If you were among the fortunate educators who attended The Reading League 2022 Conference in Syracuse, NY, you’ll enjoy this conversation between our Literacy Talks hosts and the speakers who dropped by to chat. If you didn’t attend, you’ll have a chance to participate in some of the conference’s remarkable energy, insights, and inspiration. From university faculty members to the founders of the popular The Science of Reading: What I Should Have Learned in College Facebook group, our terrific trio welcomes the leaders, movers, and shakers in reading today. This episode is a special opportunity to be part of the growing momentum.
Subscribe to our Literacy Talks podcast digest and never miss an episode! We’ll send you summaries of every session, links to the resources discussed on each show, and some extra goodies so that your learning never stops.
Subscribe to our podcast digest.
Download the new Reading Horizons Discovery Product Guide.
Access the show notes.
Read the transcripts.
If you were among the fortunate educators who attended The Reading League 2022 Conference in Syracuse, NY, you’ll enjoy this conversation between our Literacy Talks hosts and the speakers who dropped by to chat. If you didn’t attend, you’ll have a chance to participate in some of the conference’s remarkable energy, insights, and inspiration. From university faculty members to the founders of the popular The Science of Reading: What I Should Have Learned in College Facebook group, our terrific trio welcomes the leaders, movers, and shakers in reading today. This episode is a special opportunity to be part of the growing momentum.
Subscribe to our Literacy Talks podcast digest and never miss an episode! We’ll send you summaries of every session, links to the resources discussed on each show, and some extra goodies so that your learning never stops.
Subscribe to our podcast digest.
Download the new Reading Horizons Discovery Product Guide.
Access the show notes.
Read the transcripts.
Hello literacy leaders and champions. Welcome to a special episode of literacy talks the podcast series from Reading Horizons dedicated to exploring the ideas, trends, insights and practical issues that will help us create literacy momentum. This podcast episode was recorded live during the 2022 reading league conference and features guest drop ins and interviews with the professions transformative and inspirational educators. It's a must hear program for everyone connected and committed to reading success. Our series host is Stacy Hurst, professor at Southern Utah University and Chief Academic Officer at Reading Horizons where reading momentum begins. Joining Stacy are Donell Pons, a recognized expert in literacy and special education. And Lindsay Kemeny, a Utah based elementary classroom teacher, let's join the conversation.
Stacy Hurst:Welcome to this episode of literacy talks. This is a special episode because we are recording live at The Reading League Conference. We are currently at the reception that is taking place on Thursday night after the first day of the conference. And we have an empty seat here. Because we are going to have people join us and tell us about their conference experience.
Donell Pons:And Stacy, I just have to say you've kind of
Stacy Hurst:Yes, for sure. And we're grateful for I said our underplayed the environment we're in this has been rather challenging to record. So we've had some fantastic work behind the scenes, we've had to shift and do different things to make crew, but if we're being honest, it's our crew of one. His name sure we're getting sound quality for you. It's a great museum. is Scott. And he's amazing. Thank you, Scott. And you better That's the space that we're in, and people are talking and having a good time at a reception and there's music. But that can be challenging when you're trying to record not edit that out. Lindsay, anything to add about our fun location?
Lindsay Kemeny:Oh, did we say where we are with Syracuse, New York?
Stacy Hurst:Oh, yes. Yep, beautiful here. It is really pretty in the fall, right? Like leaves and stuff. So we already have our first guest here. And Rhonda and I go way back. We met in person, the plane talk conference. But Rhonda, tell us where you work and what you do.
Ronda Fritz:So I am an associate professor at Eastern Oregon University. I teach mostly literacy classes, and I just newly developed in the last year a Reading Clinic to train pre service and in service teachers, and also to serve kids who are struggling readers in our area. And if any of you want to know more about her clinic, I recommend googling her finding her because she has you did a lot of work to put that together. And it is serving a lot of people. Yeah, it has taken off in a way that I don't think I could have predicted. And in a way that is kind of met me at my capacity and trying to figure out, like how do I continue this and even grow it without killing myself.
Stacy Hurst:That's one of the great things about the reading league conference is that we're bringing so many people together that are focused on literacy. And Rhonda and I know each other in our capacity as professors. So yesterday, we had the opportunity to join a summit of higher education. And how did that go for you?
Ronda Fritz:I was amazed at the power of that it was just so great to be in a room with our people. Many of us are at universities, and we're lone wolves in our departments. So to have this group of colleagues that we know we can count on to have our backs was huge. And just the amazing energy and amazing knowledge in that room. Unbelievable. And of course, Louisa Moats as the keynote was no big deal. Great. Yes. It's always jaws dropped is yeah, it was great.
Donell Pons:And you know, I've got to say this was a great idea kind of explained a little bit about what it is.
