quality Instructional Materials, and What Research Shows Makes the Biggest Difference in Supporting Early Literacy Growth Apr 17, 2023

Today’s guest is Dr. Rachael Gabriel. We’ll talk about the newly published book, How Education Policy Shapes Literacy Instruction, which includes chapters she authored and co-authored and which she edited. Specifically, we’ll explore the history of studies relating to teacher quality and instructional materials, and what research shows makes the biggest difference in supporting early literacy growth. Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Macie Kerbs and Molly Wood for a conversation about practical takeaways.
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To learn more about this podcast, see the first season's guests, read full transcripts and blog responses from listeners, and read more about Jennifer Serravallo and her work, visit www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
More information on How Education Policy Shapes Literacy Instruction
Read the Annenberg report about considerations for high quality professional learning (link to actual studies can be found within this report).
***

About this episode’s guest:

Rachael Gabriel is Professor of Literacy Education at the University of Connecticut. She is author of more than fifty refereed articles, and author or editor of six books for literacy teachers, leaders and education researchers, including the newly published How Education Policy Shapes Literacy Instruction which we'll be talking about today. Rachael currently teaches courses for educators and doctoral students pursuing specialization in literacy. She serves on the editorial boards of journals focused on literacy, education research and education policy, and has served on the boards of the International Literacy Association and Reading Recovery Council of North America. In addition to experience as a classroom teacher and reading specialist, Rachael holds graduate certificates in both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Rachael’s research is focused on: literacy instruction, leadership and intervention, as well as policies related to teacher development and evaluation. Her current projects investigate: supports for adolescent literacy, state literacy policies and discipline-specific literacy instruction.
Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/

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8. Dr. Gabriel DellaVecchia -- The Perils of Third Grade Retention Laws Apr 10, 2023

Today I welcome Dr. Gabriel DellaVecchia, who has reviewed decades of research about retention to answer the question: on the whole, do third grade retention laws—which are on the books in some form in 27 states in the US – help or harm literacy outcomes? Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Darren Victory and Lea Mercantini Liebowitz to discuss practical takeaways.
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For full transcripts, blog responses, and more information about the podcast and other guests, as well as information about Jennifer Serravallo, go to www.jenniferserravallo.com
Learn more about the Don't Leave Us Behind campaign www.dontleaveusbehind.org

Read Dr. DellaVecchia's The Reading Teacher piece which includes discussion of reading laws https://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/trtr.2149

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About this episode’s guest:

Gabriel DellaVecchia earned his PhD in Educational Studies with a concentration in Literacy, Language, and Culture from the University of Michigan. He has a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Portland and a BA in Psychology from Goucher College.

At various times in his career as an educator, Gabe has been an in-school reading tutor, a Peace Corps volunteer providing teacher professional development, a math and science paraprofessional, and an English teacher in Japan. Prior to starting his doctoral program, Gabe was a third-grade classroom teacher.

Gabe coordinates the Don’t Leave Us Behind campaign, a group of concerned citizens focused on raising awareness about, and eventually amending, Michigan’s “Read by Grade 3” law, which requires mandatory retention for third graders who struggle with reading.

He recently moved to Seattle, where he lives with his wife and their cat.
Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/

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7. Dr. Henry May -- Early Literacy Intervention (Including Reading Recovery) and Implications for Practice Apr 03, 2023

Today my guest is Dr. Henry May who has studied the popular first grade intervention Reading Recovery. We discuss results of two robust studies he was involved in—one showing strong positive effects in first grade, and another showing students who received the intervention underperformed years later on their third and fourth grade tests. We discuss why that might be, and what lessons we can learn about short term and ongoing interventions, as well as the ways that reading needs change and develop across grades K-4. Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Gina Dignon and Macie Kerbs for a conversation about practical takeaways.

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To read a transcript of this episode and learn more about the show, visit jenniferserravallo.com/podcast.
To read Dr. May's study: https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2023.2209092

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About this episode’s guest:

Henry May, PhD, is Director of the Center for Research in Education and Social Policy(CRESP) and Associate Professor specializing in Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics in the School of Education at the University of Delaware.

