The Real Reason Teens Aren’t Reading (Hint: It’s Not the Phone)

Presented by Matt Bardin, Nationally Recognized Educational Leader, and Founder and CEO, Zinc Learning Labs

Sponsored by Zinc Learning Labs

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Adolescent disengagement is often attributed to phones, apathy, or low motivation. While those factors play a role, research suggests a deeper issue: our secondary students aren’t comprehending what they read.

In this edWebinar, Matt Bardin, an experienced secondary educator, examines how social-emotional development and adolescent brain research intersect with reading instruction. Viewers walk away with a research-aligned, fresh approach for motivating teen readers: explicit reading instruction, meaningful choice, structured discussion, and high expectations.

This recorded edWebinar is of interest to middle and high school teachers, librarians, ELA department chairs, and ELA administrators.

About the Presenter

Matt Bardin, a nationally recognized educational leader, founded Zinc Learning Labs in 2016 with a singular focus on achieving huge reading growth for secondary students. He started his career as a secondary teacher in New York City Public Schools and contributed to the founding of Teach For America. Through his work as a tutor with students worldwide, Matt developed critical reading and test prep strategies that help students raise test scores by building their love for reading and learning.

Learn more about earning a CE certificate and our accessibility features.

Join the Be a Literacy Hero community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.

Zinc Learning Labs is a science-backed reading skills accelerator for secondary schools that drives transformative reading growth. Zinc offers easy-to-implement, individualized, digital experiences backed by comprehensive reporting, empowering teachers to guide all students to reading success.