This podcast episode argues that while PowerPoints became widespread during COVID and helped reduce teacher cognitive load, over-reliance on them can hinder teachers' development.  The key takeaway: if we are removing all obstacles, how are teachers learning from experience? 

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch!

Are your students good readers, but poor spellers? If so, you are not alone. Spelling Success in Action addresses phonics, orthography, and morphology to give students a well-rounded understanding of how our language system works. 

Find out how you can help your students move beyond guessing and memorisation at https://www.jocelynseamereducation.com/spelling2

Quick Links
Jocelyn Seamer Education Homepage
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#jocelynseamereducation #literacy #bestpractice #earlyprimaryyears #primaryschool #primaryschools #primaryschoolteacher #earlyyearseducation #earlyyearseducator #structuredliteracy #scienceofreading #classroom #learning #learningisfun #studentsuccess #studentsupport #teacherlife #theresourceroom #theevergreenteacher #upperprimary #upperprimaryteacher #thestructuredliteracypodcast #phoneme #grapheme #phonics #syntheticphonics

The word exposure gets thrown around a lot in schools, especially when a student is behind in phonics or spelling. In this episode, Jocelyn takes a hard look at that belief and explains why presence in a lesson is not the same as learning, particularly for skills that are biologically secondary, like reading and writing.  This episode covers: 

• why exposure is not learning for secondary skills
• what explicit teaching demands of attention and practice
• how misuse of the term exposure clouds decisions
• where whole-class text work fits and when it does not
• why working memory limits should guide task design
• how to use data to decide groupings and next steps
• when to apply exposure without expectation in early years
• practical ways to target phonics and spelling gaps

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch!

Are your students good readers, but poor spellers? If so, you are not alone. Spelling Success in Action addresses phonics, orthography, and morphology to give students a well-rounded understanding of how our language system works. 

Find out how you can help your students move beyond guessing and memorisation at https://www.jocelynseamereducation.com/spelling2

Quick Links
Jocelyn Seamer Education Homepage
The Resource Room
Youtube channel
Facebook Page

#jocelynseamereducation #literacy #bestpractice #earlyprimaryyears #primaryschool #primaryschools #primaryschoolteacher #earlyyearseducation #earlyyearseducator #structuredliteracy #scienceofreading #classroom #learning #learningisfun #studentsuccess #studentsupport #teacherlife #theresourceroom #theevergreenteacher #upperprimary #upperprimaryteacher #thestructuredliteracypodcast #phoneme #grapheme #phonics #syntheticphonics

School leaders and teachers constantly face the challenge of turning great ideas into
lasting change. In this episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast, Jocelyn
shares a practical, simple strategy to keep school improvement initiatives
alive and thriving. Learn how to create consistency, maintain momentum, and
prevent your best efforts from fading away. Whether you're a school leader or
classroom teacher, this episode offers a straightforward approach to making
school improvements stick.

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch!

Are your students good readers, but poor spellers? If so, you are not alone. Spelling Success in Action addresses phonics, orthography, and morphology to give students a well-rounded understanding of how our language system works. 

Find out how you can help your students move beyond guessing and memorisation at https://www.jocelynseamereducation.com/spelling2

Quick Links
Jocelyn Seamer Education Homepage
The Resource Room
Youtube channel
Facebook Page

#jocelynseamereducation #literacy #bestpractice #earlyprimaryyears #primaryschool #primaryschools #primaryschoolteacher #earlyyearseducation #earlyyearseducator #structuredliteracy #scienceofreading #classroom #learning #learningisfun #studentsuccess #studentsupport #teacherlife #theresourceroom #theevergreenteacher #upperprimary #upperprimaryteacher #thestructuredliteracypodcast #phoneme #grapheme #phonics #syntheticphonics

Tired of racing through content only to find the learning didn’t stick? In this episode, we take a hard look at the final 5 factors that truly drive universal success in phonics and early reading, moving from admirable intentions to instructional decisions that deliver. 

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch!

Are your students good readers, but poor spellers? If so, you are not alone. Spelling Success in Action addresses phonics, orthography, and morphology to give students a well-rounded understanding of how our language system works. 

Find out how you can help your students move beyond guessing and memorisation at https://www.jocelynseamereducation.com/spelling2

Quick Links
Jocelyn Seamer Education Homepage
The Resource Room
Youtube channel
Facebook Page

#jocelynseamereducation #literacy #bestpractice #earlyprimaryyears #primaryschool #primaryschools #primaryschoolteacher #earlyyearseducation #earlyyearseducator #structuredliteracy #scienceofreading #classroom #learning #learningisfun #studentsuccess #studentsupport #teacherlife #theresourceroom #theevergreenteacher #upperprimary #upperprimaryteacher #thestructuredliteracypodcast #phoneme #grapheme #phonics #syntheticphonics

This podcast episode outlines the first five of ten critical factors for achieving universal student success in phonics instruction, emphasising that student outcomes, not surface-level metrics like training completion, are what truly matter.

