Two-Year Anniversary!
Celebrating anniversaries includes both recognizing accomplishments and looking ahead. Over the past year, we have had the privilege to collaborate with global educators and scholars as we work towards the MLRC mission to advance educational outcomes for multilingual learners through innovative and socially just research and research–practice partnerships. We have expanded our team, engaged in global research, grown the School Network, built a thriving Speaker Series, and more!
Carrie's Blog
In January, Dr. Carrie Parker had the privilege of joining the dynamic leadership team at the Multilingual Learning Research Center (MLRC)—and what an exciting journey it’s been so far!
Over the past few months, we’ve been hard at work expanding MLRC’s reach and deepening our impact through collaborative research, innovative partnerships, and a shared commitment to multilingual learners around the world. It’s been inspiring to contribute alongside such a talented team, each bringing unique strengths and perspectives to the table.
Expanding Our Team
Our team grew by leaps and bounds this year. Dr. Carrie Parker joined as our new Co-Director, Sarah Ferrier as the MLRC School Network Coordinator, Allison Monday as Project Manager, and Bella Yang as our new Communications Intern.
Where in the world is the MLRC?
The MLRC team engaged with hundreds of educators and researchers while presenting at conferences all over the globe in 2025. Here is just a sample of some recent MLRC conference sessions:
Mariana Castro led a symposium at the 2025 AERA Conference in Denver, CO about research advancing equity in the science education research of multilingual learners, where she also presented a paper on the development and impact of pre-service teachers’ ability to engage with students’ ideas during science instruction. This paper is part of her line of research related to the integration of language and core teaching practice in the education of multilingual learners.
Carrie Parker led a workshop on The Strengthening the Educator Workforce for Multilingual Learners Tool at the MATSOL Conference in Framingham, Massachusetts. Attendees learned about the tool, which supports educators to develop pathways for, retention and ongoing professional learning of teachers of multilingual learners (MLs), including bilingual, ESL, and general educators.
Jon Nordmeyer presented Action Research: Igniting Teacher Leadership and Collective Efficacy at the ECIS Leadership Conference in Stuttgart, Germany. Leaders explored their school’s capacity to engage with and in educational research, and Jon shared insights from MLRC action research projects designed and implemented at international schools.
Esther Bettney Heidt presented Translanguaging through Students’ Eyes: Perspectives on Translanguaging Practices and Pedagogies at the International Symposium on Bilingualism in Spain. The study, conducted at an international school in Colombia, revealed while younger students embraced translanguaging pedagogies, older students resisted, viewing them as misaligned with their individual linguistic and academic goals. Key implications indicate a need to adapt translanguaging pedagogies to reflect students’ diverse linguistic practices and evolving identities.
Research
Over the last year, the MLRC research team focused on studying innovative approaches to supporting science teachers in working with multilingual learners. We explored the use of mixed-reality simulations in the preparation of future science teachers and the use of AI to support science teachers who may not share the language background of their students. Over the next year, we will continue this line of research through the use of technologies that leverage translingual practices 1) to support multilingual learners’ participation during science instruction and 2) to expand the support of early-career educators. We will also contribute to supporting emergent multilingual scholars through our MLRC Speaker Series. Finally, our research team will also be partnering with districts interested in building capacity on research approaches to improve their institutional teaching and learning practices through inquiry.
Speaker Series
The MLRC Speaker Series debuted in August 2024 with a mission to spotlight research on the teaching and learning of multilingual learners. In its inaugural year, the series reached more than 1,000 educators and researchers across the ten talks, drawing a diverse audience to a dynamic lineup of presentations by leading voices in multilingual education research. Throughout the year, the series featured a wide array of topics, including math education, literacy interventions, teacher development, policy and legal issues, assessment, and lived experiences of multilingual learners.
All sessions have been recorded and are available for viewing. The MLRC Speaker Series will continue in 2025 with a focus on empirical research while placing a special spotlight on the work of early career scholars.
School Network
As a research-practice partnership, the MLRC School Network continues to grow with 133 member schools across 60 countries, each committed to improving teaching and learning for multilingual students. The MLRC supports these schools through access, improvement, action and inquiry. This year, we built increased access to research in the Member Hub, developed the MLRC Program Review in order to help schools improve how they serve their multilingual learners, empowered educators to take action at their schools through the MLRC Research Symposia, and collaborated with researchers to create new knowledge and insights into teaching multilingual learners.
We are excited to continue building capacity through DIG: Dissemination and Implementation Group. This new initiative will support member schools as they take the next steps with their action research projects through implementing change at their school, writing about and publishing their capstone report, or presenting at conferences.
We are excited for our first peer-reviewed partner publication: “International School Teachers’ Language Ideologies: An Exploration through Methodological Pluralism” written by MLRC School Network Researcher Dr. Esther Bettney Heidt in collaboration with MLRC School Network Member, Dr. Samantha Olson-Wyman.
We’ve also expanded the research-based resources available to School Network Members, including downloadable professional development workshops in each of our key research topics; an expanded annotated bibliography to help make key research more accessible; and a deep dive into the international context. More resources coming this fall!
Global Action Research
The MLRC catalyzes and coaches action research for teams of educators around the world. Participants at each Research Symposium engage deeply in existing research, connect with global education scholars, inquire together about shared problems of practice, and discuss innovative strategies for serving multilingual learners. Over four months teams implement local action research plans, culminating in a capstone report.
During the 2024-2025 academic year, 176 educators across 59 teams attended one of the three Research Symposia. We are grateful to our host schools: Saigon South International School in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Marymount International School in Rome, Italy, and Asociacion Escuelas Lincoln in Buenos Aires, Argentina!
Through MLRC coaching, meetups and peer support, 22 teams completed Capstone reports. These changemakers are providing valuable leadership for their schools! The Capstones covered a wide range of action research; we provide three examples here, and you can find the full list in the Hub.
- Co-creating Bi-lingual Writing Booklets to Enhance Student Writing Skills and Motivation (Institut Florimont, Switzerland)
- One Size Doesn’t Fit All: How International Schools Navigate Dual EAL & LS Services (The International School Nido de Aguilas, Chile)
- Impact of Translanguaging Content Teachers on Student Performance (Canadian International School, India)
See the full list of Capstones in the Hub – and join us this coming year for one of our upcoming Research Symposia!
Panama City, Panama
November 15-16, 2025
Beijing, China
December 6-7, 2025
Malaga, Spain
January 17-18, 2026
Manila, Philippines
January 24-25, 2026
Featured Partners
Leysin American School is an international boarding school in French-speaking Switzerland serving around 300 students from nearly 50 countries (grades 7–12). As part of the MLRC School Network, LAS collaborates in socially‑just, multilingual education research, engaging in action research and knowledge-sharing across global member schools…
H-FARM International School is the leading educational institution of H-FARM, Europe’s premier innovation hub. Located on a 50-hectare campus along the Venetian Lagoon, the school offers a dynamic and future-focused learning environment that nurtures creativity, collaboration, and global citizenship…
