De Facto Leaders

Are we really “overteaching” phonics, or should there be a hard stopping point where it’s not taught past a certain grade?

Are current stories trending on popular news outlets aligned with best practices for supporting dyslexic learners?

Is the public becoming more educated on how we learn to read, write, and spell?

I invited my colleague, Lori Josephson, an author, consultant, and former teacher to discuss these questions. 

In this episode, we discuss:

✅ Common literacy “urban legends”, including “Dyslexia is seeing words backwards” and “look at the picture and guess the word”

✅ Why phonics gets a bad wrap and where the Science of Reading is often misunderstood

✅ Handwriting, keyboarding, and how they relate to neural connections

✅Making instruction more effective by integrating language, print, spelling, and executive functioning instead of siloing.

Lori Josephson is an Author, Dyslexia Specialist, and Educational Consultant who is a  Fellow of the Orton-Gillingham Academy, a retired Wilson Language Trainer, and holds a Master’s Degree in Special Education-Learning Disabilities. She has had the privilege of teaching hundreds of struggling students how to make sense of print and text, as well as the honor of working with thousands of teachers training them how to teach and reach their students using methods based upon the complex brain processes involved in attaining literacy, the body of knowledge referred to as the Science of Reading. Her recently published book, “Calling All Neurons! How Reading and Spelling Happen”, explains how the human brain attains literacy in a fun, easy to understand manner where specialized neurons take the stage to provide this explanation. Lori serves as a Moderator of the wildly popular Facebook Group, Science of Reading-What I Should Have Learned in College, and is on the Advisory Council of The Northern Ohio Branch of The Dyslexia Association.

You can connect with Lori in the following places:
o Website: lorijosephson.com 
o LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-josephson/
o X: @lorijosephson2
o Facebook: Lori Josephson
o Instagram: @calling_all_neurons
o Medium: https://lorijosephson.medium.com/
o Substack: @lorijosephson686067

We mentioned the following resources in this episode:
Lori’s book, “Calling All Neurons! How Reading and Spelling Happen”: https://lorijosephson.com/calling-all-neurons-how-reading-and-spelling-happen/

The Cost of Over-Teaching Phonics by “Liana Loewus”: http://bit.ly/4eIKJAQ

Has Technology “Broken” an Education System That was “Just Fine”? by Natalie Wexler: https://nataliewexler.substack.com/p/has-technology-broken-an-education

“Don’t Blame Technology” by Holly Korbeyhttps://hollykorbey.substack.com/p/dont-blame-technology

The Digital Delusion: How Classroom Technology Harms our Kids’ Learning-And How to Help Them Thrive Again: https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Delusion-Classroom-Technology-Learning/dp/B0G5622DQQ

In this episode, I mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives speech pathologists a scalable framework for building language skills needed to thrive in school, social situations, and daily life. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy

I also mentioned School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers design scalable executive functioning interventions to ensure students get the scaffolding they need across the school day. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. 

We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.