Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy Podcast

Adult and Digital Literacy with Dr. Jennifer Kobrin In today's episode, Matt Sroka talks with Dr. Jennifer Kobrin about adult and digital literacies. They cover topics from critical media literacy to navigating digital platforms, exploring how past experiences and identities influence our interactions, and discussing ways to have agency in this digital landscape.  This conversation centers on...

Disciplinary Literacy With Dr. Thomas DeVere Wolsey  In today’s episode Matt Sroka chats with Dr. Thomas DeVere Wolsey about disciplinary literacy. They discuss what disciplinary literacy is and how it can be applied in today’s classrooms. They also explore some perceived limitations of disciplinary literacy and how educators should react to those limitations. Their conversation stems from the art...

Do you struggle to teach your students to be better writers in your classroom? Do you find yourself giving general feedback and a letter grade, but not having a clear understanding if the students are really improving in their writing? In this episode, I chat with Dr. Sarah Beck about using “dialogic writing assessments” to help students become better writers. This conversation centers on Dr. Beck...

Sports Culture and Literacy with Dr. Luke Rodesiler How do we as educators go about connecting our academic work in ways that are challenging, relevant, engaging, and meaningful to our students? One way to achieve this is by tapping into students’ (and our culture at large) love of sports. In this episode, I chat with Dr.  Luke Rodesiler about his article,  “Controversies, Rivalries, and Represent...

Connective Literacies with Dr. Jocelyn Washburn and Dr. Suzanne Myers As technology becomes more and more interwoven into educational spaces, how do we as educators utilize digital tools in ways that are effective and beneficial for ourselves and for our students? In this episode I talk with Dr. Jocelyn Washburn and Dr. Suzy Myers about the term “connective literacies” in their article titled “Ado...

Connecting Disciplinary and Digital Tools with Ms. Johanna Keene and Dr. Mellinee Lesley  In today's digital age, the classroom is undergoing a transformation. Teachers and students are navigating a world filled with digital tools and platforms. But how do we go about using these tools effectively? How do we leverage digital tools to support discipline specific ways of thinking, reading, and w...

Check out a new resource from JAAL: Literacy Insights  In this episode, Matt Sroka chats with Dr. Richard Beach as we explore critical inquiry and literacy as it relates to climate change. Join us as we discuss what we as teachers can do to adopt roles and employ tools to help our students meaningful engage with this issue. This conversation stems from Dr. Richard Beach’s article Teachers and stud...

In this episode, Matt Sroka chats with Doug Friesen and Dr. Rob Simon as we explore the role of sound in the classroom and in the world around us. Join us as we explore how we can help our students be more attune with these sounds and the bodies that produce them. This conversation stems from Doug Friesen and Dr. Rob Simon’s article,  “Making  Fahrenheit 451  ‘Come to Life’: Sound Inquiries with Y...

In this episode, Matt Sroka chats with Dr. Heather Pule ( pule@uhcl.edu ) about young adult literature and the Historically Responsive Literacy Framework. Join us as we discuss the role of young adult literature in the classroom and how to use the Historically Responsive Literacy Framework to approach our teaching of young adult literature effectively. This conversation centers on Dr. Heather Pule...

In this episode, Matt Sroka chats with Natalie Martinez ( nataliecmtz@gmail.com ) about Indigenous literacies. Join us as we delve into the critical aspects of Indigenous literacies, current policies surrounding them, and their implications for educators, students, and policy-makers. This conversation centers on Natalie Martinez's article  Indigenous literacies: A look at pedagogies and policy...

In today's episode, we plunge into the ever-evolving world of social media and its personalized content. Do you know how social media algorithms shape your online experience? Many of us scroll through our feeds without realizing the powerful role algorithms play in tailoring what we see. In an article titled,  Exploring the role of social media literacy in adolescents' experiences with per...

Guiding and Assessing Student Writing with Dr. Erika Bass  What does effective feedback on writing look like? How do we prepare others to give feedback in a way that is useful for the writer and values our own time? This episode,  Matthew Sroka  chats with  Erika Bass  about her article  " Using university–school partnerships to facilitate preservice teachers' reading and responding to stu...

What can teachers learn from video games? This episode,  Matthew Sroka  chats with  Sam von Gillern  about his article  "Accessibility in video gaming: An overview and implications for English language arts education" . We discuss how video games have been making strides to be more accessible for their users, and how teachers can learn from this to make their classrooms more accessible for...

Poem of the Day with Meg Davis  Have you ever found yourself dreading the teaching of poetry? Whether it’s because of your own personal feelings towards poetry or how you fear students will react to poetry?  This episode, Matthew Sroka chats with Meg Davis about her article “Every day do something that won't compute”: Student perceptions of daily poetry practice . We discuss the poetry baggage...

What happens when a university collaborates with a high school to improve the literacy skills of secondary students across disciplines? In an article titled  “Redesigning Reading in and for the Disciplines”  Dr. Kathryn Glasswell, Dr. Chistina Madda, and Dr. Nicky Glasswell discuss doing this very thing and the result was an innovative learning strategy called Paired Wide Reading. Today,  Matthew ...

Have you ever found yourself frustrated that students are unprepared to read and comprehend the texts in your class? Do you ever find yourself not knowing what to do about it? In this episode of the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy Podcast, I chat with Dr. Min Choi and Dr. Joseph Todaro about their article,  “ From Considerate to Challenging Texts: A Four-Tiered Text Approach to Thematic R...

In this episode of the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy Podcast, I ( Dr. Matt Sroka ) chat with  Dr. Theresa Redmond  about her article,  “Sparking Learning through Remix Journaling: Authenticating Participatory Ways of Knowing”.   Theresa  Redmond  is a Professor of Media Studies at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, USA. Her research comprises a hybrid agenda focused on the...

In this episode of the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy Podcast, I ( Dr. Matt Sroka ) chat with Dr. Susana Ibarra Johnson and Dr. Mary Neville.    Susana Ibarra Johnson is an assistant professor in bilingual/TESOL education in department of Curriculum and Instruction at New Mexico State University. Ibarra Johnson is one of the co-authors of  The Translanguaging Classroom: Leveraging Studen...

In this episode of the  Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy Podcast , I ( Dr. Matt Sroka ) chat with  Dr. Jenny Theriault.  As an Assistant Professor in the College of Education, Dr. Theriault joined the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio in 2021. There she teaches courses at the undergraduate, master, and doctoral levels such as Human Growth and Development, Integrating Reading Assessmen...

In this episode of the  Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy Podcast , I talk with Dr. Erin McNeill. As a Curriculum and Instruction department member at Indiana University and a Literacy Program Specialist at Central Indiana Education Services Center, Dr. McNeill teaches English education courses and creates professional development materials for educators.   Dr. McNeill and I explore the con...

Matt shares what you can expect from the JAAL Podcast