A weekend in Rome... with the MLRC
There's a new kid on the block in international education, and they are doing research!
In January, I had the great pleasure of spending the weekend at Marymount International, at a research symposium hosted by the MLRC (Multilingual Learning Research Center), which is a part of the Wisconsin Centre for Education Research.
The mission of this new venture is to advance educational outcomes for multilingual learners through innovative and socially just research and research–practice partnerships.
I cannot express how delighted I was to hear about this new venture at the ECIS-MLIE conference in London last February. One of the biggest challenges when supporting international school development is the alarming lack of context-specific research that we can draw on to enhance our understanding and practice. The MLRC represents our best path to remedying this, with their mandate to support and disseminate research on and for international schools, with a specific focus on multilingual learners and learning.
The MLRC supports and disseminates research on and for international schools, with a specific focus on multilingual learners and learning
The MLRC School Network serves as a global research–practice partnership for schools committed to improving outcomes for multilingual learners. MLRC School Network members have opportunities to engage in dialogue and collaborative research to explore common problems of practice in teaching multilingual learners. This provides the foundation for inquiry both within schools and across schools.
A Weekend in Rome: Action Research in Action
So what did we get up to in Rome? Over the weekend, a group of keen educators learned about research, talked about research, and planned for research. Each participant (or group) focused on a key question they have about their own school, whether that was about students, teachers, programmes, practices, or other. Working from this question, they began developing an action research project that will be completed over the next few months.
I have been teaching students to do research for a very long time, and I can say that the buzz in the room and the engagement of the teachers was outstanding - and on a weekend! Research doesn't have to be scary; it can be a very personal way to explore your professional practice! It is also absolutely critical in international education to learn from and with other schools, and the MLRC offers us a platform to do just that.
Why Research Matters
This is why, despite being overly busy already, I've agreed to be an action research coach for the MLRC; it gives me an opportunity to support teachers in the type of research that will help us all improve our field. I'm so enjoying the conversations and email chains and the possibility of co-creating a body of research that will provide insight into how to better support the multilingual learners that fill our international schools.
