The Structured Literacy Podcast
Hi there, I'm Jocelyn Seamer. Teacher, former school leader, author, and all around cheerleader for teachers everywhere. Learning to read and write is a matter of social justice. Every child deserves to learn through evidence informed practices, and every teacher deserves to be fully supported to make that happen.The Structured Literacy Podcast goes beyond the program to get to the heart of what it's really like to build a structured approach to literacy across the school.
Episodes
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We must be strategic about harnessing teachable moments to ensure they enhance rather than distract from our learning objectives. Even experienced educators can get swept up in exciting classroom discussions that inadvertently create inequitable learning environments.
• The satisfaction of engaging students in rich, spontaneous discussions can sometimes lead u...
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In this episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast, Jocelyn provides essential guidance for educational leaders navigating the complex process of selecting instructional programs.
She introduces a research-informed practice model that balances research findings, professional knowledge, and student outcomes, while emphasising that the goal should never be simply to &quo...
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Too much professional development feels like a box-ticking exercise with little to show for the time invested. In this episode, Jocelyn unpacks decades of research findings to reveal the seven elements that make PD truly effective, and shows how leaders and teachers can stop wasting time and start creating lasting impact in classrooms.
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Sustainable school improvement happens when change is done with teachers, not to them, and when professional learning builds genuine understanding rather than just compliance with programs.
• The key difference between compliance and commitment in school change
• Why program implementation alone isn't enough to transform practice
• Starting with s...
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In this episode, Jocelyn unpacks a crucial distinction in the world of education: the difference between professional learning that simply ticks a box and learning that leads to lasting transformation in classrooms. Drawing on her experience as both a teacher and professional learning facilitator, Jocelyn explores the essential elements of impactful PL—from long-term c...
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In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn challenges the common assumption that teacher confidence equals competence, drawing on the Dunning-Kruger effect to show how the least skilled teachers often overestimate their abilities while knowledgeable educators frequently doubt themselves. Using her Responsive Leadership Model, she demonstrates how diffe...
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Professional judgment grows from a foundation of deep, defensible knowledge about how learning actually works. When you understand the cognitive science behind reading development, why systematic phonics instruction matters, and how orthographic mapping occurs, you're equipped to make informed decisions rather than simply following a script. Yet the strongest prof...
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In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn argues for reintroducing regular read-alouds in upper primary classrooms, which have largely disappeared amid the focus on explicit, systematic instruction. She explores how interactive read-alouds build oral language foundations that support reading fluency through developing students' "language pre...
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In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn addresses how to safeguard the progress made in evidence-based literacy instruction by making data collection an integral part of teaching rather than an administrative burden. Drawing on Teacher Voice survey data showing significant shifts away from sight word programs and predictable texts between 2021-2023,...
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In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn outlines five strategic refinements to boost teaching effectiveness once foundational structured literacy practices are established. Drawing on cognitive science research including Dehaene's four pillars of learning and Rosenshine's principles, she presents actionable strategies: increasing student r...
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In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn addresses how educators can maintain momentum during challenging periods by celebrating incremental progress rather than focusing solely on major outcomes like NAPLAN results. She outlines five key milestones worth celebrating: mastering literacy block timing and routines, students developing automatic behavio...
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Today, I want to talk to you about an issue that has had me with a bee in my bonnet for a little while now, and that is the large amount of time that many children spend in independent silent reading during literacy instruction.
Now, my challenge with this is not that it is bad for children to read on their own; in fact, we know that there are positive impac...
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Ready to transform the headache of report writing? Join me, Jocelyn, on the Structured Literacy Podcast, where we unpack the art of aligning curriculum with classroom planning. This episode offers practical tips to grade with ease. We'll reveal how a well-organized classroom and targeted 'I can' statements not only empower your students but also pave the...
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In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn challenges the common teacher assumption that students "know" content simply because it was taught, arguing that if students truly knew it, they would demonstrate it consistently. Drawing on cognitive load theory and John Sweller's research that learning is a permanent change to long-term memory...
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In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn explores why students struggle with persuasive writing despite teachers implementing traditional "best practices" like modelled writing and scaffolds. Drawing on cognitive load theory, she identifies five critical mistakes: overwhelming students by modelling entire texts at once instead of breaking c...
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In this thought-provoking episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn challenges the common goal of implementing an "evidence-based literacy block," arguing for a more nuanced approach to school improvement. She identifies three key problems with this focus: the assumption that direct research evidence exists for every instructional decision (when muc...
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In this interview episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn speaks with educational consultant Stephanie Stollar about Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) for reading improvement. Stephanie distinguishes MTSS from traditional RTI approaches, explaining that MTSS is a comprehensive systems change framework focused on using universal screening data to evalua...
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In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn challenges the common assumption that whole class phonics instruction is more equitable than targeted grouping, arguing that cognitive science research suggests otherwise. Drawing on cognitive load theory and John Sweller's research that humans can only process two to three novel pieces of information sim...
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In this interview episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn speaks with leadership coach and "recovering principal" Jenny Cole about navigating school leadership challenges in today's complex educational environment. Jenny provides practical strategies for overcoming imposter syndrome through action rather than endless learning, conducting chal...
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In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn argues for abandoning traditional independent research projects, which she contends harm student learning by asking novices to teach themselves complex topics without adequate support. Drawing on cognitive load theory and David Sousa's research on emotion in learning, she explains how overwhelming assignm...
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