Science of Reading: The Podcast

Universal screening is one of the most powerful tools in a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)—yet too often, it's also one of the most underutilized. That's what CORE Learning's Senior Director of Learning and Development Carrie Thomas Beck, Ph.D., explores with host Susan Lambert, Ed.D., on this new episode of Science of Reading: The Podcast. Together, Carrie and Susan discuss what universal screening is and why it's essential to any MTSS; how to use screening data to form groups and drive targeted instruction; how screener data reveals both individual student risk and the health of your system at the grade, building, and district level; and what a structured data-review protocol looks like in practice.
Show notes:
Find more Science of Reading resources on scienceofreading.amplify.com.
Register for our upcoming Science of Reading program webinar series: Reading Comprehension in Action. 
Subscribe to Susan's new Science of Reading Substack.
Explore the NCII Academic Screening Tools Chart. 
Quotes:
"The other important question that universal screening data answers is: What is the health of your system?" —Carrie Thomas Beck
"If you're going to review data and not have action steps, there's really no point." —Carrie Thomas Beck
"If we're not serving a particular subgroup of students well, we really need to look at what we need to change with our instruction so that we can do a better job." —Carrie Thomas Beck
"Let's not admire data. Let's act on it." —Carrie Thomas Beck

What does it take to help every student in grades 5–8 access complex texts—without ever lowering the rigor? That’s the question at the heart of this special Science of Reading: The Podcast episode, with author and education consultant Mitchell Brookins, Ph.D. Mitchell joins host Susan Lambert, Ed.D., to discuss his new book, Scaffolding Complex Texts: How to Plan and Teach for Deeper Comprehension in Grades 5–8. Together, Mitchell and Susan also discuss the misconceptions about comprehension that keep students stuck at the surface level; why scaffolds should be deployed at the hardest—not the easiest—parts of a text; and why teachers need to become expert listeners to guide deeper comprehension.
Show notes:
Read Scaffolding Complex Texts: How to Plan and Teach for Deeper Comprehension in Grades 5–8. 
Listen to Mitchell’s first Science of Reading: The Podcast episode, Leading with the head and the heart: Enacting lasting literacy change.
Listen to Mitchell’s Beyond My Years’ episode, Cultivating critical thinkers in your classroom. 
Subscribe to Susan’s new Science of Reading Substack.
Check out our Comprehension Insights from Season 10 Youtube Playlist. 
Join our Science of Reading community Facebook group.
Quotes:
“Comprehension to me is not the who, what, when, where. It’s not the gist. It’s insight.” —Mitchell Brookins

“When you give students more, they do more.” —Mitchell Brookins
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction: Scaffolding complex texts, with Mitchell Brookins, Ph.D.
2:00 Mitchell’s background and journey
5:00 How Scaffolding Complex Texts came to be
10:00 Misconceptions about comprehension instruction
14:00 What educators need to understand about how students comprehend complex texts
19:00 What needs to change in classrooms
27:00 Making deep comprehension instruction consistent
34:00 Unintended consequences and cognitive flexibility
38:00 Closing thoughts: How writing the book transformed Mitchell
*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute

While Tier 1 instruction is the foundation of a successful Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), it is also the element we most often overlook. On this episode of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Sarah Brown, Ph.D., consultant and co-author of Effective Universal Instruction: An Action-Oriented Approach to Improving Tier 1, joins host Susan Lambert, Ed.D., to explore why this is and what it takes to give Tier 1 the attention it deserves. Together, Sarah and Susan also discuss common misconceptions about Tier 1; why a strong Tier 1 directly determines how targeted and intensive your interventions can be; and how to use data to assess whether your Tier 1 is truly working.
Show notes:
Download our free companion MTSS ebook! 
Learn more about building a sustainable, data-informed MTSS.
Read Effective Universal Instruction by Sarah Brown, Kim Gibbons, and Brad Niebling.
Read Routines for Reading Results by Sarah Brown
Learn more about System Impact Consulting.
Connect with Sarah Brown on LinkedIn.
Listen to Season 3 of Amplify’s Beyond My Years podcast.
Subscribe to Susan’s new Science of Reading Substack.
Join our Science of Reading community Facebook group.
Connect with Susan Lambert.
Quotes:
"Our labels don't define our students' skills and abilities. The quality and intensity of our instruction is really what matters." —Sarah Brown
"We are running ourselves ragged trying to provide intervention for too many students." —Sarah Brown
"Tier 1 instruction really deserves the same love and attention as your interventions and other tiers." —Sarah Brown
"MTSS is a framework, not a roadmap, which means it doesn't look the same in every school." —Sarah Brown
Timestamps*:
0:00 Introduction: Tier 1: The MTSS foundation, with Sarah Brown
3:00 Sarah Brown's background and path to MTSS
6:00 Defining Tier 1 instruction
10:00 What an effective Tier 1 looks like
14:00 Why a strong Tier 1 enables targeted intervention
17:00 Using data to assess your Tier 1
21:00 Common misconceptions about Tier 1
22:00 What Tier 1 intervention looks like
27:00 Common themes in Tier 1
38:00 Effective Universal Instruction and closing thoughts
*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute

What does it actually take to move a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) from concept to practice? That's what University of Florida's Fien Endowed Professor of Special Education and University of Florida Literacy Institute Assistant Director Matthew Burns, Ph.D., explores with host Susan Lambert, Ed.D., on this new episode of Science of Reading: The Podcast. Together, Matt and Susan also discuss the real difference between an MTSS and Response to Intervention (RTI), and why the two get conflated so often; why strong core instruction is the foundation upon which everything else depends; and three trouble spots that can derail an MTSS: data use, team meetings, and intervention matching.
Show notes:
Sign up for our Literacy Data and MTSS Week.
Learn more about the International MTSS Association and its Journal for MTSS.
Connect with Matthew Burns on LinkedIn.
Listen to Season 3 of Amplify’s Beyond My Years podcast.
Subscribe to Susan’s new Science of Reading Substack.
Join our Science of Reading community Facebook group.
Connect with Susan Lambert.
Quotes:
"I would argue a well-embedded MTSS should be almost invisible." —Matthew Burns
"Without good core instruction, nothing else matters." —Matthew Burns
Timestamps*:
2:00 Introduction: Putting an MTSS into practice, with Matthew Burns, Ph.D.
4:00 What an MTSS is, and clearing up confusion with RTI
9:00 Common pitfalls in MTSS implementation
12:00 What effective professional learning communities look like
17:00 The history of the MTSS and curriculum-based measurement
21:00 Awareness vs. true understanding of MTSS use
23:00 Why core instruction has to come first, and how to target intervention
30:00 The International MTSS Association
36:00 Integrating academic and behavior support
*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute

MTSS explores the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), from foundational concepts to practical implementation. To kick things off, Joan Schumann, Ph.D., founding executive director of the International MTSS Association, joins host Susan Lambert, Ed.D., to provide an overview of an MTSS—what it is, what it isn't, and its core elements. Together, Joan and Susan discuss the core beliefs that make or break an MTSS implementation, what a prevention-oriented mindset looks like in a school, and why early access to intervention is central to the MTSS framework. 
Show notes:
Sign up for our Literacy Data and MTSS Week.
Learn more about the International MTSS Association and its Journal for MTSS.
Connect with Joan Schumann on LinkedIn.
Subscribe to Season 3 of Amplify's Beyond My Years podcast.
Subscribe to Susan's new Science of Reading Substack.
Join our Science of Reading community Facebook group.
Connect with Susan Lambert.
Quotes:
"You cannot implement the [MTSS] framework if you don't believe all kids can learn." —Joan Schumann
"If we all start engaging in these small shifts and calls for change, it'll be just like the Science of Reading, only it'll be the science of learning." —Joan Schumann
"Don't underestimate the power of starting small, or raising a question in a meeting, or challenging a belief that you hear. I think it's through these small acts of courage that you can have a big impact."
Timestamps*:
0:00 Introduction: MTSS 101, with Joan Schumann, Ph.D.
4:00 Joan's background and journey in education
9:00 An overview of MTSS
10:00 The core belief at the heart of MTSS
17:00 MTSS as a prevention-oriented system
19:00 Rethinking school structure
25:00 Common MTSS misconceptions
28:00 How MTSS and special education relate
33:00 Breaking down the core elements of MTSS
36:00 MTSS beyond literacy
38:00 The International MTSS Association
46:00 Final thoughts
*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute