Dr Katharine Barden: Knowledgeable, friendly, helpful
As a former linguistics researcher and most recently a secondary-school literacy coach, I’ve been fascinated by speech, language and learning for over 20 years. It’s been an exciting project to bring my research interests together in a practical way to help older children and teenagers with their literacy – and now I’m keen to share that knowledge through The Literacy Hub.
A background in research
I’ve always been fascinated by words. A love of the technical and analytical side of language, plus a strong interest in psychology, led me to study Linguistics at the University of Cambridge.
I specialised in phonetics, and went on to complete a PhD that drew on research from areas as diverse as acoustic and articulatory phonetics, speech perception, memory, the neuroscience of language, and language acquisition. The unifying factor behind it all was how people learn. Further postdoctoral research into speech perception followed at the University of Bristol, but then, in early 2013, it was time for a change…
Changing perspectives on reading
With young children, I focused on family life, with an emphasis on developing a love of reading in my children.
While volunteering at local primary and secondary schools, I became aware of the number of children who struggle with reading, and the huge impact this has on their ability to engage with learning. I began to research how to encourage reading, and to consider how this could fit in with a future career.
Secondary school: In at the
deep end!
In 2018, I started working as Literacy Coach at a local secondary school, keen to improve young people’s lives by helping them learn to read and write successfully. But it was hard. These students had so many different problems, and I didn’t have the assessment data that I needed to figure out exactly what to teach.
Plus I was frustrated by a lack of resources, and surprised how difficult it was to find teaching materials that were suitable for secondary students. I also realised that I needed to learn more about how to teach literacy, and that was the start of a journey towards evidence-based teaching.
Developing my knowledge of effective literacy teaching
I drew on my research background and began exploring the most effective ways to teach literacy to this age group. My school funded a specialist dyslexia teaching qualification, but I felt that this only scratched the surface of what I needed to know.
So I listened to podcasts, read books and academic papers, and talked to colleagues. All the time, I focused on developing assessments, resources and strategies that would keep my students engaged and help them to make progress, whatever their literacy needs.
For a more detailed perspective on what I learned, take a look at my blog post.
Creating LIfTT – A comprehensive intervention programme
And the result is LIfTT, the Literacy Intervention for Teens and Tweens.
Realising that I wanted to share these resources, I worked to create a comprehensive Teaching Manual. My goal was to enable a teacher or parent with no specialist literacy background to help secondary-age students improve their reading, spelling and writing skills.
Teaching literacy requires a carefully-planned programme and a teacher who thoroughly understands what they are teaching. So, when developing LIfTT, I set myself the challenge of bringing together the resources for students, alongside the information that teachers need to know.
To read a teacher’s experience using LIfTT, click here.
Giving teachers the information they need
Finding the most useful resources for teaching older learners wasn’t easy, so I’ve created this website, The Literacy Hub, helping educators to access the most suitable resources for them. To find out more, click on my searchable database of reviews, my blog, or take a look at the training I offer.
An advocate for school libraries
I’m also passionate about the role of school libraries in encouraging reading. Alongside teaching literacy, I was also managing the school library.
A fantastic colleague has now taken on the main role in running the library, but I still value the library as a hugely important part of developing reading at secondary school. I also think it’s invaluable as a nurturing space for those who need quiet and calm to get them through the busy school day.
So, that’s why on this website you may find the occasional blog post about libraries or advice on reading choices for teenagers!
Contact me
I’m always happy to have a chat about any aspect of literacy – especially if it relates to older children!
Drop me a line and I’d be happy to set up a call to talk through your challenges and ideas.