Susan Lambert is joined by second-grade teacher Lindsay Kemeny for a conversation about her journey of discovery with the Science of Reading. Lindsay discusses how she processed her shock and guilt at realizing she’d never been taught how to properly teach reading. She shares the journey she took as a mother and an educator when her son was diagnosed with severe dyslexia alongside depression, and discusses how that inspired her to dive into what is needed for good literacy instruction and what students with learning disabilities need. Listeners will also hear stories from additional educators from across the country about how the Science of Reading has transformed their classrooms.

In this episode, Sue Pimentel—co-founder of the nonprofit StandardWorks, founding partner of Student Achievement Partners, and lead author of the Common Core State Standards for ELA—joins Susan Lambert to discuss her new report “Reading as liberation—an examination of the research base.” Sharing key insights, she expands on her findings about personalization, literacy accelerators, and implementation, and discusses how mutual respect between student and teacher is key to reading success.

Susan Lambert sits down with Lauren Trakhman and Patricia Alexander, professors from the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology in the College of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park, to discuss their research on the effectiveness of teaching reading in print versus digitally. Their conversation explores the ways in which teaching reading in print remains vital even in a digital world. Lauren and Patricia explain why it’s important to avoid making assumptions about students’ abilities to use technology, and describe how that can be a detriment to reading success. They also discuss ways to use technology to boost children’s foundational skills.

This episode features Dr. Sheila Clonan discussing her work with identifying learning disabilities (particularly dyslexia) in children. Sheila also explores the mental and emotional effects of learning to read with dyslexia and how it impacts behavior and self-concept, providing two insightful analogies that illustrate what it feels like for students who aren’t given explicit instruction but are still expected to know how to read. She then ends the episode with practical advice for educators and parents on how to support and encourage children.

Dr. Tracy Weeden, CEO and president of the Neuhaus Education Center, joins host Susan Lambert to discuss ensuring literacy success for all. She shares what it means to be a literacy ally, explains what the “COVID Chrysalis” is, and discusses how teachers need to bridge the gap between the language students learn in school and the language they bring from home.

Kicking off season 4, Susan Lambert hosts this special episode with Laura Cusack, executive director of K–8 ELA strategy at Amplify. This dynamic duo sheds light on the pandemic’s effects on literacy achievement and strategizes how to make up for lost foundational skills while keeping students moving forward in grade-level learning. They also urge educators to make it a point to honor the diverse experiences of their students during reading instruction.

Today, Susan Lambert talks to our Science of Reading Star Award winners. First, we’ll meet two winners of our Amplifying Your District Award: Brittney Bills (curriculum coordinator, Grand Island Public Schools, Nebraska) and Alli Rice (elementary ELA lead, Kansas City Public Schools). Susan next talks with Anila Nayak (instructional coach and reading intervention teacher, Los Angeles Unified School District), winner of our Superstar award. Lastly, we’ll talk to Cathy Dorbish (principal, Austintown Elementary School, Ohio), who won the Standout School award for successfully shifting her school to the Science of Reading. Tune in to get inspiration and advice to take back to your classrooms!

In this episode, Susan Lambert is joined by Amplify senior product specialist Kamilah Simpson, a former Title 1 middle school intensive reading teacher and instructional coach. Kamilah offers tangible advice on allowing for productive struggle so that students can learn through discovery. She also discusses how to teach with complex text and rigor, learning to scaffold, the importance of listening to text, incorporating writing practice, and supporting students without over-supporting. Finally, she stresses the importance of motivating middle school students to read by providing texts that they can see themselves and their worlds in.

Susan Lambert chats with Kareem Weaver, award-winning teacher and administrator, about change management for educators implementing the Science of Reading. Kareem discusses what the Science of Reading is at the simplest level and why it’s important that educators are undivided in backing the research. Kareem highlights the importance of meeting educators where they are and realizing that change can’t happen if teachers aren’t given the tools and support they need first. He also calls for systemic changes to education so that teachers can do their jobs in a way that is balanced and sustainable, and ultimately benefits the students.

In this episode, we join Susan Lambert as she revisits a conversation she had during season 1 with Dr. Nancy Nelson, a research assistant professor at the Center on Teaching and Learning at the University of Oregon. They discuss myths and misconceptions around Response to Intervention (RTI), Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports (MTSS), and universal screening in reading instruction. Dr. Nelson also describes her work on DIBELS® and explains the importance of dyslexia screeners and what tools need to be in place for RTI to work well.

Susan Lambert talks to 10th grader Hadyn Fleming about his experiences growing up with dyslexia. Hadyn shares his story of moving around a lot and what it took in his educational journey to feel like he had the tools and resources to be successful. He openly discusses the experiences that made a difference in his life and candidly discloses what it really feels like to have dyslexia. He shares the way that dyslexia impacts all facets of education and, conversely, how becoming a strong reader gave him increased confidence in other areas of his life. He also helps debunk dyslexia myths, and talks about how an educator’s belief in their students’ potential is essential to student success.

Today, Susan Lambert chats with Ricky Robertson about building systems of support for students impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their educators. Ricky is an educator, author, and consultant who has worked with alternative and traditional schools. The episode focuses first on how teachers can prioritize their own self-care and why it is essential in order to care for students. Ricky then explains what ACEs are and the ways that fight, flight, freeze, and fawn responses can manifest in the classroom. Lastly, he explains how routine and relationships can build a foundation for resilience—ending on a note of encouragement to educators that their investment is never wasted.

In this episode, we join Susan Lambert as she rewinds the tape and highlights some of the standout learning moments that have occurred throughout this season of the podcast. Guests like Sue Pimentel, Julie Washington, Nadine Gaab, and more have all taught us invaluable lessons about the Science of Reading. You’ll hear top takeaways from each of their episodes as they cover topics such as literacy accelerators, learning to read digitally versus in print, teaching reading to multi-language learners, dialectical variety, and so much more.

Dr. Nadine Gaab joins Susan Lambert to discuss dyslexia and brain development, and their affects on student learning behavior. Dr. Gaab, Associate Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, focuses on typical and atypical learning paths from infancy to adulthood. She has a special emphasis on language and reading development and the role of the environment in shaping these paths. Dr. Gaab provides insight on early intervention for at-risk students. She clarifies early diagnosis of dyslexia versus early identification of at-risk students and explains how educators can ensure that all students experience the joy of learning to read.

Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan joins Susan Lambert to discuss challenges and opportunities in teaching reading to multilingual learners. She is a bilingual speech language pathologist and a certified academic language therapist. She is also director of Valley Speech Language and Learning Center in Brownsville, Texas. She explains how teachers can connect students’ home languages to English in order to honor their language and use new tools to help them understand English, and stresses the importance of learning about students’ home languages in order to spot orthographic and phonological similarities and differences. Lastly, she explains how important educator collaboration is for students’ success.

Dr. Julie Washington joins Susan Lambert to discuss linguistic variety and dialects as difference, not error, and how to best support all students as they learn to read. Dr. Washington is a professor in the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and a speech language pathologist. She offers practical advice for educators teaching reading to children who don’t use general American English, discusses how to do so in a way that respects students’ community languages, reminds educators that students rise or fall to the expectations set for them, and encourages educators to embrace language variety and incorporate it into the development of successful readers.