9. Dr. Rachael Gabriel -- Teacher Quality, High Quality Instructional Materials, and What Research Shows Makes the Biggest Difference in Supporting Early Literacy Growth
04/17/23 • 31 min
Today’s guest is Dr. Rachael Gabriel. We’ll talk about the newly published book, How Education Policy Shapes Literacy Instruction, which includes chapters she authored and co-authored and which she edited. Specifically, we’ll explore the history of studies relating to teacher quality and instructional materials, and what research shows makes the biggest difference in supporting early literacy growth. Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Macie Kerbs and Molly Wood for a conversation about practical takeaways.
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To learn more about this podcast, see the first season's guests, read full transcripts and blog responses from listeners, and read more about Jennifer Serravallo and her work, visit www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
More information on How Education Policy Shapes Literacy Instruction
Read the Annenberg report about considerations for high quality professional learning (link to actual studies can be found within this report).
***
About this episode’s guest:
Rachael Gabriel is Professor of Literacy Education at the University of Connecticut. She is author of more than fifty refereed articles, and author or editor of six books for literacy teachers, leaders and education researchers, including the newly published How Education Policy Shapes Literacy Instruction which we'll be talking about today. Rachael currently teaches courses for educators and doctoral students pursuing specialization in literacy. She serves on the editorial boards of journals focused on literacy, education research and education policy, and has served on the boards of the International Literacy Association and Reading Recovery Council of North America. In addition to experience as a classroom teacher and reading specialist, Rachael holds graduate certificates in both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Rachael’s research is focused on: literacy instruction, leadership and intervention, as well as policies related to teacher development and evaluation. Her current projects investigate: supports for adolescent literacy, state literacy policies and discipline-specific literacy instruction.
Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/
Today’s guest is Dr. Rachael Gabriel. We’ll talk about the newly published book, How Education Policy Shapes Literacy Instruction, which includes chapters she authored and co-authored and which she edited. Specifically, we’ll explore the history of studies relating to teacher quality and instructional materials, and what research shows makes the biggest difference in supporting early literacy growth. Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Macie Kerbs and Molly Wood for a conversation about practical takeaways.
***
To learn more about this podcast, see the first season's guests, read full transcripts and blog responses from listeners, and read more about Jennifer Serravallo and her work, visit www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
More information on How Education Policy Shapes Literacy Instruction
Read the Annenberg report about considerations for high quality professional learning (link to actual studies can be found within this report).
***
About this episode’s guest:
Rachael Gabriel is Professor of Literacy Education at the University of Connecticut. She is author of more than fifty refereed articles, and author or editor of six books for literacy teachers, leaders and education researchers, including the newly published How Education Policy Shapes Literacy Instruction which we'll be talking about today. Rachael currently teaches courses for educators and doctoral students pursuing specialization in literacy. She serves on the editorial boards of journals focused on literacy, education research and education policy, and has served on the boards of the International Literacy Association and Reading Recovery Council of North America. In addition to experience as a classroom teacher and reading specialist, Rachael holds graduate certificates in both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Rachael’s research is focused on: literacy instruction, leadership and intervention, as well as policies related to teacher development and evaluation. Her current projects investigate: supports for adolescent literacy, state literacy policies and discipline-specific literacy instruction.
Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/
Previous Episode
8. Dr. Gabriel DellaVecchia -- The Perils of Third Grade Retention Laws
Today I welcome Dr. Gabriel DellaVecchia, who has reviewed decades of research about retention to answer the question: on the whole, do third grade retention laws—which are on the books in some form in 27 states in the US – help or harm literacy outcomes? Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Darren Victory and Lea Mercantini Liebowitz to discuss practical takeaways.
***
For full transcripts, blog responses, and more information about the podcast and other guests, as well as information about Jennifer Serravallo, go to www.jenniferserravallo.com
Learn more about the Don't Leave Us Behind campaign www.dontleaveusbehind.org
Read Dr. DellaVecchia's The Reading Teacher piece which includes discussion of reading laws https://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/trtr.2149
***
About this episode’s guest:
Gabriel DellaVecchia earned his PhD in Educational Studies with a concentration in Literacy, Language, and Culture from the University of Michigan. He has a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Portland and a BA in Psychology from Goucher College.
At various times in his career as an educator, Gabe has been an in-school reading tutor, a Peace Corps volunteer providing teacher professional development, a math and science paraprofessional, and an English teacher in Japan. Prior to starting his doctoral program, Gabe was a third-grade classroom teacher.
Gabe coordinates the Don’t Leave Us Behind campaign, a group of concerned citizens focused on raising awareness about, and eventually amending, Michigan’s “Read by Grade 3” law, which requires mandatory retention for third graders who struggle with reading.
He recently moved to Seattle, where he lives with his wife and their cat.
Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/
Next Episode
10. Dr. Tanya Wright -- Vocabulary Development, Knowledge Building, and Comprehension
Today’s guest is Dr. Tanya Wright whose research and writing focus on vocabulary and knowledge-building, and comprehension. She’ll help us think about how to infuse vocabulary instruction into before, during, and after reading activities to move from passive word learning such as just parroting back a dictionary definition, to active processing where readers really engage with words to understand them more deeply. We’ll talk about what research says about explicitly teaching word meanings, and what research has shown about effective strategy instruction for vocabulary development. Later, I’m joined by my colleague Macie Kerbs for a discussion of how we can bring this research to the classroom.
**
To learn more about this podcast, see the first season's guests, read full transcripts and blog responses from listeners, and read more about Jennifer Serravallo and her work, visit www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
Check out Dr. Wright's most recent professional book for teachers about vocabulary instruction here.
**
About this episode’s guest:
Tanya S. Wright is an associate professor of Language and Literacy at Michigan State University. Wright is a former kindergarten teacher whose research and teaching focus on curriculum and instruction in language and literacy during the early childhood and elementary years. Her research examines instructional practices that promote oral language, vocabulary, and knowledge development for young children. Wright is co-author of several books for teachers and parents. Her work has been published in many scholarly journals, has been funded by the multiple foundations. In 2012 she was the winner of ILA’s Outstanding Dissertation Award in 2012, and is now the Senior Editor of The Reading Teacher. She’s the lead author of the open access SOLID start curriculum and the leader of 55 open access PD videos at literacyessentials.org.
Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/
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