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Outrage and polarisation have not been mandated
I heard on a podcast recently that there are two types of education consultants. Consultant 1: “I am right.” Consultant 2: “I am here to...
Emina McLean
Jun 22, 20246 min read
1,429 views
147 comments


Has the Science of Reading become a rampant thought-terminating cliché?
I was running a workshop last week when I was asked, “Is The Writing Revolution SoR?” Now, all this educator wanted from me was a yes or...
Emina McLean
Mar 2, 20244 min read
14,350 views
231 comments


Defining excellence and equity in early reading instruction
Over the weekend I presented at the Learning Difficulties Australia conference. I was honoured to be a joint recipient of the 2022 Mona...
Emina McLean
Oct 24, 20226 min read
2,405 views
93 comments


On balance
There has been a renewed focus on phonics assessment and instruction in Australia this year, particularly in the state of Victoria where...
Emina McLean
May 26, 20225 min read
9,920 views
71 comments


Sharing our progress: Writing
It was a pleasure to collaborate with Jeanette Breen on this blog post. Jeanette is a learning specialist and educator at Templestowe...
Emina McLean
Mar 25, 20228 min read
4,845 views
51 comments


Sharing our progress: 2-6 reading comprehension
I have decided to share some of our data sets across the next 12 months. These data sets will hopefully continue to show our ongoing...
Emina McLean
Mar 8, 20223 min read
4,582 views
55 comments


Designing an ambitious and rigorous primary English curriculum
Following on from Brad Nguyen’s recent presentation about setting up a knowledge-rich curriculum, I was fortunate to have the opportunity...
Emina McLean
Jan 20, 20221 min read
3,665 views
57 comments


The Response to Intervention (RtI) framework
Response to Intervention (RtI) is an instructional framework in which schools provide layered instruction/intervention as a core...
Emina McLean
Sep 23, 20211 min read
4,036 views
35 comments


Phonemic awareness instruction: What's the evidence?
What is phonemic awareness? Phonemic awareness is a component of phonological awareness. "Phonemic awareness refers to the ability to...
Emina McLean
Aug 3, 20216 min read
9,672 views
54 comments


Reading motivation
I receive a number of emails from educators that are about reading motivation. Many educators, particularly in secondary schools, report...
Emina McLean
Jun 29, 20218 min read
2,049 views
39 comments


From research to practice: What can it look like?
This week I presented the Learning Difficulties Australia Weekly Wednesday Webinar. Below you will find access to the recording as well...
Emina McLean
Jun 3, 20211 min read
6,657 views
21 comments


It's time to review our hurdle rates in literacy
I was re-reading some of Lemov's (2015) chapters on effective teaching techniques the other day. This time some things he wrote in a...
Emina McLean
Apr 13, 20214 min read
1,676 views
217 comments


Working the clock and "the literacy block"
The Victorian Government Schools Agreement details the workload for teachers. When working full-time, there is a maximum of 22.5 hours...
Emina McLean
Mar 28, 20216 min read
9,968 views
23 comments


Developing a literacy assessment schedule
I have had a lot of questions lately about the assessments we are using at our new primary school (Docklands Primary School) and more...
Emina McLean
Mar 19, 20217 min read
25,184 views
25 comments


Explicit vocabulary instruction across grades and subjects
I have written previously, but rather generally, about how to approach vocabulary instruction. I presented quite a few times last year on...
Emina McLean
Feb 26, 202118 min read
28,028 views
35 comments


Handwriting instruction: What's the evidence?
Everyone teaches handwriting, but like with other aspects of literacy, there is enormous variability in how educators go about it and how...
Emina McLean
Sep 25, 20209 min read
11,827 views
33 comments


Keep the balance, Sheryl, keep the balance.
[This is the sixth story in a series about the journeys educators have been on to change literacy practices in schools. This educator was...
Emina McLean
Sep 18, 20209 min read
2,195 views
37 comments


Knowledge is power
[This is the fifth story in a series about the journeys educators have been on to change literacy practices in schools. This educator,...
Emina McLean
Sep 17, 20204 min read
1,818 views
36 comments


This is personal
[This is the fourth story in a series about the journeys educators have been on to change literacy practices in schools. This educator,...
Emina McLean
Sep 14, 20206 min read
2,942 views
98 comments


My long journey towards the Science of Reading
[This is the third story in a series about the journeys educators have been on to change literacy practices in schools. This story is...
Emina McLean
Sep 12, 20204 min read
1,884 views
32 comments
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