Stacy Hurst:To be totally accurate. I just mentioned the idea to Stephanie Stoller and she coordinated the whole thing, like and it wasn't I don't think I was the first one to have it. She talked about before how people were saying, oh, we should all get together. And so this just really, I guess my sentence literally it was the sentence was the catalyst. But she coordinated all she's going to stop by so we'll get to talk with her about it.
Donell Pons:And Ronda I love what you said because it was an opportunity we'll come to these conferences and we might coalesce around like you say if you're a group of teachers, you know, Lindsey, as an educator, you've been able to meet other educators. That's fantastic. We kind of get into these groups, how nice it is to have an opportunity that's intentional to make sure that college professors are meeting each other because um, you know, a lot of we talked about the front line and there are a lot of front lines in the literacy, contingency classrooms frontline, but also teaching educators right and being in the universities where you might have to be up against some things that are, you know, institutionalized thinking, and you're changing things and shifting ideas. And so I love what you said about that being powerful for you.
Ronda Fritz:It definitely was. And I think it does help us have our voice and be able to stand up to folks who might be trying to either undermine or get us out of out of the system. So it's just really powerful to know I have colleagues.
Stacy Hurst:Powerful is the word I would use to. And Lindsey and I have talked about this frequently how in our pre service education, we did not learn what we needed to learn. But I will tell you in that room yesterday, there was so much I keep using the word synergy and hope, but that was a group of over 150 professors who are teaching the science, the conversations were fantastic.
Ronda Fritz:Yeah, you know, because I think five years ago, I kind of I felt very alone. Like I was the only one trying to do this. And then I was coming up against people who were, yes, budding me and trying to pull the people in my own department around without having that confidence to know, I really am doing the right thing. You know, so this helped to bring that to a head.
Lindsay Kemeny:Do you have any moments that have stood out to you from either yesterday or today or certain sessions that you know, you want to share a takeaway or something?
Ronda Fritz:Yeah, well, I just don't think there's anything that could outdo Louisa Moats and just having her talk to us about things that we may be know about. But also just to reiterate the importance of making sure we our pre service teachers are getting the message. And she's just a phenomenal
Stacy Hurst:who's really our house. Yeah, she was so great. Yeah, she was, thank you so much for being our first guest.
Ronda Fritz:You're welcome.Thanks for having me.
Stacy Hurst:You bet. Hi. Tell us who you are and where you're from.
Priscilla Nelson:My name is Priscilla Nelson. And I'm the Interim Dean at Gordon College, small college on the north shore of Boston.
Stacy Hurst:And so you're the did you say interpreting interim dean? Yeah, how great that you're here. You're a dean. And you're here.
Priscilla Nelson:I can't imagine not being here. I'm here with one of my undergrad faculty, and one of my grad faculty. So the people who do the reading courses are all soaking this in.
Stacy Hurst:So tell us about your experience so far. In Syracuse.
Priscilla Nelson:It's amazing. It's just awesome. Where else could I be, and be meeting with other people who are doing my job? Others who are teaching preparing teachers, the publishers of the materials that are used in the school, as well as classroom teachers, connecting all the dots now,
Stacy Hurst:isn't it feel powerful is the word we've been using so far?
Priscilla Nelson:It feels to me I mean, having been doing this for like, 20, some years, I really feel like we're on the precipice of something big.
Donell Pons:You said something interesting. 20 plus years or so. Right? How was it you came to be at this conference? What got you here? And how can we get other Dean's here and kind of promote it?
Priscilla Nelson:Well, we've been doing the science of reading at Gordon for a long time. And we got to Ida and all that. And then Stephanie Staller said, How about the higher ed day before conference? And we thought, yes, because really in higher ed, we want to be part of the prevention. And so we said, yeah, why not? We thought we were coming to Syracuse for one day to go to that conference. Then we found out the reading league is going on one day became three days. So that's how we came and I would highly recommend it.
Stacy Hurst:And yesterday was so powerful. We were talking about that with our last guests too. And hearing Louisa Moats.
Priscilla Nelson:She is so good.
Stacy Hurst:And it is good to hear that you've been teaching the science of reading for so long. If you had advice for anyone that is going into teaching, what would you say to them?
Priscilla Nelson:So it's interesting that you said hearing Louisa Moats. Actually, all of our faculty right now are doing the letters training,
Stacy Hurst:Oh, great.
Priscilla Nelson:Even though we've been doing this for 20 years, we want to be speaking the same language that a lot of the schools in our area are doing. So for someone going into teacher prep, what I would say to them is, there are questions that you need to be asking, as you look at the college, you know, when you're making a choice, and I say this to those who come to Gordon saying I want to be a teacher, and I'll say you're going to visit other schools to let me give you some questions that you want to ask. And hopefully they already heard us talk about the right answers. But you're making such an investment in your education. 1000s of dollars.
Stacy Hurst:Yeah, that's great. What are the questions just for our audience?
