Literacy Leadership Blog

News and reflections from experts and practitioners on the latest literacy research, events and daily practice

K-12 | Read to Achieve

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Welcome to Learning Ally's blog. You've come to the right place if you are an innovative teacher who wants to transform more struggling readers into grade-level achievers.


Literacy Leadership…Characteristics, Traits, and Qualities
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February 12, 2023 by User

In our Literacy Leadership podcast series, we’re talking about the qualities, characteristics, and traits of literacy leaders. Dr. Terrie Noland, V.P. of Educator Initiatives at Learning Ally says, “Leadership is not about having a certain title or position, it’s about our underlying values -- our human spirit. You cannot separate the person from the educator. The heart, mind, soul, and spirit all play a role in becoming a literacy leader." 

2018-03-21_1724.pngLiteracy Leaders Are Builders

Being a leader begins with preparation, and literacy leaders are builders. They share a vision. They fuel the vision. They think about how to develop good readers. They prepare and plan. “Start with a vision of glorious, happy students who become successful readers because of your efforts,” says Noland. 

But how do you get to that end goal? You build knowledge. You build a team. You identify the critical infrastructure needed to teach a solid foundation in early reading skills, including phonemic awareness, decoding, word study, and vocabulary. Literacy leaders build the walls of reading skills brick by brick by applying interactive, rich language-based literacy experiences that are culturally relevant and fold in background knowledge to fire the brain's neural pathways. 

Literacy Leaders Demonstrate a Growth Mindset 

Dr. Louisa Moats states that "Informed teachers change lives." Working toward the goal that all children read successfully, you share professional knowledge to demonstrate a growth mindset. You lead by your actions. With knowledge and a growth mindset, you build credibility with colleagues, you present research about how the brain learns to read, and apply the evidence-based instruction needed to ensure all students become good readers. 

Literacy Leaders Build Capacity…and Bridges

Transformation is not easy. Literacy leaders know that. They challenge assumptions. They build capacity. They build bridges to get to the finish line, leading up, down and across the aisle. They believe in the team and lean on others for support. They understand that the credit is not theirs alone, but by building relationships and partnerships with the team, and by demonstrating persistence. Literacy leaders don’t blame or shame or drain other’s mindsets. They listen. 

The Job of the Literacy Leader

Literacy leaders stand firm on early literacy best practices based on evidence-based research. In a recent study by Rand Corporation, “Teachers Matter, Understanding Teachers’ Impact on Student Achievement, research shows that high value-added teachers influence not only student’s short term goals, but their  long-term outcomes, such as graduation, college attendance, and earnings. The job of a literacy leader is to teach reading as a science, add reinforcements and readjust. Dr. Noland adds, “Reading failure of your kids, my kids, someone else’s kids is our mutual responsibility, especially for literacy leaders. Lack of preparation and knowledge lead to unwanted consequences – a significant risk of inequity in education, and unwelcome social injustices. Let's continue to support and build up literacy leaders who are on the frontline to make sure all children read well to succeed well.”

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New PreK-6 Brain-Based Literacy Instructional Courseware by Learning Ally Wins Top Honors
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February 7, 2023 by User

For Immediate Release:

February 7, 2023 -- Princeton, NJ – Learning Ally, a national nonprofit working with U.S. schools to improve reading proficiency, has won a Tech and Learning Award of Excellence for its new PreK-6 Professional Courseware on “Effective Brain-Based Literacy Instruction.” 

Brent Hartsell, Director of Solutions and Professional Learning for Learning Ally, says, “PreK-6 educators recognize the critical TextDescription automatically generated with medium confidenceneed to elevate their teaching knowledge on evidence-based instruction grounded in the science of reading, with an emphasis on social and emotional learning. Our new courseware is uniquely designed for educators to ensure all children master the fundamentals of reading.”

Learning Ally’s new Pre-K6 Effective Brain-Based Literacy Instruction courseware is focused on delivering a Whole Child Literacy™ approach, recognizing how each child learns, their academic needs, and the cognitive variables, environment, and social and emotional factors that impact their ability to learn. 

