Coverage of reading and reading instruction in initial teacher education is highly contested, with the "reading wars" representing decades of debate concerning approaches that should be promoted to teachers-in-training. Empirical evidence strongly endorses explicit and systematic teaching of code-based skills as a starting point, together with strong coverage of vocabulary, syntax, fluency, comprehension, and background knowledge. However, most faculties of education in Australia and other English-speaking industrialised nations have persisted in promoting "balanced literacy" and postmodern constructs, such as "multiple literacies". We describe the development, delivery, and evaluation of three online short-course programmes for primary and secondary teachers on the science of language and reading and report on feedback from a sample of 945 participants. Quantitative and qualitative data show that participants (the largest subgroup being teachers) attach a high value to this knowledge and its practical applications. Implications for initial teacher education, education policy-makers, and school leaders are considered.