22 Recommendations for 2022- Part 3: The Webinars

 I kicked of the year by recommending 6 books that I think are worthy of reading.
In my last post I suggested 5 podcasts worth listening to. If you just listened to the episodes I referred to, then you will have heard over 32 hours of quality content!

Today's suggestions come in at a more manageable 5 hours (or a bit more depending on how many rabbit holes you follow).
It seems that a positive side effect of the pandemic is the proliferation of easily accessible webinars. While part of me yearns for gathering with my peers to hear from knowledgeable others, I recognise that I have benefited enormously from being able to hear from experts from the comfort of my own home. The webinars I have listed are relatively freely available, demonstrating that educators are incredibly generous with their time and knowledge. Several of them are courtesy of Think Forward Educators. This is a community of teachers, school leaders, specialists, parents and researchers who are dedicated to ensuring every child is able to succeed. You can join this community free here. 
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Enjoy recommendations 12 through 16: the webinars.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

12. Re-thinking Guided Reading by Stephanie Le Lievre & Natalie Campbell
I am kicking off today with a webinar that literally changed my practice. In Re-thinking Guided Reading, Stephanie Le Lievre and Natalie Campbell explore why we should reconsider the prominence of Guided Reading in the classroom. They provide practical tips in how teachers can shift their practice by embracing more effective strategies. Given that this duo is part of the team behind the Reading Science in School Facebook group, it shouldn't come as a surprise that their advice is pragmatic. In researching this post, I discovered that Stephanie has a blog where she outlines some of the ideas in this webinar. She also has a webinar on A Knowledge-based Comprehension Model (via Read Ballarat) and another on Syntax (via Think Forward Educators).

13. From Decoding to Automaticity- The Missing Link by The Reading Ape
Have you ever woken up at 2am to listen to an ape lecture about how we learn to read? I have and the experience was as delightful as it was strange.
The enigmatic presence of The Reading Ape conveyed fascinating information about orthographic mapping and the importance of fluency in this event presented by STEP Ahead Training School Hub. The Reading Ape has a way of making highly intellectual material accessible either through their tweets or their blog.

14. Building a Coherent Curriculum by Reid Smith
It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day busyness of being in a school. It is important that we find time to carefully consider what we actually teach. In this webinar for Think Forward Educators, Reid Smith encourages us to be ambitious with our curricula. He outlines the case for a coherent, knowledge-rich curriculum and then explains why schools should strive for low-variance within their curriculum. Reid then expands on how you can construct a knowledge-rich unit and build a curriculum map. Rob Marchetto posted a useful summary on his blog.
Reid presents really clear arguments for a knowledge-rich curriculum. Having deliberately explored this world over the last year, I have seen the benefits to my students as gain knowledge and learn so much about our world. 

15. Getting Started with a Knowledge-Rich Curriculum by Brad Nguyen
This webinar builds on Reid's by elaborating on how to begin implementing a knowledge-rich curriculum. Brad is a learning specialist and classroom teacher at a primary school that has just completed its first year of operation. This webinar reiterates what a knowledge-rich curriculum is, before diving into how Brad's school started on their journey of implementation. Focusing on the Humanities, Brad gives particular attention to the successes and is open about the challenges his school has faced (while providing tips on how to avoid/minimise these). Brad has a wonderful blog where he provides practical advice about teaching.
This also seems like a good time to mention The Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler. This book outlines the need for a knowledge-rich curriculum and includes observations of two contrasting classrooms.

16. Designing an Ambitious and Rigorous Primary English Curriculum by Emina McLean
In this companion piece to Brad's, Emina McLean explains how their school established their English curriculum in its first year. She challenges us to be ambitious and rigorous, and considers how we can minimise our workload by leaning on the expertise of others. Emina defines the difference between literacy and English, and argues that an integrated approach reaps greater benefits than an isolated approach.
Emina McLean has a fantastic blog where she condenses research into pragmatic advice. She also has presented for Read Ballarat on vocabulary instruction.