Dear List Subscribers:
 
I'm writing to let you know that the full conference schedule for the Meeting of the Minds II Symposium is now available at www.researchtopractice.org. This is a national adult education practitioner-researcher conference, the goal of which is to create dialogue between adult education researchers and adult education teachers and administrators, with the aim of enhancing literacy practice. The Symposium is scheduled for November 30 through December 2, 2006, at the Sheraton Grand Hotel, Sacramento, California.
 
Participating researchers are from the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), from the American Institutes for Research (AIR), as well as from various universities and non-profit organizations. The opening plenary session on Thurday morning will feature Mark Kutner from AIR, who will present results of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy and the Health Literacy Survey, and John Comings, who will provide an overview of what NCSALL has learned from 10 years of research in adult literacy. 
 
A plenary session on Friday afternoon will feature a discussion on "how research has influenced adult literacy education policy at the national and state levels." Hal Beder from Rutgers University will provide an overview of the topic and moderate this session. Panelists include Cheryl Keenan, Director, Division of Adult Education and Literacy, US Department of Eduation; Sandra Baxter, Director of the National Institute for Literacy; and three state-level administrators: Bob Bickerton from Massachusetts; Jean Scott from California; and Israle Mendoza from Washington state. 
 
The three-day schedule is structured to include six strands of six concurrent sessions each, for a total of 36 sessions. Each session consists of a presentation of research, followed by a brief discussion/reaction from two practitioners, followed by an activity that involves session attendees, in small groups, in brainstorming implications of the research for practice, policy, and further research. CALPRO will post the list of implications to the Symposium Web site following the Symposium. 
 
Deadline for registering for the Symposium is November 15, 2006. There is no on-site registration.
Deadline for registering for a hotel room at the Sheraton Grand (at the CA staterate of $84/night) is November 9, 2006. The Symposium Web site, www.researchtopractice.org, will take you to registration links for both the symposium and the hotel.
 
Plan to attend this Symposium, network with other practitioners and researchers, and consider implications of research for your delivery of adult literacy education! Hope to see you in Sacramento in November!!
 
-Mary Ann Corley, Ph.D.
CALPRO Director and Symposium Coordinator
American Institutes for Research