I invite you to join me at the 13th Annual MTSU Literacy Research Conference—a gathering dedicated to advancing our shared understanding of literacy and the science that supports it.
Conference Date: Saturday, February 21, 2026
Registration: October 31, 2025 – January 31, 2026
Conference Rate: $60.00
Virtual option available for the keynote and select presentations
This conference offers a warm, collegial space for students, scholars, educators, and leaders to share their research and practices related to literacy. Experts from education, psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, and related fields come together each year to explore ideas, exchange findings, and bridge the gap between research and practice. I especially encourage those conducting original literacy research—and those committed to improving instructional leadership—to join the conversation.
As many of you know, my career has taken me through the roles of teacher, psychologist, researcher, graduate school faculty member, and author. My work includes LETRS Professional Development, the textbook Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers, the instructional program LANGUAGE! Live, and the word study program Spellography. I’ve been honored to receive recognition from the International Dyslexia Association, Learning Disabilities Australia, and The Reading League, but the work that matters most is the work we continue to do together to support educators and students.
My Keynote: Speech to Print: Reading’s Most Important (and Least Understood or Practiced) Idea
In my keynote, I will explore why literacy acquisition rests firmly on language foundations. Skilled reading and spelling require rapid, integrated processing of phonology, orthographic patterns, morphology, word origins, and syntax—all the linguistic features encoded in English print. Together, we’ll examine the contrast between a speech-to-print approach and the more traditional print-to-speech model, and why the former is more aligned with both the logic of the English language and how the brain learns it.
I look forward to sharing this time with you—learning from your insights, celebrating your research, and strengthening our collective understanding of effective literacy instruction.
I hope you’ll join me.
