E68|Strategic Assessment Systems with Dr. Adrea Truckenmiller and Dr. Eunsoo Cho

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Spotify | RSSDr. Adrea Truckenmiller and Dr. Eunsoo Cho discuss building a strategic assessment system in literacy education. They cover how to use data to inform reading instruction, the difference between screeners, diagnostics, curriculum based measures, and computer adaptive tests, and the...

Practices of Effective K-2 Teacher Teams with Dr. Jake Downs

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Spotify | RSSGuest host Dr. Kristin Conradi Smith interviews Dr. Jake Downs about the ‘secret soup’ of highly effective K-2 teacher teams. Link to Jake’s Study: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/2/259 Downs, J., Martz, K., & Mohr, K. (2025). Exploring the Instructional Effectiveness of High-Growth K-2...

Jake Talks Paired Oral Reading with Melissa and Lori

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Spotify | RSSMelissa and Lori invited Jake to discuss Synchronous Paired Oral Reading Techniques (SPORT) — Listen to the episode here! Please write a short impact statement for Jake’s USU review packet (and thank you!): https://forms.gle/QcUs8ciMcAy2yG6L6...

E66|Linking Automaticity, Vocabulary, and Text With Dr. Freddy Hiebert

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Spotify | RSSPlease write a short impact statement for Jake’s USU review packet (and thank you!): https://forms.gle/QcUs8ciMcAy2yG6L6 In this episode, host Jake Downs welcomes guest Dr. Freddy Hebert, a renowned literacy researcher, CEO/Founder of TextProject. The conversation covers topics such as the importance...

E64|AI and the Future of Writing Instruction with Dr. Steve Graham

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Spotify | RSSJake interviews Dr. Steve Graham of the Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation at Arizona State University Please write a short impact statement for Jake’s USU review packet (and thank you!): https://forms.gle/QcUs8ciMcAy2yG6L6...

EP63| Is Comprehension Instruction Getting Better? with Dr. Phil Capin

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Spotify | RSSDr. Phil Capin joins the show to discuss 40 years of reading comprehension instruction. References: Capin, P., Dahl-Leonard, K., Hall, C., Yoon, N. Y., Cho, E., Chatzoglou, E., Reiley, S., Walker, M., Shanahan, E., Andress, T., & Vaughn, S. (2024)....

E62|Stopping the Summer Slide with Dr. Blythe Anderson and Dr. John Strong

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Spotify | RSSJake Downs talks with Dr. Blythe Anderson and Dr. John Strong about effective summer tutoring programs to prevent the summer slide in elementary reading. They discuss strategies such as small-group tutoring, differentiated instruction, and interactive read-alouds, based on multi-year research...

EP60| Morphology Instruction with Dr. Danielle Colenbrander

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Spotify | RSSDr. Danielle Colenbrander joins the show to discuss the benefits of morphology instruction with students. Reference:Colenbrander, D., Von Hagen, A., Kohnen, S., Wegener, S., Ko, K., Beyersmann, E., Behzadnia, A., Parrila, R., & Castles, A. (2024). The Effects of Morphological...

E59 | Informational Writing and Academic Language with Dr. Cherish Sarmiento

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Spotify | RSSDr. Cherish Sarmiento joins the show to talk about how fifth and eighth grade students use academic language in their writing. Importantly, we learn that words with seven or more letters may be one way to quickly identify academic words....