This article from Brendan Lee looks at what we can do to support school leaders in implementing the science of learning.

When we say we are following the Science of Reading, few of us are really following the original research, but rather the curricula and programs chosen by our school leaders. Unfortunately, the translation of research into practice is a hazardous route, and one that practitioners should navigate using our own in-depth knowledge of the research. Linnea Ehri is an American educational psychologist and expert on the development of reading who has empowered us teachers of reading. Her legacy of theory and research has given us remarkably accessible insight into how we learn to read. Her insights reflect a deceptively simple, but very powerful, theory of the development of our mental ‘lexicon’, and should form the working models of all reading teachers.

Hundreds of TFE members tuned into the NSW Branch Decodable Readers talk with SPELD NSW in 2021. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can catch up here. While many member questions were answered in the session, we couldn’t get to all of them!

Enjoy this blog of questions answered about decodable readers. If you have more questions feel free to add a comment to this blog post.

Hundreds of TFE members tuned into Jenny Baker’s session in September 2021. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can catch up here. While Jenny tackled many member questions in the session, she couldn’t get to all of them!

Enjoy this blog of her responses to a few key questions from this talk. If you have more questions feel free to add a comment to this blog post.

Hundreds of TFE members tuned into Jack Neil’s session in August 2021. If you haven’t see it yet, you can catch up in the Members’ Area. While Jack tackled many member questions in the session, he couldn’t get to all of them.

Enjoy this blog of his responses to a few key questions from this talk. If you have more questions feel free to add a comment to this blog post.

First Question: What assessments do you use?

We use the following assessments.

• Sounds Write screener and segmenting and blending assessment

• Castles and Coltheart 2nd Edition (CC2)

• Phonological Awareness Skills Test (P.A.S.T)

• Morrison and McCall Spelling Scale

• DIBELS Data System that target sounds, letter ID, word accuracy, segmenting blending, fluency, comprehension among other things.

For writing we split our assessment into writing TRANSCRIPTION assessments and writing IDEATION assessments. We have established school wide level expectations on both as success criteria and working towards moderating these to refine accuracy and information to inform teaching.