Teaching Literacy Podcast

Jake Downs

Booking Overview

This is an education interview show focused on translating literacy research into classroom practice, with external guests typically consisting of university researchers and education research teams. Credible pitches include reading scientists, literacy researchers, curriculum and instruction specialists, and school-improvement experts with published research or evidence-based implementation experience; booking difficulty is medium because guests generally need strong subject-matter credentials but are accessible professional experts rather than major public figures.

Metrics

Episodes: 93

Frequency: Irregular

Rating: 4.9/5.0

Estimated listeners: 1k-10k

Gender skew: Neutral

Location: USA

Contact Information

Publicly listed emails

teachingliteracypodcast@gmail.com

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Host

Jake Downs - Host focused on bridging literacy research and classroom practice.

Booking Intelligence

Booking Requirements

medium

Typical Credentials:

Researchers, university faculty, and education professionals with published literacy or reading research, evidence-based instructional expertise, or documented work in curriculum and school improvement.

Required Achievements:

Published peer-reviewed research, Authorship of education research briefs or studies, Research or implementation experience with literacy instruction and reading comprehension

Recent Guest Discussions

John Strong - Vocabulary, Multisyllabic Word Reading, Decoding, Morphology, And Upper-elementary Literacy Instruction.

Laura Tortorelli - Vocabulary, Multisyllabic Word Reading, Decoding, Morphology, And Upper-elementary Literacy Instruction.

Amanda Shimizu - Early Childhood Stories, Preschool Read-alouds, Video Design, And Instructional Quality On Youtube.

Sara Rutherford-Quach - High-quality Instructional Materials, Robust Reading Comprehension, Classroom Observation Findings, And Instructional Practices.

Anna Jennerjohn - High-quality Instructional Materials, Robust Reading Comprehension, Classroom Observation Findings, And Instructional Practices.

Recent Topics

Literacy, Reading, Education, Comprehension, Phonics

Episodes

Here's the recent few episodes on

Teaching Literacy Podcast

E78|Doing RTI vs. Knowing RTI: What Actually Builds Teacher Confidence with Dr. Willa Van Dijk

September 21, 2026

In Episode 78 of the Teaching Literacy Podcast, host Jake Downs sits down with Dr. Willa Van Dyke from Utah State University to unpack a recent study published in Reading & Writing Quarterly exploring how schoolwide systems impact teachers' confidence in data-based decision-making. Drawing on survey data from over 1,000 elementary school teachers across 63 schools and 12 states, they discuss the surprising finding that a principal's ability to articulate their school's RTI model has no si...

E77|Long Words, Hard Texts; Scaffolding Upper Elementary Reading with Dr. Jake Downs

August 20, 2026

In Episode 77 of the Teaching Literacy Podcast, guest host Dr. Laura Tortorelli sits down with Dr. Jake Downs to unpack a recent grade 3 intervention study published in Reading Research Quarterly with co-authors Freddy Hiebert, Kristin Conradi Smith, and Katie Martz. Together, they explore the demands of reading long, complex words and a straightforward blending routine for supporting multisyllabic word reading. They also discuss the need for supporting accuracy and automaticity in complex te...

Recap from the Society from the Scientific Study of Reading Conference 2026 with Lori Sappington and Dr. Blythe Anderson

August 10, 2026

It’s a special roundtable on the Teaching Literacy Podcast! Host Dr. Jake Downs, Lori Southington, and Blythe Anderson record live from the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR) conference in Rotterdam to bridge the gap between emerging research and classroom practice. The trio unpacks key studies on interactive read-alouds and morphology instruction, highlighting how teachers can move past superficial vocabulary “mentioning” to foster deep, active meaning-makin...

Publicly listed emails

teachingliteracypodcast@gmail.com

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