Rebecca Silverman

Rebecca D. Silverman is the Judy Koch Professor of Education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. She earned an Ed.D. in Human Development and Psychology (2005), Ed.M. in Language and Literacy (2001) from Harvard University, and B.A. in English (1998) from George Washington University. Starting as an elementary school teacher in New Orleans, she advanced to faculty positions at the University of Maryland's Department of Special Education—Assistant Professor (2006-2012), Associate Professor (2012-2018), and Director of the Language and Literacy Research Center (2014-2018)—before joining Stanford in 2018, with appointment to her endowed chair in 2024. She also directed Harvard's Jeanne Chall Reading Lab (2005-2006) and served as Fulbright Scholar at Yangon University of Education (2017-2018).

Her research focuses on early childhood and elementary language and literacy development, including vocabulary instruction, multimedia-enhanced learning, technology interventions, support for multilingual learners, and digital assessments. Leading the Language to Literacy Research Lab, she fosters Bay Area research-practice partnerships. Silverman teaches pre-service teachers, leads educator professional development, mentors doctoral students, and engages in international education. She serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Elementary School Journal, on editorial boards of Reading Research Quarterly and The Reading Teacher, and on boards for the International Literacy Association and Center for Literacy and Learning. She advises Sesame Workshop and PBS, contributes to California State Board of Education and IES working groups, and affiliates with Stanford's Accelerator for Learning and Center on Early Childhood. Select publications include “The Effects of Educational Technology Interventions on Literacy in Elementary School: A Meta-Analysis” (Review of Educational Research, 2024), “Beyond Decoding: A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Language Comprehension Interventions on K-5 Students' Language and Literacy Outcomes” (Reading Research Quarterly, 2020), and “Effects of Heterogeneous Versus Homogeneous Grouping of English Learners' Language and Literacy Development” (American Educational Research Journal, 2025). Honors comprise the Friends of Haas Award (2024) and GSE Student Guild Advising Award (2021).

Professional Email: rdsilver@stanford.edu