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
146 episodes
Summer Series - What Goes into a Great Text-Based Unit?
What is the Summer Series?A collection of listener favourites from the Structured Literacy Podcast to get you prepared for 2026.Today's EpisodeIn this week's episode, I share some of my secrets for writing and...
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Season 6
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Episode 26
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15:36
Summer Series - Do Nonsense Words Have a Place in Upper Primary?
What is the Summer Series?A collection of listener favourites from the Structured Literacy Podcast to get you prepared for 2026.Today's EpisodeIn this week's episode, we're going to talk about how Nonsense words pla...
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Season 6
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Episode 25
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17:34
S6 E24 - 98 and ¾ Percent Guaranteed: Our Collective Commitment to Every Student
The difference between curiosity and commitment can make or break a literacy journey. We close our sixth season by drawing a clear line between being interested in structured literacy and being devoted to outcomes for every student, then map ho...
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Season 6
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Episode 24
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17:33
S6 E23 - Text Complexity: It’s About So Much More Than Levels
This episode explores how to select rich texts for comprehension instruction by moving beyond traditional levelling systems. Jocelyn introduces four dimensions of text demand to help teachers find the "Goldilocks spot" - texts that challenge st...
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Season 6
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Episode 23
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17:03
S6 E22 - When Comfort Steals Confidence – The Unintended Consequences of PowerPoints
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 ar...
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Season 6
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Episode 22
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21:08
S6 E21 - Why Exposure is a Poor Substitute for Learning
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, part...
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Season 6
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Episode 21
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16:52
S6 E20 - A Simple Way to Make School Improvement Stick
School leaders and teachers constantly face the challenge of turning great ideas intolasting change. In this episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast, Jocelynshares a practical, simple strategy to keep school improvement initiatives
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Season 6
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Episode 20
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22:12
S6 E19 - The Secret to Truly Universal Phonics Instruction (Part 2)
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 instruction...
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Season 6
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Episode 19
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17:23
S6 E18 - The Secret to Truly Universal Phonics Instruction (Part 1)
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.
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Season 6
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Episode 18
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24:23
S6 E17 - How to Streamline Your Assessment Schedule
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 ...
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Season 6
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Episode 17
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26:55
S6 E16 - How to Know Whether to Quit or Persist
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....
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Season 6
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Episode 16
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22:12
S6 E15 - What Does Research Say About Novel Study?
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 ex...
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Season 6
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Episode 15
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35:20
S6 E14 - Should We Be Teaching Phonics in Years 3-6?
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, Jocel...
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Season 6
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Episode 14
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16:44
S6 E13 - We Fall to the Level of Our Systems
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 t...
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Season 6
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Episode 13
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13:27
S6 E12 - When Repeated Reading Doesn't Work
Repeated reading doesn't work for all students because fluency issues have different root causes. Understanding four reading profiles helps target the right intervention:Speedy & accurateSlow & accurate
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Season 6
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Episode 12
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15:53
S6 E11 - The Trap Inside the Teachable Moment
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 inequitabl...
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Season 6
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Episode 11
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13:11
S6 E10 - Before You Commit to a Program, Listen to This
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 th...
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Season 6
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Episode 10
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32:02
S6 E9 - From Wasted Hours to Real Impact: Research Findings About PD That Actually Works
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 ho...
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Season 6
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Episode 9
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23:47
S6 E8 - From Compliance to Commitment: Transforming School Improvement
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 com...
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Season 6
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Episode 8
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23:31
S6 E7 - Is Your PL Transformative or Transactional?
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...
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Season 6
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Episode 7
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16:38
S6 E6 - Why Confidence is a Misleading Measure of Capability
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 abiliti...
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Season 6
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Episode 6
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17:43
S6 E5 - How to Reclaim Your Professional Judgement
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 orthographi...
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Season 6
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Episode 5
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19:09
S6 E4 - Should We Bring Back the Read-Aloud?
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 interactiv...
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Season 6
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Episode 4
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19:36
S6 E3 - How Do We Prevent Progress Being Wiped Out In a Swing Of The Pendulum?
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...
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Season 6
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Episode 3
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17:11
S6 E2 - Simple Levers to Pull to Increase Your Impact
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 Deh...
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Season 6
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Episode 2
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13:31