Priscilla Nelson:Well, all those questions really have to do with Are you going to be prepared to teach all students because there are some that are going to come who is going to feel like they came learning to read already. They Don't almost like they don't need me. What about the ones who do have a learning disability? Maybe it's even run in their family? What about the ones who are English language learners? And perhaps they know more English than their parents. You can just keep on going down the list. What about what about? And so we want to learn those methods and practices that are proven to work with all students.
Stacy Hurst:Yeah, that's great. And I hope people ask those questions. So thank you for sharing those. Thank you. And thank you for joining us. We're so happy you're here. Welcome. Tell us who you are and where you're from.
Kevin Hansford:Thank you. I'm Kevin Hansford. I am the superintendent and Kingman, Norwich, USD 331, and Kingman, Kansas, which is in south central Kansas.
Stacy Hurst:Oh, thanks for being here.
Kevin Hansford:And we're thrilled to be here. We've got a team of seven, we're, we're excited as
Stacy Hurst:superintendent and a team. That's so cool. Great.
Lindsay Kemeny:Do you have a major takeaway from today's conference or a session that you particularly enjoyed?
Kevin Hansford:So I think certainly the opening keynote was really, I think, impactful for us. While in our district equity looks different than in many other districts, we're primarily rural. And, you know, we have mostly, you know, white population, however, access to literacy for them is critical. And so we have farming communities, and we just want to make sure that every, every student has access to high quality literacy instruction. So it's been really exciting. And I did have a great team of folks,
Donell Pons:I love that you came together, what brought you here as the superintendent.
Kevin Hansford:So we started talking about the science of reading, and our teachers are getting letters training right now. And in k three, and I was a former first grade teacher, who just recently came to realize that I didn't actually know how to teach kids to read, which was devastating. So I have to be honest with you. But at the same time, you know, really left me feeling like you know, as a leader, it's sort of imperative that we make sure that every teacher does know, and have access to this knowledge base for the sake of, of our kids and our families. So it's been a great learning journey, like I said, with with these folks. And, you know, they challenged my thinking and asked me lots of questions. And so it's only made me a better leader. So I'm just, I'm really fortunate to be part of a team that really is dedicated and committed to making sure that we can provide high quality literacy instruction to our students.
Stacy Hurst:Well, it really is systemic, and having a superintendent here is just awesome. What would you say to other superintendents, about literacy?
Kevin Hansford:Well, I would say, if there is another focus that you're spending most of your time on isn't literacy, you're probably not spending your time in the right places. It's easy to get bogged down in the politics of education, the finance of education, all the other things that sort of, you know, try to pull us away from what is at the center, but I would really, you know, consider reading, all you have to do is read like the Emily Hanford piece or something like that. And immediately you know, that there is a problem. And if you weren't aware of it yet, it's bigger than you could have ever imagined. And you want to consider shifting your focus really quickly to making sure that, that this is a big part of what you're doing.
Donell Pons:Kevin, I love that. I hope every superintendent is listening.
Stacy Hurst:And replay it, replay it, replay it. We'll put the timestamp in the notes and just go back to that. And then can we work for you? Can we move to your district? Absolutely. Great. Great. We'll get our license in Kansas. That's awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining. Oh, look who is coming. Donna, the science of reading. Fantastic. Yeah, we know who you are. But for the audience, will you just state your name and what you do?
Donna Hejtmanek:Hi, I'm Donna Hejtmanek. I'm a retired reading specialist and educator and turned reading advocate and I started a Facebook group called The Science of Reading: What I should have learned in college,
Stacy Hurst:a little Facebook group.
Donna Hejtmanek:I think we're going to hit 180,000 this weekend.
Stacy Hurst:Oh my goodness. I'm also going to take issue with your word retired.
Donna Hejtmanek:Yeah. What's that?
Stacy Hurst:Yeah. All right. Thank you for being here.
Lori Severino:Hi I'm Lori Severino, I'm a retired professor from Drexel University and former special educator and now co partner, co founder with Donna on credentials unlimited with credentialing teachers in the science of reading.
Stacy Hurst:It's so great.
Lori Severino:We because of Donna's page, right, I kept seeing all these teachers taking all these great courses, taking webinars, book studies, and you could see they were saying I wish I could get credit for this. I wish I could have some kind of recognition for what I was doing. And so I reached out to Donna and I was like, because I was at Drexel at the time and I was like, hey, there's It microcredentials she's like, I don't know what those are. And then the process now and it was just one of those things that we started to talk to people,
Donna Hejtmanek:we just see a need for it. There's so many educators that are taking courses, and how many masters do you need, right? So we see that there's courses that are out there that are vetted already by Ida. They're approved by Ida. And that doesn't mean that those are the ones we choose, but they already are done, we align their competencies to the IDA standards. So you're we know they're getting good quality education. And we require an 80% accuracy or better. So we're raising the bar. And then we're providing teachers with having these credentials, it improves their practice, it retains them in their job because they're feeling successful. And and we know that there's a teacher shortage right now. So districts that are looking toward giving teachers credit for work they're doing outside of the classroom, for professional development, this is a perfect opportunity for districts to recognize that their teachers are getting quality education. And and they can be reimbursed for that. And that's our hope to have districts do that.