The Five Factors:

1. Engineer student success - Accept responsibility for student learning rather than blaming circumstances
2. Whatever it takes attitude - Commit to whole-school systemic problem-solving (not individual teacher burnout)
3. Design for highest needs - Create Tier 1 instruction for students with the "leakiest memories" to avoid creating learning messes that require years to fix
4. Flexible, data-based grouping - Provide differentiated instruction where students move fluidly between groups based on their current needs (not permanent tracking/streaming)
5. One core routine - Maintain consistent phonics instruction across classrooms with low variance and predictable routines

The episode emphasises these foundational factors must be in place before instructional techniques (covered in Part 2) can be effective. Schools should choose one factor at a time to improve rather than attempting everything at once.

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch!

Are your students good readers, but poor spellers? If so, you are not alone. Spelling Success in Action addresses phonics, orthography, and morphology to give students a well-rounded understanding of how our language system works. 

Find out how you can help your students move beyond guessing and memorisation at https://www.jocelynseamereducation.com/spelling2

Quick Links
Jocelyn Seamer Education Homepage
The Resource Room
Youtube channel
Facebook Page

#jocelynseamereducation #literacy #bestpractice #earlyprimaryyears #primaryschool #primaryschools #primaryschoolteacher #earlyyearseducation #earlyyearseducator #structuredliteracy #scienceofreading #classroom #learning #learningisfun #studentsuccess #studentsupport #teacherlife #theresourceroom #theevergreenteacher #upperprimary #upperprimaryteacher #thestructuredliteracypodcast #phoneme #grapheme #phonics #syntheticphonics

This episode helps schools cut bloated assessment schedules by focusing on two essential questions:

1. Who is at risk?

2. What skills lead to success?

Key Principles:

• Not every assessment needs one-on-one administration
• Assessments must inform instruction, not just generate data
• Question whether testing time is more valuable than teaching time
• Avoid decodable text level assessments that reinforce outdated levelling

The bottom line: Only assess what directly improves student outcomes. Everything else is noise.

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch!

Are your students good readers, but poor spellers? If so, you are not alone. Spelling Success in Action addresses phonics, orthography, and morphology to give students a well-rounded understanding of how our language system works. 

Find out how you can help your students move beyond guessing and memorisation at https://www.jocelynseamereducation.com/spelling2

Quick Links
Jocelyn Seamer Education Homepage
The Resource Room
Youtube channel
Facebook Page

#jocelynseamereducation #literacy #bestpractice #earlyprimaryyears #primaryschool #primaryschools #primaryschoolteacher #earlyyearseducation #earlyyearseducator #structuredliteracy #scienceofreading #classroom #learning #learningisfun #studentsuccess #studentsupport #teacherlife #theresourceroom #theevergreenteacher #upperprimary #upperprimaryteacher #thestructuredliteracypodcast #phoneme #grapheme #phonics #syntheticphonics

School improvement is slow, and many quit right before breakthrough. This episode uses the story of gold miners who quit just one metre from striking gold to illustrate a critical lesson: don't give up in the middle of the hard work.

Seth Godin's Three Scenarios:

1. The Dip - The hard slog between starting and mastering (push through)
2. Cul-de-sac - Going in circles with no progress (quit strategically)
3. Cliff - Unsustainable pace that breaks the team (change approach)

How to Know Which One You're In:

• Are you seeing small, measurable progress in student outcomes? You're in a dip, keep going
• Have others succeeded doing what you're doing? It's possible, persist
• Use short-term data to monitor whether instruction is working

If students are learning more than last year, you're making progress. Celebrate small wins, adjust as needed, and don't quit when success might be just ahead.

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch!

Are your students good readers, but poor spellers? If so, you are not alone. Spelling Success in Action addresses phonics, orthography, and morphology to give students a well-rounded understanding of how our language system works. 

Find out how you can help your students move beyond guessing and memorisation at https://www.jocelynseamereducation.com/spelling2

Quick Links
Jocelyn Seamer Education Homepage
The Resource Room
Youtube channel
Facebook Page

#jocelynseamereducation #literacy #bestpractice #earlyprimaryyears #primaryschool #primaryschools #primaryschoolteacher #earlyyearseducation #earlyyearseducator #structuredliteracy #scienceofreading #classroom #learning #learningisfun #studentsuccess #studentsupport #teacherlife #theresourceroom #theevergreenteacher #upperprimary #upperprimaryteacher #thestructuredliteracypodcast #phoneme #grapheme #phonics #syntheticphonics

Novel study has gained traction in teaching circles, but important questions arise about its suitability for all students, time management challenges, and whether it's truly evidence-based for primary schools.

In this episode, Jocelyn explores

• Research comparing novels with shorter stories
•  Teachers challenges in novel studies including time constraints, student stamina issues, and resource limitations
• Quality of text and instruction matters more than text length
• The role of using professional judgment about instruction based on student needs 

This episode invites you to give yourself permission to make thoughtful decisions based on your students' needs, instructional goals, available time, and what research indicates are the most impactful factors for reading instruction.

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch!

Are your students good readers, but poor spellers? If so, you are not alone. Spelling Success in Action addresses phonics, orthography, and morphology to give students a well-rounded understanding of how our language system works. 

Find out how you can help your students move beyond guessing and memorisation at https://www.jocelynseamereducation.com/spelling2

Quick Links
Jocelyn Seamer Education Homepage
The Resource Room
Youtube channel
Facebook Page

#jocelynseamereducation #literacy #bestpractice #earlyprimaryyears #primaryschool #primaryschools #primaryschoolteacher #earlyyearseducation #earlyyearseducator #structuredliteracy #scienceofreading #classroom #learning #learningisfun #studentsuccess #studentsupport #teacherlife #theresourceroom #theevergreenteacher #upperprimary #upperprimaryteacher #thestructuredliteracypodcast #phoneme #grapheme #phonics #syntheticphonics

Should we be teaching phonics beyond the early years? This question lands in my inbox regularly, and for good reason – it touches on critical decisions teachers must make about literacy instruction in upper primary.  In this episode, Jocelyn addresses 

- What research tells us about spelling development
- The ideal scenario vs the reality of the current state of student knowledge
- What it means to be data responsive in spelling instruction
- The most effective path forward in making a data-informed plan

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch!

Are your students good readers, but poor spellers? If so, you are not alone. Spelling Success in Action addresses phonics, orthography, and morphology to give students a well-rounded understanding of how our language system works. 

Find out how you can help your students move beyond guessing and memorisation at https://www.jocelynseamereducation.com/spelling2

Quick Links
Jocelyn Seamer Education Homepage
The Resource Room
Youtube channel
Facebook Page

#jocelynseamereducation #literacy #bestpractice #earlyprimaryyears #primaryschool #primaryschools #primaryschoolteacher #earlyyearseducation #earlyyearseducator #structuredliteracy #scienceofreading #classroom #learning #learningisfun #studentsuccess #studentsupport #teacherlife #theresourceroom #theevergreenteacher #upperprimary #upperprimaryteacher #thestructuredliteracypodcast #phoneme #grapheme #phonics #syntheticphonics

We examine why educational practices often fail to stick in schools despite initial enthusiasm and training. The key insight is that sustainable implementation requires building systems where practices become embedded in school culture rather than being treated as temporary initiatives.

• The implementation dip occurs when the "shine of the new" wears off and teachers must embed practices for the long term
• Different teachers need different types of support – some need training, others coaching, mentoring, or collaborative relationships
• Moving beyond compliance-focused implementation to helping teachers understand the purpose behind practices
• Building systems means creating conditions where the practice becomes easier to do than not to do
• Successful schools measure implementation by impact on student learning, not by teacher compliance
• Creating systems that hold practices in place when inevitable pressures of the school year emerge
• Connecting practices to outcomes helps everyone understand why implementation matters

Remember, you likely already have everything you need to make this work. Focus on building systems that will support you when things get challenging – that's when your system needs to be strongest.

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch!

Are your students good readers, but poor spellers? If so, you are not alone. Spelling Success in Action addresses phonics, orthography, and morphology to give students a well-rounded understanding of how our language system works. 

Find out how you can help your students move beyond guessing and memorisation at https://www.jocelynseamereducation.com/spelling2

Quick Links
Jocelyn Seamer Education Homepage
The Resource Room
Youtube channel
Facebook Page

#jocelynseamereducation #literacy #bestpractice #earlyprimaryyears #primaryschool #primaryschools #primaryschoolteacher #earlyyearseducation #earlyyearseducator #structuredliteracy #scienceofreading #classroom #learning #learningisfun #studentsuccess #studentsupport #teacherlife #theresourceroom #theevergreenteacher #upperprimary #upperprimaryteacher #thestructuredliteracypodcast #phoneme #grapheme #phonics #syntheticphonics