National Academy of Sciences Workshop on the Role of Language in School Learning: Implications for Closing the Achievement Gap October 15-16, 2009 Agenda Location: The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Mariposa Lily Room 2121 Sand Hill Road Menlo Park, CA Goals: To explore the state of knowledge about aspects of language development that are critical to learning in K-12 classrooms and that may contribute to observed achievement disparities; to explore the state of knowledge on approaches to instruction that help students develop language for academic achievement; to identify priorities for research and dissemination given the current state of knowledge. Guiding questions: What aspects of language development are critical for academic learning in K-12 classrooms? Why do these developments matter both in the early years of formal schooling (K-3) and for mastering specialized language- and literacy-intensive subject matter in the later elementary grades and beyond? What individual differences in language experiences and abilities do students bring to K-12 education? Do these differences help to explain observed disparities in school achievement? What do research findings suggest about how to intervene in pre-K and K-12 classrooms to develop aspects of language needed for school achievement? What is known about how to measure progress? What are the most urgent priorities for research, from basic and translational science to dissemination research? In particular, what still needs to be understood about: (1) aspects of language needed for learning academic subjects, (2) effects of language differences on achievement gaps, (3) instructional approaches or other interventions that develop essential language capacities for academic learning K-12 classrooms?
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2009
8:00 a.m.	Welcoming Remarks during working breakfast Kenji Hakuta (Committee Chair), Stanford University Bio Barbara Chow, Education Program Director, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Bio
8:30 a.m.	Panel 1: Vocabulary and Academic Language
	Moderator: Claude Goldenberg (Committee Member), Stanford University	Bio
	Presenters: Erika Hoff, Florida Atlantic University	Bio
	Mary Schleppegrell, University of Michigan	Bio
	Commissioned Papers:
	Hoff, E. (2009). Do vocabulary differences explain achievement gaps and can vocabulary-targeted interventions close them?	Paper
.	Schleppegrell, M. (2009). Language in academic subject areas and classroom instruction: What is academic language and how can we teach it?	Paper
	Respondents: Nonie Lesaux, Harvard University	Bio
	Aída Walqui, WestEd	Bio
	Open Discussion
10:30	Break
10:45	Panel 2: Pre-School Language Experiences and Interventions: Linkages to K-3 Learning and Achievement
	Moderator: Lynne Vernon-Feagans (Committee member)	Bio
	Presenters: David Dickinson, Vanderbilt University	Bio
	Carol Hammer, Temple University	Bio
	Commissioned Papers:
	Dickinson, D. & Freiberg, J. (2009). Environmental factors affecting language acquisition from birth to five: Implications for literacy development and intervention	Paper		Bio
	Hammer, C. (2009). Dual language learners’ early language development and academic outcomes	Paper
	Respondents: Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Temple University; Roberta Golinkoff, University of Delaware	Bio		Bio
	Mariela Páez, Boston College	Bio
	Jill de Villiers, Smith College	Bio
	Open Discussion
12:45	Working lunch and discussion on Panel 1 & 2 presentations
1:30	Panel 3: Explicit Instruction, Language Transfer, and Relations between Oral Language and Literacy
	Moderator: Fred Genesee (Committee member), McGill University	Bio
	Presenters: Robert Bayley, University of California, Davis	Bio
	John Rickford, Stanford University	Bio
	Aydin Durgunoğlu, University of Minnesota Duluth	Bio
	Commissioned Papers:
	Bayley, R. (2009). Explicit formal instruction in oral language: English language learners	Paper
	Rickford, J. & Wolfram, W. (2009). Explicit formal instruction in oral language as a second dialect	Paper		Bio
	Durgunoğlu, A. (2009). Effects of first language oral proficiency on second language (reading) comprehension	Paper
	Respondents: Guadalupe Valdés, Stanford University	Bio
	Susanna Dutro, E.L. Achieve	Bio
	Open Discussion
3:50	Break
4:00	Discussion of Themes from the Day’s Presentations Moderator: Kenji Hakuta (Committee Chair), Stanford University
	Open Discussion
5:00	Break
6:30	Working committee Dinner with invited guests at Trellis Restaurant, Menlo Park, and continued discussion on themes from the day’s panels.
9:30	Adjourn
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2009
8:30	Informal discussion on NRC workshop process during working breakfast.
9:00	Panel 4: Language Deficits and Differences: Past and Future
	Moderator: Jill de Villiers (Committee member), Smith College
	Presenters: William Labov, (Committee member), University of Pennsylvania	Bio
	Guadalupe Valdés, Stanford University
	Commissioned papers:
	Labov, W. & Hudley, A. (2009). Symbolic and structural effects of dialects and immigrant minority languages in explaining achievement gaps	Paper		Bio
	Valdés, G., MacSwan, J., & Alvarez, L. (2009) Deficits and differences: Perspectives on language and education	Paper		Bio
	Respondents:
	Robert Bayley, University of California, Davis
	Lisa Green, University of Massachusetts, Amherst	Bio
	Otto Santa Ana, University of California, Los Angeles	Bio
	Open Discussion
11:00	Break
11:15	Further Development of Papers in Light of Emergent Themes and Guiding Questions
	Moderator: Kenji Hakuta (Committee Chair), Stanford University
	Committee Member Respondents:
	Jill de Villiers, Smith College
	William Labov, University of Pennsylvania
	Claude Goldenberg, Stanford University
	Open Discussion
12:15	Working Lunch and continued discussion of Papers
1:15	Practical Steps to Advance Research and Dissemination
	Guiding Questions
	What research is needed to determine the role that particular language capacities play in academic learning, especially for certain subgroups that experience lower academic achievement? What instructional approaches or principles emerge from the research for supporting the development of language needed for academic achievement; which of these are ready to move into practice? What translational research is still needed to meet the needs of today’s students and classrooms? What syntheses could be undertaken to inform practice or a research agenda, including topics not covered in this workshop? What entities might play a role in these research funding, synthesis and dissemination efforts?
	Moderator: Kenji Hakuta (Committee Chair), Stanford University
	Committee Member Respondents:
	Donna Christian, Center for Applied Linguistics	Bio
	Fred Genesee, McGill University
	Lynne Vernon-Feagans, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
	Open Discussion
2:45	Summation and Closing Remarks
	Kenji Hakuta (Committee Chair), Stanford University
3:00	Adjourn