The Multilingual Learning Research Center (MLRC) is an interdisciplinary research center with the mission to advance educational outcomes for multilingual learners through innovative and socially just research and research-practitioner partnerships.
Our Focus
Current Research Projects
Preparing Science Teachers Through Mixed-Reality Simulations to Enhance the Access and Engagement of Multilingual Learners in Science Argumentation
Funded by the National Science Foundation
January 2024 – December 2026
This project focuses on creating, testing, and implementing mixed-simulations to improve the quality of 6–12 grade level science education for multilingual learners around scientific argumentation, which will help multilingual learners participate more broadly in STEM fields both in school and as adults. Mixed-reality simulations create authentic, immersive learning experiences that harness the best in artificial and human intelligence in the preparation of future teachers. We will develop a tool to guide feedback for teacher candidates on their facilitation of scientific argumentation with an emphasis on including multilingual learners in their classrooms.
Examining Research Activities within the Multilingual Learning Research Center (MLRC) School Network
July 2024 – June 2029
This study examines the engagement of international school educators in research activities within the MLRC School Network. The network is a global research-practice partnership (RPP) that supports research in and with international schools to improve outcomes for multilingual learners. Although RPPs are gaining attention for their potential to bridge the gap between educational research and practice (Coburn et al., 2021), further research is needed to explore the opportunities, challenges, and impacts of teachers’ participation in RPPs. Additionally, this study contributes to the field by studying a global RPP, where most previous RPP research has concentrated on U.S. or other nationally bound RPP contexts.
Learn more about research activities within the MLRC School Network
Publications
- Zoeller, E., & Castro, M. (2025). “If we could look at kids as a whole”: Teachers negotiating science of reading approaches with multilingual learners. NABE Journal of Research and Practice, 1–23.
- Bettney Heidt, E. (2023). Translanguaging Pedagogies as a Tool to Decolonize Multilingual Education in International Schools. In Zaidi, R., Boz., U. & Moreau, E. Transcultural Pedagogies for Multilingual Classrooms: Responding to Changing Realities in Theory and Practice. Multilingual Matters.
- Bettney Heidt, E. & Nordmeyer, J. (2023). Shifting Linguistic Landscapes Within the Context of International Schools. In M. Barker, R. Hansen and L. Hammer, Handbook of Research on Critical Issues and Global Trends in International Education. IGI Global Publishing.
- Bettney Heidt, E. (2023). A Critical Examination of Language Ideologies and Policies in an International School in Colombia. Teachers College Record.
- Bettney Heidt, E. & Castano Rodriguez , C. (2023). Decolonizing an English as an Additional Language Curriculum: Addressing Cultural Violence in a Colombian School. In C. Carter and R.K. Dhungana, Educating for Peace through Countering Violence Strategies in Curriculum and Instruction. Taylor & Francis.
- Nordmeyer, J. & Bettney Heidt, E. (2023). WIDA in the World: Leveraging a Global Network to Serve Multilingual Learners in K-12 Schools. In E. Ahn, Wisconsin in the World: Internationalization at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Information Age Publishing.
- Nordmeyer, J. (2023). From Testing to Teaching: Equity for Multilingual Learners in International Schools. Teachers College Record.
- Prasad, G. & Bettney Heidt, E. (2023). Be (com) ing multilingual listeners: preparing (monolingual) teacher candidates to work with multilingual learners in mainstream classrooms, Language Awareness, 1-21.
- Bettney Heidt, E. (2022). “Speak English—don’t be lazy!”: Exploring decolonial approaches to multilingual education through a case study of an international school in Colombia, [Doctoral dissertation, University of Wisconsin–Madison]. ResearchGate.
- Nordmeyer, J. & Bettney Heidt, E. (2022). Equity for multilingual learners: A global network response to the pandemic. Current Issues in Comparative Education, 24(2), 119–122.
- Bettney Heidt, E. (2021). Denationalized or pluricultural: A case study exploring the negotiation of students’ national Identities in a bilingual school. Journal of Language, Identity, & Education, 20(4), 271–284.
- Bettney Heidt, E. & Nordmeyer, J. (2021). Glocal network shifts: Exploring language policies and practices in international schools. Global Education Review, 8(2).
- Nordmeyer, J. & Bettney Heidt, E. (2020). A global community of practice: Teaching multilingual learners online. International Schools Journal.
- Castro, M. & Romero Johnson, S. (2020). Advancing equity in dual language programs: A guide for leaders. Velázquez Press.
- Castro, M. (2018). Contesting language policies and practices in multilingual American classrooms. In M. Djuraeva & F. Tochon (Eds.), Language policy or the politics of language: Re-imagining the role of language in a neoliberal society. Deep University Press.