Dr. May is the Principal Investigator (PI) with Elizabeth Farley-Ripple for the Institute of Education Sciences (IES)-funded Center for Research Use in Education, which is currently conducting a large-scale mixed methods study of how and when schools use research and how researchers strive to connect their work with practice. Other current and recent research projects include the 2011-2015 randomized field trial and an IES-funded efficacy follow-up study of Reading Recovery. Dr. May was also the primary author on an National Center for Education Evaluation technical methods report on the use of state test scores in education experiments from the IES.

Since 2003, Dr. May has taught advanced statistics and research methods courses to graduate students at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Delaware.
Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/

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6. Dr. Melanie Kuhn -- Fluency Assessment and Instruction Mar 27, 2023

Today’s guest is Dr. Melanie Kuhn, who you may know from her research and teacher professional writing around reading fluency. We’ll talk about what fluency is, how to best assess and teach it, and ways to differentiate instruction in K-5 classrooms. Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Gina Dignon, Macie Kerbs, Lainie Powell, and Lea Mercantini-Leibowitz for a conversation about what we are most excited to bring to the classroom right away.
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Read a full transcript of this episode and learn more about the show at jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
Learn more about Melanie's work at The Reading Forum.

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About this episode’s guest:

Melanie R. Kuhn, PhD, isProfessor and Jean Adamson Stanley Faculty Chair in Literacy at the Purdue University College of Education. In addition to reading fluency, her research interests include literacy instruction for struggling readers, and comprehension and vocabulary development. Formerly on the faculties of the Boston University School of Education and the Rutgers Graduate School of Education, Dr. Kuhn began her teaching career in the Boston public schools and worked as an instructor at an international school in England. She served as a member of the Literacy Research Panel for the International Literacy Association. Dr. Kuhn has published several books and numerous journal articles and book chapters.
Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/

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5. Dr. Elfreida (Freddy) Hiebert -- Vocabulary Instruction, Text Complexity, and Self-Selected Reading Mar 20, 2023

Today’s guest is Dr. Freddy Hiebert. We’ll talk about her newly published book about vocabulary instruction, her work around text complexity and her site textproject.org, how to ensure self-selected reading time is worth the time, and more. Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Macie Kerbs, Rosie Maurantonio, and Lea Leibowitz for a conversation about practical takeaways.
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Read a full transcript of this episode and learn more about the show at jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
Visit Text Project.org for Dr. Hiebert's books and articles, hundreds of texts to use with children, and more (all free!)
Read the article Dr. Hiebert mentions about using decodable versus other texts with beginning readers: https://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rrq.513
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About this episode’s guest:

Elfrieda “Freddy” Hiebert (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin) has had a long career as a literacy educator, first as a teacher’s aide and teacher of primary-level students in California and, subsequently, as a teacher educator and researcher at the universities of Kentucky, Colorado-Boulder, Michigan, and California-Berkeley. Her research, which addresses how fluency, vocabulary, and knowledge can be fostered through appropriate texts, has been published in numerous scholarly journals and books. Through documents such as Becoming a Nation of Readers (Center for the Study of Reading, 1985) and Every Child a Reader (Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement, 1999), she has contributed to making research accessible to educators. Hiebert’s contributions to research and practice have been recognized through awards such as the American Educational Research Association’s Research to Practice award (2013).
Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/

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4. Dr. Peter Afflerbach -- Reading Skills v Strategies, and the Role of Efficacy, Motivation, Engagement, Epistemic Beliefs, Attributions, and Executive Functions in Reading Mar 13, 2023

Today my guest is Dr. Peter Afflerbach who researches individual differences in reading development, reading assessment, and comprehension. We’ll talk about the differences between skills and strategies – and why that matters for the classroom, as well as his new book Teaching Readers Not Reading in which he argues that factors such as efficacy, motivation, engagement, epistemic beliefs, attributions, and executive functions play a significant role in developing readers. Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Lainie Powell, Lea Leibowitz, and Gina Dignon for a conversation about practical takeaways.
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Read a full transcript of this episode and learn more about the show at jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
Related reading:
Clarifying the Differences between Reading Skills and Reading Strategies
Teaching Readers Not Reading

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More about this episode's guest:

Dr. Peter Afflerbach is Professor of Education at the University of Maryland. Dr. Afflerbach’s research interests include individual differences in reading development, reading assessment, reading comprehension, and the verbal reporting methodology. Dr. Afflerbach serves on various literacy-related committees affiliated with the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the International Literacy Association, the Common Core State Standards, and the National Academy of Sciences.
Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/