Educators will work with Master Teachers to learn the latest research on how the brain learns to read, so they can individualize instruction, and enhance their instructional capacity to develop effective early reading skills. 

The award-winning brain-based courseware (online and on-demand) is flexible and adaptive, offering educators comprehensive workshops and collaborative communities of practice, with opportunities to refine and apply new knowledge directly into class and school environments. 

Educators will acquire in-depth knowledge on these topics:

  • Conceptual Underpinnings - Simple Science of Reading and Scarborough’s Reading Rope

  • Phonemic Awareness - phonics, word study, decoding and encoding

  • Language Comprehension - vocabulary, background knowledge, verbal reasoning, and more

  • Complexities of Comprehension - connection between comprehension, motivation and strategy instruction

  • Specific practices tied to data on student achievement with measurable outcomes 

  • Teaching multi-language learners

The Tech & Learning Awards of Excellence: Best of 2022 celebrates exceptional educational technology supporting teachers and students in primary, secondary, and higher education. “This year’s winning products reflect some of the most important trends we’re seeing in education,” says Christine Weiser, T&L content director. “These trends include a greater focus on wellness, new product features to create flexibility in various learning environments, innovative ways to assess student mastery and to personalize learning, and a focus on professional learning and equitable access for all students.”

Learn more about Learning Ally’s early literacy and audiobook solutions, and professional learning services, including our Spotlight Learning Series where educators can receive continuing education certificates by learning with literacy thought leaders around the country. 

About Learning Ally   

Learning Ally is a leading education nonprofit dedicated to equipping educators with proven solutions that help new and struggling learners reach their potential. Our range of literacy-focused offerings for students in Pre-K to 12th grade and catalog of professional learning allows us to support more than two million students across the United States. 

 

 

 

 

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Best of Spotlight - Literacy On Replay...Register Now! Friday, February 10, 2023
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February 3, 2023 by User

Friday, February 10, 2023 - An Asynchronous Event

Educators register now for a special, asynchronous event: Best of Spotlight: Literacy on Replay, to take full advantage of new insight and best teaching practices on the science of reading and the dyslexic brain. 

Learning Ally loves educators, and this event is our gift to you for Valentine’s Day! 

We've cultivated the best of our ongoing Spotlight Learning Series, including eleven of our highest-rated sessions condensed into key learning points that will directly benefit you. 

Sessions cover a range of education topics on curriculum design, pedagogy, assessments, technology integration, and much more. All sessions are geared toward the goal of improving literacy and reading outcomes. 

  • Learn how to apply new findings directly into your own teaching practice,

  • Use Facilitation Guides to deepen your knowledge, 

  • Receive up to two CE certificates toward your professional development goals, 

  • Extend the learning in our award-winning Educator Community.

Whether you are an educator, researcher, or administrator, you won't want to miss this opportunity to learn from some of the best literacy thought leaders in the field.  Attendees of our professional learning events are true literacy champions with a deep quest to improve reading and learning outcomes for all children and adolescents who struggle with reading challenges. 

Register today

Be inspired by some of the brightest minds in education, all from the convenience of your own device, plus receive a nice discount on future Spotlight Learning Series events.  

Read More about Best of Spotlight - Literacy On Replay...Register Now! Friday, February 10, 2023

Evidence-Based Best Practices Build Language Acquisition and Reading Development in Bilingual Learners
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January 30, 2023 by User

Learning Ally’s mission is to ensure all students have equal opportunities to receive supplemental reading resources to become successful readers, and to support educators with opportunities to become literacy leaders. We do this by offering professional learning events to cultivate a deep understanding of “how” we learn, with an emphasis on whole child literacy. This philosophy combines the application of evidence-based reading instruction (think Scarborough’s Reading Rope), layered with brain-based learning, and social and emotional well-being. This includes a child’s cognitive abilities, their school-home environments, and how they perceive themselves as learners. 

