Summer ’24 Interlude: Training teachers well from the start, with Lisa Lenhart and Rebecca Tolson
Meet Our Guest(s):
Rebecca Tolson, Ph.D., CALT-QI
Rebecca Tolson is the director of the Center for Structured Literacy at the University of Akron and a national literacy/dyslexia consultant and speaker. She has a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Akron and is a certified dyslexia therapist and qualified instructor. Rebecca is an experienced educator with over three decades of teaching experience in the classroom and private tutoring using a structured literacy approach to teach students with learning differences. Rebecca served as vice president of Literacy Initiatives at the Neuhaus Education Center, a national non-profit organization specializing in teacher professional development. She co-authored three Ohio laws related to dyslexia and was appointed to the Ohio Dyslexia Committee (ODC) in 2020. Rebecca serves as the current chair of the ODC, overseeing the implementation phase of the Ohio’s Dyslexia Guidebook. Additionally, she is an adjunct professor for Walsh University in the Master of Dyslexia Therapy (MDT) program.
Lisa Lenhart, Ph.D.
Lisa Lenhart holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Kent State University. She is a distinguished professor and director of the LeBron James Family Foundation School of Education. A recipient of the University of Akron’s Researcher of the Year Award, her research interests include early language and literacy development and teacher professional development. She has published extensively in journals and has co-authored books such as Oral Language and Early Literacy in Preschool; Reading and Learning to Read; and Early Literacy Materials Selector. She has been the recipient and principal investigator (PI) of many federal and state grants, each designed to improve young children’s language and early reading skills through enhanced professional development for teachers.
Meet our host, Susan Lambert
Susan Lambert is the Chief Academic Officer of Elementary Humanities at Amplify, and the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast. Her career has been focused on creating high-quality learning environments using evidence-based practices. Lambert is a mom of four, a grandma of four, a world traveler, and a collector of stories.
As the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Lambert explores the increasing body of scientific research around how reading is best taught. As a former classroom teacher, administrator, and curriculum developer, Lambert is dedicated to turning theory into best practices that educators can put right to use in the classroom, and to showcasing national models of reading instruction excellence.
Transcripts and additional resources:
Quotes
“We're also making sure that our students are prepared in structured literacy, not just to one program, so they're able to understand the structure and adopt it to any program any district is using.”
“The Center for Structured Literacy is about empowering teachers at the onset—bachelor's degree. If districts have to retrain them after they graduate, then we're not doing something right.”
“We all have the same goal. We all want children to be good readers. We do. And it has never not been anyone's goal. We have to respect that about each other.”