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3. Dr. Daniel Willingham -- Developing Successful, Independent Readers by Supporting thier Focus, Planning, Goal Setting, Notetaking, Studying, Comprehension of Complex Texts, and More. Mar 06, 2023

Today’s guest is Daniel Willingham, author of the new book Outsmart Your Brain. I’m so excited for you to hear us talk about how we as teachers can help students to become successful, independent learners through supporting their focus, planning and goal setting; purposefully take notes from listening or reading; and how to help them best tackle and comprehend complex texts. Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Elisha Li, Gina Dignon, Lainie Powell, and Macie Kerbs for a conversation about what we can bring to the classroom.
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Read a full transcript of this episode and learn more about the show at jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
Click the links for more on Daniel Willingham or his book Outsmart Your Brain.
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About this episode's guest:
Dan Willingham received his PhD from Harvard University in cognitive psychology and is now a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia. He is the author of several books, including The Reading Mind: A Cognitive Approach to How the Mind Reads and Raising Kids Who Read. A fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science, you can follow him on Twitter @DTWillingham.
Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/

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2. Dr. Maryanne Wolf -- The Reading Brain, Digital Reading, Reading Engagement, and Dyslexia Feb 27, 2023

Today I welcome Dr. Maryanne Wolf for a conversation about the incredible reading brain: what happens in neural circuitry when we are reading words accurately, the many different ways to read, and her important thoughts on how to cultivate true reading engagement in children—and in ourselves. Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Gina Dignon, Molly Wood, and Lea Mercantini-Leibowitz, to talk about implications for the classroom.
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Read a full transcript of this episode and learn more about the show at jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
Learn more about Dr. Wolf, her books Reader Come Home and Proust and the Squid, her global literacy work, and her intervention for dyslexic students at her website.
More on the Singapore study Dr. Wolf mentions here.
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More about this episode's guest:
Maryanne Wolf is a scholar, a teacher, and an advocate for children and literacy around the world. She is the Director of the newly created Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. Previously she was the John DiBiaggio Professor of Citizenship and Public Service and Director of the Center for Reading and Language Research in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University. She is the author of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain (2007, HarperCollins), Dyslexia, Fluency, and the Brain (Edited; York, 2001), Tales of Literacy for the 21st Century (2016, Oxford University Press), and Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World (August, 2018, HarperCollins).
Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/

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1. Dr. Kelly Cartwright -- The Active View of Reading Framework and the Role of Executive Skills in Reading Comprehension Feb 20, 2023

Today’s guest is Dr. Kelly Cartwright. We’ll talk about her invaluable work around executive skills, and the ways that these important skills undergird reading engagement and comprehension. We’ll also discuss her 2021 paper with Dr. Nell Duke titled “The Science of Reading Progresses” about The Active View of Reading framework, which incorporates current research on executive skills and explains critical “bridging processes” connecting word reading and language comprehension. Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Darren Victory and Lainie Powell for a conversation about practical takeaways.
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Read a full transcript of this episode and learn more about the show at jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
Cartwright's Active View of Reading Paper
Cartwright's new book, Executive Skills and Reading Comprehension, 2e, is now available from Guilford who is offering a 20% discount. Just enter code AF2E at checkout!

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About this episode’s guest:

Kelly Cartwright is a professor of psychology, neuroscience, and teacher preparation at Christopher Newport University where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in cognitive development, language, and literacy processes and instruction. She mentors and advises undergraduate students in psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, and teacher preparation; and graduate student pre-service educators. Kelly has provided professional development for teachers across the US and throughout Virginia. Her research focuses on the nature of skilled reading comprehension and the factors that underlie comprehension difficulties from preschool through adulthood in order to find appropriate interventions to serve those who struggle to understand text. Her articles have appeared in journals such as Journal of Research in Reading, Contemporary Educational Psychology, the Journal of Literacy Research, the Journal of Child Language, Early Education and Development, and the Journal of Educational Psychology. Her most recent book, Executive Skills and Reading Comprehension, was published with Guilford in 2015.
Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/

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To the Classroom Trailer Feb 09, 2023

An introduction to the new podcast for literacy teachers and leaders by Jennifer Serravallo. Listen in as she interviews today’s leading researchers and has post-interview conversations with colleagues about practical takeaways.

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