Science of Reading: The Podcast

On this Science of Reading Essentials episode we're diving into the science of learning to explore how memory, cognitive load, and knowledge building can transform your literacy instruction. Host Susan Lambert, Ed.D., weaves in the insights of our experts—Natalie Wexler; Nathaniel Swain, Ph.D.; Hugh Catts, Ph.D.; Daniel Willingham, Ph.D.; Peter C. Brown; Jamey Peavler, Ed.D.; and David Rapp, Ph.D. Susan reflects on: how memory works and why understanding its processes is foundational to effective teaching; why cognitive load theory and background knowledge are game-changers for literacy instruction; evidence-based strategies that make learning stick.
Show notes:
Our Summer Learning Academy is back! Reserve your spot now to join Susan Lambert for a pair of sessions that will help you dive deeper into reading comprehension research.
Check out full episodes with our featured guests: The science of learning, the humility of teaching, with Peter C. Brown
Comprehension is not a skill, with Hugh Catts
When not to differentiate: A guide to small-group instruction with Jamey Peavler
The truth behind learning, with Nathaniel Swain
The Knowledge Gap: Natalie Wexler
Cognitive science-informed teaching, with Natalie Wexler
Unlocking reading: Comprehension strategies vs. knowledge building, with Daniel Willingham
The science of memory and misinformation, with David Rapp

Listen to Amplify's Beyond My Years podcast
Check out our Science of Reading Essentials episodes. 
Join our community Facebook group.
Connect with Susan Lambert.
Quotes:
"Memory is a cognitive process. It's the way the brain encodes, stores, and retrieves information." —Susan Lambert
Timestamps*:
0:00 Introduction
05:00 Memory is a cognitive process
07:00 Cognitive load theory
10:00 Role of long-term memory for reading
15:00 Process of building knowledge in long-term memory
21:00 You can't learn something new if it doesn't connect to something you already know.
24:00 Applying learning science to the literacy classroom
30:00 Power of writing
31:00 Final advice
*Timestamps are approximate

On this week’s episode of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Susan Lambert, Ed.D., is joined by one of the most influential people in American education, Reid Lyon, Ph.D., to explore what it takes to make systemic change in literacy instruction. Together, Reid and Susan also discuss how literacy education could benefit from a shared vocabulary, how systems must work together from teacher preparation to classroom implementation, and what we can do to close the implementation gap.
Show notes:
Our Summer Learning Academy is back! Reserve your spot now to join Susan Lambert for a pair of sessions that will help you dive deeper into the latest reading comprehension research.
Learn more about Reid Lyon’s 10 Maxims of Reading Instruction.
Learn more about Drexel University's ALLIED Hub for literacy education.
Download our free Science of Reading Change Management Playbook.
Listen to our previous episodes with Reid Lyon (Sept. 2023, Part 1 & Part 2).
Get ready for Season 3 of the Amplify podcast Beyond My Years.
Join our community Facebook group.
Connect with Susan Lambert.
Quotes:
"I know we've let children down, but boy have we let teachers down." —Reid Lyon
"The hallmark of a profession is a common language displaying a common knowledge." —Reid Lyon
"How is it that we know so much yet we are still far behind the curve in helping the majority of struggling readers learn to read?" —Reid Lyon
"Much of our difficulties moving the science [of literacy] into classrooms is a function of not having established ourselves as a profession." —Reid Lyon
"We have a responsibility to use the best information possible that has taught us how we can improve the person's life." —Reid Lyon
"Assessment is a great friend." —Reid Lyon
Timestamps*:
00:00: Introduction: Systematizing literacy with Reid Lyon, Ph.D.
07:00: We are still far behind the curve in helping the majority of struggling readers learn to read. 
11:00: The hallmark of a profession is a common language displaying a common knowledge.
18:00: Listening and speaking occur with exposure and being showered with language around us.
23:00: The science of reading is not a belief system. It's a container with facts that constantly evolves. 
29:00: Can the field of literacy have a common language and common knowledge?
35:00: The systemic challenge is understanding the whole picture.
41:00: Assessment is a great friend.
48:00: Explanation of the evolving 10 Maxim Framework
52:00: What is the work happening at Drexel?
*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute

In this episode of Science of reading: The Podcast, Susan Lambert, Ed.D., is joined by Kate Winn and Stephanie Stollar, Ph.D, coauthors of Reading Assessment Done Right, who explain how to use assessment to actually accelerate student progress and drive instructional decisions. Stephanie, Kate, and Susan also discuss how to cut through assessment overload and focus on what truly drives instruction, the four essential purposes of assessment, and how they work together within Multi-Tiered System of Supports framework, and the common misconceptions that lead to ineffective practices. 
Show notes:
Check out Reading Assessment Done Right.
Learn more about Stephanie Stollar.
Connect with Stephanie Stollar LinkedIn.
Connect with Stephanie Stollar on Facebook.
Connect with Kate Winn on LinkedIn.
Connect with Kate Winn on Facebook.
Listen to the podcast Reading Road Trip.
Listen to Season 2 of the Amplify podcast Beyond My Years.
Join our community Facebook group.
Connect with Susan Lambert. 
Quotes:
"Assessment is a tool for conversation. It's an investigation. It's uncovering what is known, and there are multiple purposes. All assessments are constructed to answer questions." —Stephanie Stollar
"If you don't have a question about your students, you don't need to do more assessment. This should not be a compliance activity." —Stephanie Stollar
"Progress monitoring is like the GPS for educators." —Stephanie Stollar
"We can actually do something with the information when you're using good assessments." —Kate Winn
"Believe it or not, reading assessment can be so exciting. It can also be empowering." —Kate Winn
"Having lots and lots of assessment data is not helpful. It can actually be counterproductive." —Stephanie Stollar
"When I use my universal screener, it tells me which students are meeting benchmark, which ones aren't, and then I know exactly what to work on with those students." —Kate Winn
Timestamps*:
00:00 Introduction: Assessment as your best friend
05:00 The need for practical assessment guidance
09:00 What is assessment and what is its purpose in education?
15:00 Understanding the differences between universal screening vs. diagnostic assessment
21:00 Progress monitoring: The GPS for educators
25:00 Building supportive systems and communities for teachers
28:00 The continuous improvement cycle of reading instruction
30:00 Addressing the "too many assessments" problem with an assessment audit
34:00 Misconceptions about assessment
40:00 The power of Tier 1 instruction
43:00 Why we need to screen all students multiple times per year
48:00 Final thoughts: Assessment as a tool for conversation and empowerment
*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute

In this episode of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Susan is joined by executive director of the Margaret Byrd Rawson Institute, Teresa May, Ph.D. Teresa shares her powerful story, from being a student with dyslexia to fighting systemic barriers in education. Teresa and Susan also discuss Teresa's legal advocacy for her sons' right to appropriate dyslexia education; the legacy of Margaret Byrd Rawson, a groundbreaking activist who dedicated her life to helping students with dyslexia success; and the importance of early intervention and understanding each child's unique learning needs.
Show notes:
Download the Dyslexia Support Power Pack.
Listen to Science of Reading Essentials: Dyslexia.
Learn more about the Margaret Byrd Rawson Institute.
Follow the Rawson Institute on Instagram.
Like the Rawson Institute on Facebook.
Connect with the Rawson Institute on LinkedIn.
Listen to Season 2 of Amplify's Beyond My Years podcast.
Join our community Facebook group.
Connect with Susan Lambert.
Quotes:
"There's no time to waste. A child only gets one childhood." —Teresa May
"You teach this complex language as it is to the child, as he or she is. If you do that, you don't leave anyone behind." —Teresa May
"There is a science and an approach that we can take to help kids learn how to read." —Teresa May
"[People] remember the kindness of a teacher or the meanness, but they don't remember the explicit way they learned [to read]." —Teresa May
Timestamps*:
00:00 Introduction: Fighting for learners with dyslexia, with Teresa May
04:00 Teresa's childhood struggles with dyslexia
07:00 The moment of discovery: Finding Margaret Byrd Rawson
09:00 Meeting Margaret: "There is a key, but not many people hold that key"
14:00 The legal battle begins—fighting for her sons' education
19:00 Taking the case through courts and starting parent advocacy
22:00 Margaret Byrd Rawson as an educational pioneer
27:00 Margaret's biological background and the start of her longitudinal research in the 1930s
30:00 The 55-year study following 56 boys: groundbreaking research without technology
33:00 The human impact of good teaching
39:00 The Margaret Byrd Rawson Institute's mission and current projects
44:00 The complexity of dyslexia remediation
45:00 Final thoughts on advocating for children with dyslexia
*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute

In this episode of Science of Reading: The Podcast, returning guest, Nathaniel Swain, Ph.D., joins Susan Lambert to close out the season by answering thoughtful and thought-provoking comprehension questions submitted by listeners. Nathaniel and Susan answer questions about comprehension strategies, the relationship between comprehension and memorization, and how to shift the mindset amongst your teaching colleagues to help them understand comprehension.
Show notes:
Submit your literacy questions!
Bonus: Watch Dr. Hoover's complete responses to a listener guest.
Learn more about Nathaniel Swain on his website
Connect with Nathaniel Swain on LinkedIn.
Access free, high-quality resources—including our recent Essentials episode on Science of Reading: The Podcast—at our companion professional learning page
Download our free Comprension 101 bundle for comprehension resources, including ebooks, and on-demand professional learning
Listen to Season 2 of Amplify's Beyond My Years podcast
Join our community Facebook group
Connect with Susan Lambert
Quotes:
"What we're trying to do is create meaningful text experiences. ... The strategies are background, the powerhouse behind the work we're doing, but the star of the show is the language and the text." —Nathaniel Swain, Ph.D.
"If you ever feel like your comprehension work only allows students to produce or perform something on a particular day in which you've just read that text, then you may be missing the opportunity to weave meaningful text together." —Nathaniel Swain, Ph.D.
"When we're teaching reading comprehension, really let the text be the center of what we're doing." —Susan Lambert
Timestamps*:
00:00 Introduction: Answering listeners' questions on comprehension
03:00 The difference between oral and written language as it relates to comprehension
06:00 Supporting students who read fluently but struggle with comprehension
16:00 The role of comprehension strategies
21:00 Oral language development and comprehension
28:00 The connection between memory and comprehension
36:00 How to help colleagues adjust their mindset on comprehension
42:00 Overall takeaways from this batch of mailbag questions
*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute