The Structured Literacy Podcast

In this interview episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn speaks with leadership coach and "recovering principal" Jenny Cole about navigating school leadership challenges in today's complex educational environment. Jenny provides practical strategies for overcoming imposter syndrome through action rather than endless learning, conducting challenging conversations using t...

In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn argues for abandoning traditional independent research projects, which she contends harm student learning by asking novices to teach themselves complex topics without adequate support. Drawing on cognitive load theory and David Sousa's research on emotion in learning, she explains how overwhelming assignments trigger fight-flight-fre...

In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn explores the cognitive science concept of primacy and recency, first researched by Hermann Ebbinghaus in the 1880s, which reveals that students best remember information presented at the beginning and end of lessons while content in the middle often gets lost. She explains how teachers can maximise these "prime time" windows by...

Curriculum organisers are powerful tools for implementing effective retrieval practice in the classroom. These simple three-page documents provide clarity for teachers about what to teach while helping students understand exactly what they need to focus on during retrieval and review activities. • Originated from Joe Kirby's "knowledge organisers" at the Michaela School in London •...

In this final episode of the research to classroom series on connecting reading and writing, Jocelyn interviews Rachael, a deputy principal at a small South Australian public school, about the practical implementation of integrated literacy instruction. Rachael shares her school's journey from concerning DIBELS and NAPLAN data to implementing daily 50-minute cross-class phonics groupings and...

In this second installment of the research to classroom series on connecting reading and writing, Jocelyn presents five evidence-informed strategies for integrating literacy instruction to achieve stronger student outcomes. The strategies include integrating reading and writing in phonics instruction by having students both read and spell words with target patterns, using rich texts as foundations...

In this first episode of a new research to classroom series, Jocelyn explores the scientific foundation for integrating reading and writing instruction, moving beyond traditional separated literacy blocks toward evidence-informed approaches. Drawing on research from Fitzgerald and Shanahan's shared knowledge framework, Kim's Interactive Dynamic Literacy Model with its hierarchical struct...

In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn explores how to make teacher professional development more effective by applying Rosenshine's principles of instruction to adult learning contexts. Drawing on cognitive science research and the understanding that adults benefit from the same structured learning approaches as students, she demonstrates how each of Rosenshine's te...

In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn examines the mixed research on homework effectiveness, exploring two key studies that provide insights into when homework might actually benefit students. Drawing on research by Hindin and Paratore (2007) showing gains from home repeated reading of classroom texts, and Dolean and Lervag's (2022) study of 440 second-graders demonstrat...

In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn addresses the challenges of successfully onboarding new school staff members while maintaining instructional quality. Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch! We have released Spelling Success in Action 1, a catch-up program for phonics, early morphology, and orthographic conventions for years 3 to 8. This program c...

This episode discusses the nuanced role of AI in education, emphasizing that while it can enhance teaching, it should not replace the expertise of skilled educators. Listeners learn about cognitive biases impacting knowledge perception and practical strategies for using AI effectively in teacher planning.  Key points  • AI tools should support teachers, not replace them  • The need for teacher exp...

In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn addresses the common teacher concern about insufficient student writing by sharing her own failed experiment with "30 Days of Writing" that highlighted the importance of prerequisites for successful composition. She emphasises that automatic handwriting, spelling, and fluent sentence production must be in place before expecting...

In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn provides a practical whole-class method for efficiently assessing phonics knowledge at the start of the school year without spending weeks on individual testing. Using whiteboards and working in manageable chunks of five graphemes per day, she demonstrates how to conduct "cold" recall tasks where students write graphemes when he...

This week's episode is a little fun with a serious message. I will tell you about my most and least favourite F words, but don't worry; there won't be any swearing. Let's begin with a story. Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch! We have released Spelling Success in Action 1, a catch-up program for phonics, early morphology, and orthographic conventions...

We start each year with big plans and goals. In this episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast, I'd like to share five practical ways to get closer and maybe even achieve the goals you have set for yourself.  Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch! We have released Spelling Success in Action 1, a catch-up program for phonics, early morphology, and orthographic convent...

What is the Summer Series? A collection of listener favourites from Structured Literacy Podcast to get you prepared for 2025. Today's Episode In this week's episode, we're going to talk about some of the mindsets and thinking we need to shift when it comes to making that move from a small group, guided reading situation to working with a more structured literacy block. While evidenc...

What is the Summer Series A collection of listener favourites from the Structured Literacy Podcast to help you prepare for 2025. Todays Episode You may have heard the phrase "low variance" in relation to literacy instruction. Low variance refers to instruction that has the following features: Firstly, it usually has a scope and sequence or a clear outline of specific content that is to b...

What is the Summer Series A collection of listener favourites from the Structured Literacy Podcast to help you prepare for 2025. Today's Episode. In today's episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast, I interview fellow teacher Kirby about fluency and assisted reading in the classroom. Kirby shares insights on fluency practice in her classroom and talks about her journey towards understa...

What is the Summer Series A collection of listener favourites from the Structured Literacy Podcast to help you prepare for 2025.   This Week's Episode. This is the second episode in our current Research to the Classroom series about assisted reading. What is the Research to the Classroom series?  The Research to the Classroom series is made up of three episodes. The first episode is a discuss...

What is the Summer Series A collection of listener favourites from Structured Literacy Podcast to help you prepare for 2025.   Today's Episode. This week, we are discussing dyad reading or assisted reading. The paper I'm sharing is The Effects of Dyad Reading and Text Difficulty on Third Grader's Reading Achievement. It was published in  2017 by Lisa Brown, Kathleen Moore, Bradley W...

What is the Summer Series A collection of listener favourites from the Structured Literacy Podcast to help you prepare for 2025. Todays Episode Ever wondered why some schools are celebrating massive advancements in literacy while others are scrambling to keep up? Join us as we unpack the transformative mandates in Victoria and Tasmania that are revolutionizing literacy education.  Has something in...

Unlock the secrets to achieving literacy goals that truly make a difference. This episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast promises to equip educators with the tools they need to effectively assess and enhance students' phonics growth. We'll share practical strategies for recognizing high achievers and those students who may be "cruising" without sufficient growth, and show y...

What if your current reading assessments fall short of truly capturing your students' abilities? Get ready to transform your approach as we unravel the complexities of assessing and grading reading for years three to six. Discover how to effectively align assessment practices with the Australian Curriculum's achievement standards, steering clear of the limitations of traditional methods...

In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn provides practical guidance for accurately grading early years reading by focusing on Australian Curriculum achievement standards rather than program assessments or benchmark levels. She breaks down Foundation through Year 2 expectations using "I can" statements organised around Scarborough's Reading Rope, demonstrating how...

In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn addresses the overwhelming pressure school leaders face when transitioning to structured literacy, using the "floor is lava" metaphor to describe the urgency that can lead to poor decision-making. She warns against two critical pitfalls: the bandwagon effect (following popular programs without understanding why they work) and re...