Donell Pons:You know, Donna I think this is fantastic. Because we didn't get here through one doorway, there were many ways in which we arrived here with teachers who didn't have what they needed, there have to be more than one option, right for teachers as well. And I love that you've thought about the burden on the teacher, because not a lot of the cost.
Lori Severino:But what is on the teacher, this is a very cost effective way that they can build a noncredit transcript that so great, when you're getting ready to be hired, or you're looking for a different kind of job, it goes on your resume and the competencies of what you have proven that you know, are right spelled out from there, they can get a noncredit transcript that says this is what I have. This is what I've built. And yeah, the courses are phenomenal. So
Stacy Hurst:I imagine they are great. I was yesterday, we all got the opportunity to do the higher ed Summit, we were there, what you shared about Drexel, and just the journey there, I know your this endeavor is in really good hands, because you've had all that experience. And now you're pairing with Donna
Lori Severino:and we become fast friends like,
Stacy Hurst:Oh, you didn't know each other.
Lori Severino:We didn't know each other before.
Donell Pons:I wouldn't have known that.
Lori Severino:Actually, the first time we met at plain talk a couple years ago, but we didn't know. Right? We didn't really know each other. You know, last year we did we start we bet for the first time where we thought was the first time we we presented that ASEA and just go sheer. Yeah. And then I went out to see her in Wisconsin for a week. And then she's here with me for a week here. And that's so
Donell Pons:great. Yeah, because you're aligned in purpose. Yes. So
Donna Hejtmanek:just so happened, and we're just really good friends. And yeah, we think alike, which is really scary. So
Lori Severino:we are, we have the same mission. Like we want to make sure teachers are educated well around the signs of reading. And we want to make sure that they get recognized for their hard work. It's really, really important.
Stacy Hurst:And we were saying that about the reading, like conference, too, that it brings all of us together. Yesterday, the word I kept thinking was powerful and synergistic. I know that seems like a trite term, but I can't leave it the energy and
Donna Hejtmanek:energy here. Yeah, it's just so exciting to be here. And, you know, the Facebook page has drawn so many people from around the world. And we're all in this on this journey together. And I'm just so humbled by the fact that I was able to start this and start it out of frustration and hoping that it ends up, you know, in a really good place.
Stacy Hurst:Well, I remember first seeing the page, and the title is perfect. That is like yes, do we need this? And then I said to you yesterday, Don it like did you ever imagine that, like you did so much as a reading specialist. And I love I've been in other meetings with you and men on webinars or you've been there. And I love that you're always pointing out the practitioner point of view, you're really doing a good job of marrying it all. But did you ever know you'd have that farther reach? With that page, Facebook,
Donna Hejtmanek:I started that, that Facebook page. I was very involved with legislation. And Wisconsin was trying to get a dyslexia guidebook passed a law for that. And we were meeting with lots of resistance for a non mandated dyslexia book, I mean, something so simple like that. And I remember talking to the Senate Education Committee and I, and I said, I know in Wisconsin, our schools are not teaching us what we're supposed to be learning for the science of reading. I just went through the accreditation program, and it was, it was the same material that was 40 years old. I mean, there's something wrong here. And I said, I'm gonna write a book one day and it's gonna be called The Science of reading what I should have learned in college. Well, that weekend, I'm pretty sure it was that weekend. I'm sitting around Oh, is it Tuesday? That's what and I'm looking at Facebook. And I'm like, There's this thing called groups. And I'm like, what is that? What is that? So I'm like, hey, maybe this is where I could put my book, you know? So I type it in and it sent you, and then you send it out to your friends. And before I know, it was just like, catching on. And that's when Lori joined hopped on that was
Lori Severino:in the first 200, I think, or something like, yeah, it probably was two. Yeah.
Donna Hejtmanek:It's like, how does that happen? You know, it's just so I truly understand the power of social media. And it can be used in a very negative way. But it's certainly not for us, it's being used in a very positive way. And it's
Lori Severino:again, I was always impressed by what was being shared. Right, the researchers were there and sharing their stuff, and superintendents and principals and, and researchers and faculty, I mean, it was just like, all these people were sharing, and freely and parents, yeah,
Donna Hejtmanek:and, and parents, you know, they come there and they feel safe. And they that was my mission is to always address the needs of the kids, through the teachers and the parents. So it was really important for me to have a voice on that page. And that's why I'm on there a lot. I mean, I spend a lot of time because it's important to me, to be that bridge for these people and to help them understand what it is that they need to know. So
Stacy Hurst:thank you so much. Thank you both for all you're doing. It's a great hard, we can't even quantify it.
