Dr. Liz Brooke sat down with Emily Hanford and Dr. Tiffany Hogan for the premiere episode of “All for Literacy,” where we explore the national literacy conversation with key industry voices. 
You’ll walk away from this episode with a better understanding of the underlying issues behind student literacy struggles and what the science and research is really telling us about the solution.
We discuss the why behind the Emily Hanford podcast “Sold a Story,” how schools are teaching kids the habits of struggling readers, and how teacher preparation programs contribute to literacy issues. 
We also break down the real components of language comprehension, how to resolve the disconnect between data and research and the classroom, and the next steps to making the science of reading “stick.”
 
Episode Breakdown
(0:44) — The why behind the Emily Hanford podcast “Sold a Story”
(8:19) — The national educator response to “Sold a Story”
(12:38) — How kids are held back when schools teach habits of struggling readers
(16:15) — Teacher preparation program shortcomings and what needs to change
(20:37) — The real components of language comprehension
(32:21) — Grade 4-12 teachers response to the literacy conversation
(36:52) — The breakdown between data and research and the classroom
(44:37) — The next steps to making the science of reading “stick”
 
About Emily Hanford 
Journalist Emily Hanford brought the literacy conversations into American homes with the serial podcasts, “Hard Words: Why Aren’t Our Kids Being Taught to Read?” and “Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong.” 
Hanford is a senior correspondent and producer for APM Reports, the documentary and investigative journalism group at American Public Media, and her work on education has appeared on National Public Radio and in The New York Times, Washington Monthly, Los Angeles Times, PBS NewsHour, and other publications.
 
Episode Resources

The Hechinger Report — “OPINION: A call for rejecting the newest reading wars”
Reading Rockets — “Teachers Won’t Embrace Research Until It Embraces Them” by Margaret Goldberg
APM Reports — “Hard Words: Why Aren’t Our Kids Being Taught to Read”
APM Reports — “Sold A Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong”
 
Emily Hanford, Twitter @ehanford
Tiffany Hogan, Twitter @TiffanyPHogan
Liz Brooke, Twitter @LizCBrooke
 
Curious about the whole season?
Our next episode features Kareem Weaver of FULCRUM-Oakland.
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