Webinar: US states' policies for literacy and professional development

What do educators know about public policies guiding teachers' understanding of literacy instruction?

Oct 28, 2025

The Division for Learning Disabilities (aka, TeachingLD.org) has offered a Webinar examining US states’ policies regarding professional development and literacy practices. The Webinar will feature discussion of a 2025 publication from Learning Disabilities Research & Practice by the authors of the article, Sarah Papineau, Emily B. Hardeman, and Elizabeth Zagata. (The abstract follows.)

It appears that the meeting will be mediated by Zoom. The session is slated for 31 October 2025 at 12:00 PM (Eastern US time). It looks to be free and open to the public, but registration seems required.

Here is the flyer from DLD (I couldn’t find it on the TeachingLD Web site, so I’m copying if from a mailing.)

The Council for Exceptional Children’s Division for Learning Disabilities presents How and What to Teach Students With Disabilities in Mathematics with Dr. Russell Gersten. In this presentation Dr. Gersten will discuss his recently published article in Learning Disabilities Research & Practice on (a) evidence-based techniques in mathematics and (b) issues raised by the NCTM/CEC position statement. Dr. Gersten will deliver a 20-minute presentation, followed by a 10-minute Q&A session to address questions and concerns. Register Here.

Here’s the abstract of the article and the citation for it:

Papineau, S., Hardeman, E. B., & Zagata, E. (2025). State of the states: Evidence-based literacy policies for inservice and preservice teachers. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 40(4), 185-190. https://doi.org/10.1177/09388982251362591

Reading is a complex process that requires a deep understanding of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension as outlined by the National Reading Panel report (NRP, 2000). Elementary teachers and other educators who support students struggling with literacy acquisition need a deep understanding of the reading process in order to address the needs of their learners, as well as to be able to deliberately teach the reading process (Castles et al., 2018; Hudson et al., 2021; Moats, 2020; Shanahan, 2020). There are two primary avenues for teachers to develop their knowledge of the literacy process: inservice training, such as professional development for teachers already in classrooms, and preservice teacher preparation programs, which prepare future teachers.

Please note: Neither SET nor I receive any compensation or quid pro quo for publicizing this event.

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