Lori Severino:This to us. I think when we came in here yesterday, and that yesterday was powerful, right? University professors all in the same room like me for that for so long. And it's finally happening. But when you've been doing it for so long, and now you see this building it used to be before you had to be like No, don't say the word science of reading, you know, you know, we can talk to like minded people, and everybody's moving forward.
Stacy Hurst:It is so great. Thank you guys so much. We can't thank you. We didn't like open mic. I mean, this is like the best. That's awesome. Thank you. We love it. Yay. We might have you back on our regular podcast. We'll reach out Okay. Sounds good. Oh, my goodness. Hi. Thank you guys, for joining us.
Larissa Phillips:Thank you for having us.
Stacy Hurst:So we're just gonna start by asking you each to introduce yourself and tell us who you are and where you're from what you do.
Larissa Phillips:My name is Larissa Phillips, I'm from Cincinnati, Ohio. And I am the assistant director at the Center for reading science at Mount St. Joseph University.
Stacy Hurst:Oh, yes.
Eugene Greenfield:My name is Eugene Greenfield. I'm from Columbus, Ohio. And I work for McGraw Hill as a National Reading trainer.
Julie Brown:My name is Julie Brown. I'm from Woodstock, Vermont, and I teach structured literacy to adolescents.
Stacy Hurst:I really, I tried really hard to win the HGTV Dream Home in Vermont and Woodstock didn't work. Nobody needs to know that. So how have you if maybe if each of you could share something from the conference that you've taken away so far that stood out to you, or just that you'll remember for a long time?
Larissa Phillips:Well, I, I think it's just been an incredible seeing the excitement, bringing people back together around the science of reading post pandemic, the movement is just growing in that excitement. And the word is out. And to see this many people in in one place excited about it is just really, you know, really powerful. So, you know, being at the booth at Mount St. Joseph University, and we're actually all in Cohort Two of a doctoral program. So connecting with my cohort mates, you know, and just being able to be together again and share in our, in our love for learning and science of reading that is so great.
Eugene Greenfield:I think for me, kind of piggyback a little bit, the opportunity to be in a safe place with like minded people who believe that all children can succeed and that they all can read. And there is a structured way to do that. And oftentimes when we go back into our silos, we don't often find that so I see everybody here to go to the wonderful speakers. We had a good friend of ours here in the future, Dr. Brown, who presented some wonderful information on getting adolescents to read and so it's just the whole vibe of the whole last two days have been quite amazing
Julie Brown:value. The biggest takeaway for me was hearing from Dr. Dyslexia doing and putting a face to the statistics. And these are not just numbers. These are people growing up without agency and dignity, through literacy, and his powerful story that you're never too old to learn to read. And what Dr. Nash poured into him is sometimes what it takes. And so how much are we willing to do for our young people
Donell Pons:and I'm I'm so glad you mentioned that and him in particular, because that is my own personal story, right? I came to this because of the loved ones that I have who struggle with reading a husband who has dyslexia who didn't know he had dyslexia till we got married. And I think that's the power of conferences, because I was kind of telling you, Stacy just today that I'm a little worn out a little bit, it's a big a big fight sometimes, like you say, it's nice to be around folks who are like minded. That's one of the things you get out of a conference. And so I was filling, my battery was a little drained. And you just mentioned exactly what fills you, when you come to the conference, or things like this, the moments where you remember why you're doing what you're doing. And there's, there's more than just one, right? So you remember, for every one of the individuals standing on the stage, there are many more out there who need help. And so I love you reminding us of that. It's fantastic. And I
Eugene Greenfield:think his story, too, is indicative a lot of people who are out there, I still struggle with reading, you know, some of us even in this program that I you know, I have six children, as you mentioned, and because I'm on the road a lot, some of them were struggling with reading, and I'm not there always to help. So growing, this movement is evermore important. Not just may not affect you personally, right. But people that you know, maybe even family members, it's really important.
Lindsay Kemeny:So, Julie, you presented today, do you want to tell us a little bit about what you presented about?
Julie Brown:I would love to. So I presented about with my superintendent, about adolescent structured literacy classes. So we're offering small group literacy classes in a public Rural High School in Central Vermont. And we're turning lives around because Sherry, my superintendent, set the intention and the commitment, whatever it's gonna, what is it going to take? And she's very open about 15 years of efforts that didn't work. And she had sort of a that's it moment, where, what is it going to take, and she looked to the research. And I feel so blessed to be part of her effort to teach students with both evidence based reading instruction, and intentionally building belonging, and connections between peers and their community. And we're making a meaningful difference. And so I was able to share the work that we're doing. It was wonderful.
