Learning Stewards

Critical Terms in Reading Science and Instruction – 1

Dr. Andrew Johnson is a Reading Specialist and a Distinguished Faculty Scholar and Professor of Literacy at Minnesota State University.  I, David Boulton, am a Learning Activist with Learning Stewards. Dr. Johnson and I have very different views about reading and the process of learning to read. We agreed to learn together and respectfully challenge … Read more

Exploring Differing Assumptions: Science and Reading Science

Dr. Andrew Johnson is a Reading Specialist and a Distinguished Faculty Scholar and Professor of Literacy at Minnesota State University.  I, David Boulton, am a Learning Activist with Learning Stewards. Dr. Johnson and I have very different views about reading and the process of learning to read. We agreed to learn together and respectfully challenge … Read more

Partnership Announcement: Story Preservation Initiative

Learning Stewards is delighted to announce our new partnership with the Story Preservation Initiative. The Story Preservation Initiative (SPI) records the personal narratives of high achievers in the arts, sciences, and humanities. (Think artists, astronauts, scientists, engineers, environmentalists … and more). They couple their audio recordings and transcripts with project-based lesson plans for use in … Read more

The Next (Big) Step of the Magic Ladder

Click on any word on this page to experience it yourself (keep clicking until the box turns green). Imagine an entirely new kind of instruction and support system for beginning and struggling readers. Rather than having to remember and apply abstractly ambiguous instructions, learners simply touch any word they stutter on and immediately receive decoding, pronunciation, … Read more

A NEW WAY TO LEARN TO READ OR IMPROVE READING – PART 2

This video demonstrates the Magic Ladder’s PQ App (A FREE Chrome Browser extension) that works on on millions of common education and reference resource sites (including #ReadWorks, #CommonLit, #Wikipedia, #ProjectGutenberg). The PQ App works on any word and every word of most websites and provides instantaneous word recognition support. It provides personally adaptive scaffolding for … Read more

Higher Vocabulary ~ Higher Intelligence ~ Higher Income = Reading Matters

Higher Vocabulary ~ Higher Intelligence ~ Higher Income = Reading Matters
It must be added that the differences in vocabulary here are not differences learned in oral conversation. After grade 4 vocabulary growth is largely driven through literacy not speech.  Because most of the difference in adult vocabulary is a result of reading, using vocabulary as a proxy for intelligence is an indirect way of pointing to the role of reading in intelligence.

Reading: The Brain’s Challenge: Processing Stutters – Processing Speed

This is the first in a series of posts that explores the brain processing issues underlying difficulties in learning to read. In this post we focus on ‘processing stutters’ and their relationship to ‘processing speed’. We also establish the ‘speed of language’ as a baseline for understanding the processing speed demands of reading.

Re: The Bilingual Brain Is Sharper and More Focused, Study Says

More great evidence for the vastly under appreciated role of learning in brain health and development – another example that not only do “I” learn, “I am learned” – we become who we learn to become.  Highly recommended reading. Wall Street Journal: 4-30-2012 The Bilingual Brain Is Sharper and More Focused, Study Says  

Re: Getting Our Kids Ready for the Competition

Re: Getting Our Kids Ready for the Competition – the Great Conversations and the 32,000,000 Missing Words! by Dick Jacobs Your piece creates a great framework for conversation but one point needs clarification: “Cognitive science tells us that if learning our reading fundamentals doesn’t start very early and the skills aren’t in place by age nine or ten, … Read more