9/19/2024

S3E3 Understanding and Applying the 4 Phases of Word Reading With Dr. Linnea Ehri and Dr. Katie Pace Miles

“An important goal in teaching beginning readers is enabling them to store written words in memory so they can read them accurately and automatically by sight.”

—Dr. Linnea Ehri

55 minutes

What is Alphabetic Phase Theory, and how can it help students develop their literacy skills?

Tune into Season 3, Episode 3 of All For Literacy for the answer, as host Dr. Liz Brooke is joined by literacy research powerhouses Dr. Linnea Ehri and Dr. Katie Pace Miles. A distinguished professor emeritus at City University of New York, Ehri focused her research on the reading acquisition process. Miles, who earned her doctorate under Ehri, shares her expertise in continuing the implementation and application of Alphabetic Phase Theory.

Ehri and Miles share which foundational skills are most critical when learning to read, helping educators focus their classroom activities to support literacy studies. The pair also covers the research behind these skills in an easy-to-digest way, what questions to ask during an assessment to understand a student’s alphabetic knowledge, and the appropriate subsequent interventions.

Get an inside look into orthographic mapping—what it is and how to translate the research into practical classroom activities; evidence-backed interventions; and actionable advice to use the science of reading to enrich the lives of their students.

Listen to Season 3, Episode 3 of All For Literacy for a masterclass in the phases of word reading from a pioneer in the field and a researcher carrying on the exploration and application.

Episode Breakdown

(00:56) – Dr. Linnea Ehri Career Inspiration

(04:22) – Dr. Katie Pace Miles Career Inspiration

(07:06) – Ehri and Pace Miles work together

(10:25) – Ehri’s mentorship

(18:32) – Alphabetic Phase Theory

(27:08) – Orthographic Mapping

(29:49) – Translating research into practical classroom activities

(32:05) – Evidence-backed interventions

(35:37) – The educator/researcher partnership

(43:15) – Using research to enrich student learning

About the Guests

Dr. Linnea Ehri is a distinguished Professor Emeritus at the educational psychology graduate center of the City University of New York. Her research and teaching are focused on the reading acquisition processes and have contributed to the understanding of psychological processes and sources of difficulty in learning to read and spell.

Dr. Katie Pace Miles is an assistant professor in early childhood education at Brooklyn College, City University of New York, the co-founder and principal investigator at CUNY Reading Corps, and the founder and president of The Reading Institute. She earned her doctorate under Dr. Linnea Ehri, and her research interests include orthographic mapping, high-frequency word learning, reading interventions, and evidence-backed literacy instruction.