Stacy Hurst:So you all will get your doctorate, right, and the science of reading 2025 That's what they say. How has it been so far?
Larissa Phillips:I may have 19 new best friends. So it's, you know, it's the Harvard of reading science at Mount St. Joe. And, you know, bringing us all together, it seems like we are all handpicked to be this group that is together now. And, you know, we look to Cohort One, they're great mentors to us. And we get to name ourselves as a group. So Cohort One, they're the trailblazers, and we are the game changers. So you know, we don't know what the future holds for Yeah, the plan is we're gonna get our doctorate and we're just ready to change the world. Yeah,
Stacy Hurst:that's so great. And I think you will, I do, I have so much hope in you.
Eugene Greenfield:What's really cool is that we are, you know, the core is really diverse, and what everyone brings to it. So you have different perspectives. We don't always agree, but we can arrive at a place that is not only good for us and supporting one another, but also hopefully adds to the field, like what I do at McGraw Hill, particularly, I want to make sure that we're putting out good products that are based on the science of reading and are actually going to help children decide the classrooms that are meaningful for kids. So I bring a particular perspective, she works with adolescents, she works at Mount St. Joseph. So there's a synergy that's really, really cool and unique.
Stacy Hurst:And I am really glad that publishers are here to Linda Dimon said we need to hold them more accountable. And I do I mean, I'm associated with Reading Horizons, I'm all for that. Let's do it. Let's hold us accountable. Because we're all in it for the same purpose. I love that. And everybody that's coming here. I mean, we have superintendents, and we have Dean's and we have just so many people, I love that we have this place,
Larissa Phillips:when you're invested in the science, knowing that there are going to be new pieces of information that we can all take in and learn from and grow and be reflected in our own practices, but also in the materials that we're choosing and recognizing that when you are using the science of reading, that means you are making sure you're taking into account all of the information that you have available.
Stacy Hurst:I love that and that you have probably more options than you know when you know the lens to look at.
Eugene Greenfield:Yeah, and it's a village Effort, Right. Yeah. So you know, everybody has to bring something so whether they be from from schools, whether it be from publishers, policymakers, State Department of Education, that it's going to take a concerted effort. It can't just be concentrated in one particular sphere of education. We all have to come together in order to make this this movement grow into into really place a sense of and the cultural psyche.
Stacy Hurst:We look forward to hearing more from you.
Larissa Phillips:Yeah, yeah, we were I think we're all excited. You know, Dr. Amy Murdoch's kind of leading the charge with the program and we're just all so lucky to be a part of it. It's really exciting work.
Stacy Hurst:Well, we're all lucky. You're a part of it. Thanks for being here.
Eugene Greenfield:I just say keep making a difference.
Stacy Hurst:I love that. Thank you. Thank you for having us enjoy the rest of the conference. Hi, guys. You could join us. Thank you. So we are asking each of our guests to just start out and tell us who you are and what you do.
Papae Wymore:Hi, I'm Papae Wymore and I'm from William Penn University and Oskaloosa, Iowa. At the university I teach reading instruction courses such as literacy methods, literacy field children's literature. I also am the student teaching coordinator. So that means I instruct the student teachers, they come see me for seminars every two weeks. I also do Co Op teacher seminars and the supervisor seminars.
Stacy Hurst:So you're busy. I'm very busy. Yeah.
Stephanie Edgar:Hi, I'm Stephanie Edgar and I also teach at William Penn University. I teach similar courses to prepay, I teach children's literature, I teach literacy methods, Foundations of Reading, I oversee the reading practicum. I primarily work with our distance learning students who are primarily pair educators who are getting their teaching licenses. My delivery system for our university is distance learning. So I teach at night and on weekends, and it's really fun. It's a lot of work and really
Stacy Hurst:fun. Didn't you have a class today
Stephanie Edgar:I have class in about an hour and 20 minutes, I will be going back to the hotel room to teach Yes, three hours this evening.
Stacy Hurst:will tell us about your experiences at the conference. What are some takeaways that you have so
Papae Wymore:far? So we were just talking about some of the takeaways that we've had so far. And Stephanie and I are really good about dividing and conquering. So we went to different sessions so that we could confer later, and just more learning. But today, one of the conferences I went to was about dyslexia screeners and it talked about the just the validity and what screeners might be better than others. And some professors had researched some data and really showed the participants you know, what to look for in screeners. So that was very interesting, and something I can take back to my pre service teachers to help them as they journey on to the teaching profession. I was also able to learn more about the science of learning, and the science of reading and meshing the two together. And again, just information to take to my pre service teachers, Stephanie, add some more.
Stephanie Edgar:So I actually did attend the science of reading, meshing with the science of learning. And one of my biggest takeaways was, how I can change my practice to better help my pre service teachers. They talked about cognitive overload and bringing in how do we help students gain the knowledge that they need, but not overload them? I provide visuals and videos with my instruction. They're getting a lot a lot of information in a short time. So are my visuals complementing what I'm talking about? Versus are they distracting? Am I helping students make connections? Am I bringing in their background knowledge? I think those are some biggies. Takeaways. And then also the conversation with the group was about relationships, we talked about the importance of not just the Scarborough's reading rope and the simple view of reading, but also where relationships fall in. And I didn't say this, but I have to pull it up. Someone said relationships are the on ramp to rigor, I think that was the present relationships or the on ramp to rigor, and I really liked that. And again, being a Distance Learning instructor. You know, I'm thinking about that in the context of my pre service students being teachers. But I'm also thinking that in the context of being an online instructor, and how am I building those relationships with students over zoom, which is challenging, it is challenging, because they're about an inch by inch on my screen when I have 2030 4050.
Stacy Hurst:Yeah, I love your dedication to make that happen, though.
Papae Wymore:Yeah, I do have to share more. So I learned more about the writing rope. And that's something new to me. Looks similar to the reading rope. But how that correlates. And I definitely want to bring that information back to my pre service teachers as well. I think it is something that is easy. It's easy visual for them to see just the relationship between writing and what we should be doing with writing instruction. Yeah, what
Stacy Hurst:a really strong rope to have you think of the two like combining everything
Papae Wymore:today has been fabulous learning and just the connections with other people that are excited about reading instruction and the science of reading. It's been great.
Stephanie Edgar:I think one of the things that we have been working hard in our university is to incorporate more work with ELL understanding and within all of our literacy The courses and I attended one of the sessions, on El working with ELL students and the science of reading, and the little nugget that really stuck with me. The presenter picked up the clicker. And she said, you know, what we need to know is does the student need the context and the label? Or do they just need the label? So do they understand what a clicker is in their first language? If yes, they need the label. But if they don't have that understanding the context in their first language, they need both. And that was a really big aha, for me. I hadn't thought of it that way. Yeah,
Stacy Hurst:I was in that session that she had a lot of experience to share. It was great.
Stephanie Edgar:And she was very lively.
Stacy Hurst:Yeah, yes, she
Donell Pons:was one thing I've got to say, I just met you guys at the conference, you guys are great. And you have this really nice collaboration, you know, which I think is a model for a lot of folks. Talk about how that helps you in being able some of these concepts, obviously, in institutions of higher education are new for some of the folks who've been teaching for a long time to bring in the science of reading might be difficult for some, and you two seem to have done a really nice job of collaborating? And how does that work with the rest of the folks in your department. So I'm just thinking of folks who have to go back to departments where maybe they're the first one who's into the science of reading, and they're having to help everybody else come along, because you two seem to really know how to do that.
Papae Wymore:So I think back today about what the gal said about the science of learning and collaboration and relationships. First off, Stephanie and I are friends, we've been friends for a very long time. So we collaborate easily together, we work well together. I think we bring just the passion for more knowledge about all things Reading Into Our team, and our team is receptive to that. I'm on campus, Stephanie's distance learning so and she's also on campus as far as her office area. And so we're able to share with her colleagues as well. But I want you to share more about distance learning and the adjunct instructors,
Stephanie Edgar:I think they see our enthusiasm. And they see that we're involved in a lot of different things. I'm on the Iowa dyslexia board, as a rep for higher ed pays on the AR I act D which is a college student have to explain what I act is,
Papae Wymore:it's basically our Iowa chapter of the college teachers for education, and we come together as a group. So I work more in depth with model code of ethics for educators, and how to get that implemented with our students, as well as being on the literacy team.
Stephanie Edgar:And so we're very involved, and our co workers are also very involved in active and things outside. I think we all bring that in and we celebrate each other's success. Some of our instructors have been to conferences where they've presented, and we celebrate that. So I think that relationship building IT staff meetings, or faculty meetings with just our division, we always start with good news, we often start with like some sort of activity or game. So where we talk about relationships are the on ramp the road on ramp to rigor, that I think happens in our division. So I think that we may, we all bring in different perspectives. And we respect and appreciate that, I think our enthusiasm for the science of reading the work that we've done to coordinate our classes, and then the enthusiasm that then our students are sharing within the department also helps our students are very, very excited when they learn about how the brain learns to read when they learned about structured literacy, they are so excited or whether they're traditional on campus students or deal students. So I think that excitement, opens doors or you know, just helps people be more receptive to what we're talking about.
Papae Wymore:I think I also have to share that our faculty in the ed division, we are all proponents of a growth mindset. And we practice that. So we model that not only with each other, but to our students as well. So we want to learn more, we always can learn more information, and my colleagues throughout William Penn University are wanting to grow.
Stacy Hurst:That is so great. I was gonna say like the takeaway of the people that we've talked to today, all of us educators, but we're learners first. And I think that is why we're here, right? And we're so grateful for the reading League and having a conference where we can all come like minded people and learn new stuff. So I think it's been great.
