A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

September 18, 1998

Location
Room 100
80 F Street NW
Washington, DC 20208-7564

Members Present
Kenji Hakuta, Chair
James E. Bottoms
Jomills Braddock II
John Bruer
Ann Clark
Sharon Lynn Kagan
Robert Marley
Joyce Muhlestein
Alba Ortiz
Claire Pelton

Members Absent
Patricia Ann Baltz
Edmund Gordon
Glenda Lappan

Ex Officio Member Present
C. Kent McGuire

Designated Federal Official
Thelma Leenhouts

Board Staff Present
Eve M. Bither
Mary Grace Lucier

OERI Staff Present
Judith Anderson
Carol Chelemer
Jim Fox
Gil Garcia
Peirce Hammond
Susan Klein
Carole Lacampagne
Luna Levinson

Members of the Public Present
Diane August, August & Associates
Jim Greeno, NAE
Richard Hershman, NEKIA
Todd Jones, NEKIA
Mike Kane, AIR
Dianne Maranto, APA
William Morrill, Mathtech
Frederic Mosher, Carnegie
Gerald Sroufe, AERA
Gary Wegenke, Western Michigan University

Report of the Chair
Chairman Hakuta called the meeting to order at 9 a.m. He gave a short account of the full-day site visit made by five Board members to the five research institutes in OERI on Wednesday, September 16. Members had the opportunity to discuss with institute directors and staff their missions and work in progress and issues of particular significance.

The chair mentioned a recent conference he attended at Stanford University organized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on the subject of information communication technology, or ICT. He suggested the possibility of research into what information technology might add to a theory of knowledge or theory of learning. OECD is interested in studying the issue, and OERI and NSF have begun discussions on it.

The Executive Committee completed the evaluation of the executive director, and the summary letter of the evaluation was made available for members to read.

The next meeting of the National Academy of Education (NAE) panels working on the Board?s contract was to take place on October 26 and 27 in Denver, and members were invited to attend as observers.

Report of the Executive Director
Ms. Bither presented the fourth quarter budget, and reported that all the activities of the Board for the year would be paid for by the end of the fiscal year (September 30). There were as yet no anticipated obligations for the program account for FY 1999. Board committees will need to decide shortly what follow-up activities they would like to undertake.

The January 1999 meeting date was rescheduled, and will take place on January 14 and 15. Other matters discussed were a list of upcoming reports and publications sponsored by the Board and items of correspondence and articles of timely significance.

Other Matters
Chairman Hakuta asked for a vote of thanks to James P. Lucier, for designing and producing a document which profiled the Board members. Dr. Kagan offered the motion, Ms. Pelton offered a second. The chair called for a vote, which was unanimous in favor. The motion passed.

The chair asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the June 17 and 18 Board meeting. Dr. Ortiz proposed the motion. Dr. Bottoms offered a second. The chair called for a vote, which was unanimous in favor. The motion passed.

Report of the RD&D Committee
Dr. Bruer briefed the Board on two focus group discussions which took place in Washington on August 27. The morning session brought together representatives of federal research agencies to discuss the draft report (by William Morrill and commissioned by the Board) on the present and future RD&D system. The afternoon sessions presented an opportunity for representatives from other organizations to comment and offer guidance to the author.

Dr. Kagan thanked the author for his work to date and asked him to summarize the key themes covered in his revision. Mr. Morrill listed infrastructure, rigor, the centers and labs, the political process, learning communities, and matching mission and resources. He emphasized the contributions that educational research has made in the past to the field; the need to stress the scientific aspect; and the need to integrate strategy and priorities, and to expand on the concept of communication and reform. Further discussion ensued about the paper?s direction and conclusions, and a break was taken from 11:15 to 11:25.

Dr. Bruer then recapped the discussion and asked the members to consider the implications of the report?s recommendations for the Board?s future work and next steps. Among the proposals suggested was that of a meeting of the lab directors and center directors with members of the Board for purposes of background, and a determination of what issues the Board would like to influence in FY 2000 as opposed to FY 2001.

Presentation on Charter Schools
Judith Anderson, senior researcher at the Student Achievement Institute, reported to the Board on studies that are underway on charter schools, a fast-growing segment of public education. A Departmental team, including OERI personnel, has been assembled to work on charter school issues.

The meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m.

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September 17