Interview with Diana Leddy and Judson Odell

March 23, 2018

In this episode, UnboundEd sits down with Judson Odell, CEO of Odell Education, and Diana Leddy, co-founder of the Vermont Writing Collaborative. They discuss how can we teach research differently and shift to deepening our students’ understanding through inquiry. Specifically, the group examines the impact of writing, research, and argumentation on students’ development as critical thinkers.

Diana Leddy has more than 30 years experience in the classroom and now works to help ELA instructors around the country develop standards-aligned curricula. Judson Odell is a former teacher and CEO and founder of Odell Education, an organization that develops literacy curricula that have been praised nationwide.

In this episode, the group discusses:

  • Why the standards are a shift toward appropriate expectations of literacy in a modern society.
  • How old models of research fail to support students in a world of search engines, which require students to assess information and know what questions to ask.
  • How to teach early elementary students how to access knowledge, how to make sense of it, and how to communicate about it.
  • Odell’s “productive curiosity” and its role in supporting students’ comprehension across texts.
  • Leddy’s explanation of the three research experiences students have and how educators can help make each experience successful.
  • How to intentionally build on students’ background knowledge and create a culture in which students share and process information collectively.

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Big Idea

“How can we teach research differently and shift to deepening our students’ understanding through inquiry?”

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