Stephanie Edgar:I would love to give a shout out to both you, Stacy and Dr. Lane, Holly lane. We had our lunch networking, and they were sharing just great ideas for teaching online. So it's been great to learn from colleagues and friends. It's been a wonderful opportunity.
Stacy Hurst:I actually my students won't be happy to hear this maybe I don't know. But I got a new assignment idea from Dr. Lane so my students will soon be experiencing that. The joy of me going to a conference. Yes, but it's all In the spirit of making them better teachers exactly hear for that, right. And they
Stephanie Edgar:see that I think they see that passion in us. And it's exciting to them. It's motivating to them to dig in and learn and do the work when they see how impactful it can be.
Stacy Hurst:Yeah. Well, and these guys are being humble as well. But they actually got to introduce Dr. motes yesterday. And they were great.
Papae Wymore:It was one of the highlights of our time here. So Dr. Louisa Moats, we were very fortunate enough. Well, actually honored to introduce her yesterday at the summit on science of reading in higher education.
Stephanie Edgar:That was a huge honor. I mean, and she sat at the table and oh, goodness, yeah, just to sit next to her stand next to her and be able to honor her. I mean, I think when I kind of summed up after her presentation, her passion is all inspiring. I was looking for one great nugget to share, and it was just all a great nugget.
Stacy Hurst:That's what she said it was all one great big no, it was just one big
Stephanie Edgar:nugget. I mean, there was not one thing that you could pick out.
Stacy Hurst:And then we also get to visit with Anita Archer, who is Lindsay's hero, my hero. Yeah. And she has the same amount of energy and passion. And it's really like, what's the word contagious? Yes.
Stephanie Edgar:And she was walking around and talking to people and taking pictures and having conversations. And yeah, it's been really a neat experience, not only to meet the greats like Dr. Louisa Moats and Dr. Archer, but also to meet folks like you guys and Dr. Stoller, and people that we know, online we met. Yeah, yeah. Dr. Robinson, to get to talk with him, people that we're friends with, but we don't get to see it's an online relationship with podcasts that we really enjoyed listening to. And everybody feels like that everybody's so excited to be back together and to talk and to meet in person and to build those relationships that you've started building on. It feels like
Papae Wymore:a family, you know, a family of, you know, people wanting to learn more, but a people sharing and I just have felt welcomed by everybody that has been at the conference. Yeah,
Stacy Hurst:I agree. And I feel this real sense of momentum, too. We talk about science of reading as a movement. And the sociologist in me is analyzing it on that level. But I'm feeling it, too. It's really, it's really empowering. So thank you guys for what you do. And thanks for joining us. Thanks for having us. So glad you can enjoy the rest of the conference. We'll just wrap up really quickly, though. One takeaway from our interviews really fast, Lindsey?
Lindsay Kemeny:Okay. Oh, it's hard. Just one I love. Dr. Nicole Patton, Terry today. And she gave our keynote was one of the keynote speakers. And one thing I liked that she said was that our impact can be diminished if we don't know what's happening inside the classroom, right. And so it's just really being aware of that. And I just that just kind of hit me. I love that.
Donell Pons:I don't know. Oh, goodness, there were so many things. And there's some exciting things to come that I learned about while at the conference that stay tuned, the next few months, we'll be hearing more about them. I think that's the really fun thing about being at a conference too, is that things that are being worked upon, you're getting a little taste a little preview. And that's really fun to to be waiting and anticipating. And I think that like was being said here. We've talked to so many people the energy, it's the energy that's behind the movement. Now, you Stacy, I think, you know, we've mentioned a few times, you've been to a lot of these conferences, and you feel like maybe you've heard a lot of different things. But you can't replace that level of energy. And it just seems there's more momentum. And I love it. I love to feel it.
Stacy Hurst:And the connections that you make, right just makes the whole thing stronger.
Lindsay Kemeny:So like you said, Stacy, everyone here is a learner now, like every single person we had kind of talked to us on the podcast is excited about the learning. And I just think that is something that unites all of us. And that's why we can, you know, do what we do. And that's how we can grow. You know, I love how Tracy Whedon says, you know, adult egos are like our biggest barrier for open to learning then that that's not going to be a problem. Yeah,
Stacy Hurst:learning and serving. That was the other thing from all of our guests. They are here to learn, but then they go out and serve and do the thing, right. So I think yeah, powerful stuff happening here at the reading league. And we would like to end by thanking them for allowing us to do this and to talk with the attendees and to even just be here. It's been great. So thank you guys. And thanks for joining us on this session of Literacy Talks.
Narrator:Thanks for joining us today for literacy talks, the podcast series for literacy leaders and champions everywhere. Literacy talks comes to you from Reading Horizons where reading momentum begins. Join us next time