Teaching Bilingual Learners Dr. Doris Luft Baker

In this blog, we’re recapping an edWebinar with Doris Baker, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education and Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Texas-Austin. 

Dr. Baker’s research focuses on developing and testing interventions and assessments designed to improve academic outcomes for bilingual students, particularly Latino/bilingual students. As part of this work, she has focused on Latino/family engagement, and the use of technology to reduce academic inequities among underserved populations. 

Dr. Baker's edWebinar, delves deep into building language acquisition and reading development support for bilingual learners. If you teach, you will want to listen to the entire presentation to earn an education certificate. It is a ‘must view’ to learn new instructional approaches, and to check your assumptions about how bilingual students learn. 

Emphasize Language Development and Phonemic Awareness

Born in Brazil, Dr. Baker lived in Colombia, Mexico, and the United States. She speaks multiple languages -- Spanish, German, English, and Portuguese. She understands what it’s like to learn in environments where English is not your native language. 

“Language development is all important in everything we want to do,” she says. Dr. Baker strongly emphasizes evidence-based best practices to facilitate learning success, and wants to eliminate misunderstandings about how bilingual students learn and flourish. Here are some of her recommendations:

  • Learn who your  bilingual students are as people. 

  • Analyze the language demands in your lesson. 

  • Connect what students are learning with previous experiences.

  • Provide explicit instruction. 

  • Use their native language to support conceptual understanding if possible.

  • Provide opportunities to practice reading and vocabulary every day.

  • Encourage students to engage in peer discussions.

  • Extend instructional time on learning explicit vocabulary.

  • Use visual aids to scaffold instruction.

  • Integrate listening, speaking, reading, and writing in every class. 

  • Use formative assessments to follow progress and enhance instruction. 

Teach, Pre-Teach, ReTeach

Dr. Baker’s approach to teaching bilingual students is to pre-teach and reteach vocabulary, especially text-based vocabulary that provides background knowledge to help students make sense of the words. Give students time to get comfortable in class and opportunities for small group discussions. Scaffold your frameworks and lessons to break down information. Ensure grade-level instruction supports whole class instruction. Give students various ways to express themselves, and to demonstrate knowledge on assessments. Show them you are interested in them, and appreciate their culture. Celebrate them! 

Misconceptions 

Dr. Baker has heard many misconceptions about bilingual learners, including that vocabulary and listening comprehension in early childhood may not be a good approach. This is not true. Learn why in her edwebinar. Some educators may also believe that academic language should come after social language has been acquired, but Dr. Baker recommends being flexible in different approaches to teaching content.

At times, we may think that our bilingual students are confused, but confusion may also come from the educator, the environment, or peers. One common source of confusion is pronunciation of student’s names, or words that have dual meanings like “duck” (bird) and “duck” (under the table).    

Others believe that code switching is not good for developing a second language. Dr. Baker disagrees. When a bilingual student is thinking, they may use code switching as a natural thought progression to express themselves.  

Teachers Make All the Difference

Dr. Baker encourages the use of “bilingual” rather than “ESL.” She says, “The definition is better suited for students who think in two languages, and process in dual time. “Bilingual students bring various assets to any learning environment like cultural traditions, social norms, and diversity that we should appreciate and celebrate. Educators who teach bilingual students have multiple challenges, and enormous opportunities to influence, impact, and impart knowledge and wisdom to children who are eager to learn. You can make all the difference!”

More About Dr. Doris Baker

Doris Luft Baker is an affiliate of the Texas Center for Equity Promotion and a board member of the Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk. She is a literacy thought leader, the author of many books and research papers, and senior author of the Indicadores Dinámicos del Exito en la Lectura, a formative assessment to screen and monitor students at risk for reading difficulties in grades K-3. Dr. Baker has been a principal investigator or co-principal investigator on grants funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), and the National Science Foundation, among others.

Learning Ally Professional Learning 

Learning Ally’s Professional Learning Services are designed to strengthen educator’s instructional capacity, so they can deliver a deeper, richer learning experience and promote better academic outcomes. Our nonprofit partners with families, schools, and districts to share research, encourage new pathways to leadership, and expand instructional and teaching knowledge.

Valerie Chernek writes about educational best practices through the use of technology and the science of reading in support of teachers, children, and adolescents who struggle with learning differences. 

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Learning Ally Educator Community Takes Home CMX Community Industry Award
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January 24, 2023 by User

For Immediate Release 

January 24, 2023 -- Princeton, NJ – Learning Ally, a national nonprofit partnering with educators to solve the literacy crisis, has won the 2023 CMX Community Industry Award for Best Growth Marketing Community for its thriving Educator Community

The CMX Community Industry Awards celebrates the achievements of the best in the community space. This category recognizes exceptional efforts in innovative strategies used to drive growth and engagement among members.

Elizabeth Zwerg, Learning Ally’s Educator Community Manager, was a finalist for “Best Executive Leader” for her work building an internal, employee-driven “Sunshine Committee” that empowers champions for the Educator Community. This internal group drives collaboration, engagement, and fosters a sense of community for Learning Ally’s mission to close the literacy gap. 

“The Sunshine Committee is a place of connection. It's where our staff forges lasting connections with educators who are the agents of change. At Learning Ally, we live our values, and we place a high value on education, literacy and especially educators,” says Eleanor Cotton, Learning Ally’s Director of Community and Thought Leadership. 

Learning Ally’s Educator Community connects educators of all titles, roles and responsibilities in a safe and collaborative network where they can share best instructional practices in literacy and recognize the achievements of fellow educators. Now, in its second year, a guiding principle of the Educator Community is that all educators are welcome. 

Dr. Terrie Noland, Learning Ally’s Vice President of Educator Initiatives, said, “This is an honor for our organization, and for our Community team. Learning Ally’s mission is to support educators to be the best they can be so they can improve academic achievement and ensure students reach their full potential. Our Community is an extension of that mission – supporting personal and professional knowledge, encouraging a growth mindset in evidence-based literacy practices, and making new connections."  

Members of Learning Ally's Educator Community, now 6,100 educators strong with another 5,300 members on Instagram, are from different towns and cities, from urban and rural schools, and from big and small districts. They come together as one community with an unbreakable bond – to empower each other, educate children, and hone their craft of teaching and leading. 

Ms. Zwerg says, “It is exciting to have our efforts acknowledged. Our community is truly an ecosystem with many points of access. Educators draw support from each other and they identify new ways to enhance their instruction. There are communities that focus solely on instructional practices, without acknowledging that teachers are people. Our community is unique because all interactions, content, and framework is developed with the mindset that teachers are the ultimate thought leaders. Meaningful change in education begins with teachers, and our members know we are always in their corner. They become influencers, mentors, dreamers and doers.”

In U.S. schools, Learning Ally works with more than 450,000 educators to improve reading outcomes for students who struggle with learning disabilities and reading deficits. The organization’s Solutions in PreK-12 are grounded in the science of reading and brain-based learning, with an emphasis on Whole Child Literacy.™ This teaching philosophy prioritizes the developmental and personal needs of children, in addition to their academic achievement. Whole Child Literacy™ includes a student’s cognitive variables, their environment, and social and emotional factors that impact their ability to learn and succeed. 

Ms. Zwerg adds, “Staying true to our non-profit roots, Learning Ally’s Educator Community is open to all educators – including those who do not use our products or professional services. By connecting educators from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, we can create a more inclusive and effective education system.”

Read this blog about the research behind why teachers need community. 

About Learning Ally   

Learning Ally is a leading education nonprofit dedicated to equipping educators with proven solutions that help new and struggling learners reach their potential. Our range of literacy-focused offerings for students in Pre-K to 12th grade and catalog of professional learning allows us to support more than two million students across the United States. 

Read More about Learning Ally Educator Community Takes Home CMX Community Industry Award

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