Q&A: Leading Literacy Through Podcasting

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Leslie Zoroya and Mara Shinn Smith are literacy leaders in the Division of Curriculum and Instructional Services for the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) with a mutual dedication to supporting reading and language arts programs. Together, they are constantly looking for ways to increase student achievement in literacy and provide better information access for the multiple districts that make up Los Angeles County. 

As podcast listeners who also helped bring podcast creation to classrooms using tools like Soundtrap, Leslie and Mara recognize that podcasts are a valuable medium to widely share stories and information that enlighten, entertain, and open minds. During the pandemic, they put these ideas into practice in a new way by launching the Leading Literacy podcast, which they co-host. Through Leading Literacy, they share conversations with experts along with additional insights into literacy research and advice on practice. They see storytelling as a powerful medium and podcasting the perfect vehicle to expand the literacy stories of LA County and beyond. 

Nearly 20 episodes in, the podcast is off to a great start. We caught up with Leslie and Mara to hear about the process they’ve gone through in creating Leading Literacy and how the content can support educators across the U.S. Read more in the Q&A below:

edCircuit: You got an introduction to podcasting by helping teachers implement student podcasting projects in the classroom. What does this program look like in your county? 

Leslie and Mara: As the Reading Language Arts Unit at Los Angeles County Office of Education, we support educators in all 81 school districts in Los Angeles. We were interested in creating a podcast that could serve as a vehicle for accessing quality literacy experts and practices. It has been amazing!  We’ve been able to connect our teachers with some of the leading specialists in the country with respect to reading, writing, English language development (ELD), and critical media literacy, among other things.

We also wanted teachers to understand how they can use podcasting in their classrooms. Because podcasting involves all literacy domains (reading, writing, listening, speaking), it’s a great way to synthesize and demonstrate learning. 

edCircuit: You seem to have organically evolved into hosting your own podcast. What motivated you to get started? Were there strategies from student podcasting that you were able to carry into the process of producing Leading Literacy?

Leslie and Mara: As avid listeners of podcasts, we were intrigued with how we could utilize podcasting in our own setting as a vehicle to provide educators with engaging, motivating, and substantive content. Once we learned how easy it was to produce podcasts in Soundtrap, we were off and running!  Surprisingly, and likely due to the pandemic, we were able to interview literacy experts that otherwise might have been unavailable. So this confluence of factors really enabled us to jump right in and create some quality podcasts right from the get-go.

edCircuit: What has been the most fulfilling part of hosting your podcast? What’s been most surprising?

Leslie and Mara: The most fulfilling part has been having personalized and informal conversations with experts who are personable, knowledgeable, and honestly, fun! We have really enjoyed just the conversational aspect of it. Plus, we feel like this modality, because it is informal, allows listeners to feel like they are part of the conversation―and yet, learn new ideas and strategies.

When you are reading a lot of researchers’ written work, it can feel remote and formal. Podcasting allows for informal conveyance of the same information but in a friendly and practical way. The ability to ask questions about the work is an added bonus. It’s a two-way conversation instead of a one-way.

The most surprising thing has been that all of the experts we’ve had conversations with are easy to talk to and down-to-earth practitioners. They have the same passion as we do and getting to talk live about that is really exciting.

edCircuit: What are some of the most interesting things you’ve learned from the guests you’ve interviewed on Leading Literacy?

Leslie and Mara: There are so many surprises but what stays with us is the multi-dimensional aspect of all of our guests. We tend to view experts through one lens and being able to have these conversations allows listeners to experience the many facets of our guests’ personalities, lives, and work.

One example of this is in our interview with the Young Adult (YA) author, Francisco Stork. He did not become a writer until later in life after a career as a lawyer. This was so fascinating and a great example of how anyone can pursue a literacy passion at any point in their life.

edCircuit: If a new listener wants to check out the podcast, are there 1-2 episodes you’d recommend they start with?

Leslie and Mara: We’re a little biased and love all of them for different reasons, but we’d recommend episode 7 with UCLA’s Dr. Jeff Share, who is an expert in critical media literacy. We know that navigating through the vast realm of information on the internet is daunting (and dangerous!) for students and Dr. Share’s practical advice for teachers in how to instruct students in dealing with misinformation, is crucial.

Another episode that we loved is Episode 11: Teacher Roundtable. We gathered a group of teachers to talk about their experiences during the pandemic and it was amazing! Their focus on the positive aspects of really getting to know their students and families was inspiring.

But, listen to them all! Each one is uniquely informative and fun!

Leading Literacy

About Leslie Zoroya & Mara Shinn Smith

Leslie Zoroya is a Coordinator III for Reading/Language Arts in the Division of Curriculum and Instructional Services for the Los Angeles County Office of Education. Leslie serves as a member of the CA State Curriculum and Instruction Steering Committee subcommittee for Language Arts, was the lead author of the 2008 Reading/Language Arts Adoption Toolkit, and has lead many Distinguished Schools, Gold Ribbon and Program Quality Review teams. Leslie was selected by the CDE to be a Content Review Expert for the 2015 English Language Arts/English Language Development Primary Adoption.

She also spent five years working on a special literacy project in the LACOE juvenile court schools, implementing reading intervention programs at 17 probation camps and starting dorm, school and classroom libraries for students. She wrote curriculum, coached teachers and monitored three new literacy-based programs in the division. Follow Leslie and the Leading Literacy podcast on Twitter @ReadingLA4LA

Mara Shinn Smith is a Senior Program Specialist in the Division of Curriculum and Instructional Services at the Los Angeles County Office of Education. She has over 20 years of experience as a Reading Intervention Specialist and classroom teacher. Mara has served as a literacy leader and maximized instructional capacity through professional development focused on foundational reading skills. Follow Mara and the Leading Literacy podcast on Twitter @ReadingLA4LA

Further Reading

  1. edCircuit – Podcasting Brings Authentic Voice to Ethnic Studies
  2. Soundtrap EDU Blog – Unsung Songwriting Competition Amplifies the Voices of Youth Justice
  3. Education Week – How a Bathroom Log Helped One Middle School Understand Their Literacy Issues

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  • EdCircuit Staff

    edCircuit is a mission-based organization entirely focused on the K-20 EdTech Industry and emPowering the voices that can provide guidance and expertise in facilitating the appropriate usage of digital technology in education. Our goal is to elevate the voices of today’s innovative thought leaders and edtech experts. Subscribe to receive notifications in your inbox

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