Jocelyn Seamer EducationPodcast and Blog
evidence based instruction
S4 Ep13 - Let's Talk Year 3-6 Reading Assessment and Grading
Hi there. Welcome to the Structured Literacy Podcast recoded here in Tasmania, the lands of the Palawa people. I’m Jocelyn and I want to say a huge hello to all teachers and leaders grappling with assessment and reporting. Last episode of the podcast, I shared a perspective on reporting and grading early years reading without a benchmark assessment. In the old days, we assessed students, looked at the level and then used that to determine what A-E grade students r…
Tuesday Tip - How to Answer Tough Questions in the Classroom
In today's Tuesday Tip, I discuss how to capture kids' tricky questions about words while giving you time to find answers without interrupting the lesson flow.
Video Transcript
It's wonderful to engage children in talking about how words are constructed and what their histories are. But the scary thing as a teacher is when kids ask you questions you're not quite sure how to answer.
My suggestion for you is to have an iWonder board. This is a place in your classroo…
S4 Ep12 - The Secret to Grading Early Years Reading
Hi there, I'm Jocelyn and I'd like to welcome you to this episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast, recorded here on the lands of the Palawa people of Tasmania.
Here in Australia, it is Term 4 and the end of the school year is just a few weeks away. That means that teachers and leaders will be turning their attention to assessment and grading in preparation for report writing. So in this episode, I’d like to share some thoughts and suggestions on grading early …
Tuesday Tip - NICE Decision Making Framework
In today's Tuesday Tip, I discuss how when decisions need to be made, use the NICE Framework to make smarter, more effective choices.
Video Transcript
Hey everyone, it's time for a Tuesday tip. There are so many demands on our time and our budget that it can be really hard to make decisions about what to do. So today I have a framework for you. It's the NICE Framework.
The N stands for need.
- How do we know we need this thing?
- What is our data telling us?
- What a…
S4 Ep11 - Making Decisions When The Floor Is Lava
Hi there and welcome to this episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast, recorded here on the lands of the Palawa people of Tasmania.
I have the enormous privilege of talking with school leaders from around the country and working directly with schools. I don't for a single second take the trust that is given to me for granted, and I value so highly the opportunity to be a part of people's journeys. Seeing the tangible results they are achieving is so rewarding.…
S4 Ep10 - Instructional Spring Cleaning - Timers During Classroom Fluency Work
Well, hello there and welcome to this episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast recorded here in Tasmania, the land of the Palawa people.
In this latest mini-series, I've been doing a little bit of spring cleaning. So far, we've looked at the idea of classroom news for oral language development and one student coming up to the front of the room during phonics lessons.
Today, I'm sharing my thoughts on something that impacts all grades in the primary school, t…
S4 Ep9 - Instructional Spring Cleaning - One Student at the Front
Hi there. Thanks so much for joining me on this episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast, the place where we get right down into the nitty-gritty of structured literacy. It's Jocelyn here, joining you from Tasmania, the lands of the Palawa people.
It's wonderful to be working in education at a time when we have a growing understanding of the importance of research and using evidence to guide our classroom decisions. The challenging thing about this is that we …
S4 Ep5 - The Key to Successfully Implementing a New Program in Your School
Welcome to today's episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast, recorded on the lands of the Palawa people of Tasmania. I'm recording this in September 2024 and it's the time of year in Australia when schools begin to turn their eye to making decisions about instruction for the next school year.
To support those efforts, today we're diving into a crucial topic for school leaders: how to successfully implement a new teaching program in your school.
Whether yo…
Listener Favourite - How Do I Fit Morphology Into My Literacy Block?
Why? Hello there. Welcome to the Structured Literacy Podcast. I'm Jocelyn Seamer. I'd like to begin by paying my respects to the people on whose lands this podcast is recorded the Palawa people of Tasmania.
This episode rounds out our series about spelling, and today I'm going to discuss where morphology instruction fits into the literacy block for both early years and three to six. Let's begin with the early years. In episode 23 of the podcast, I…
Tuesday Tip - Less Doing and More Learning in the Classroom
In today's Tuesday Tip, I discuss how shifting from focusing on "doing" to emphasising what students are actually learning can make your instruction more impactful.
Video Transcript
Hi, everyone. It's Tuesday, so it's time for a tip.
In their 2006 paper, Kirschner, Sweller and Clark stated, "learning is a change to long term memory."
In our schools, there is way too much doing and often not enough learning. Try and eliminate that language of doing from your conversations…