National Learning Coalition

What is the National Learning Coalition? 

 In order to facilitate broader impact through:
  • improved collaboration,
  • sharing of resources, and
  • expanded research opportunities,

a group of scholars across the nation are coming together to form a National Learning Coalition. ICMEE, the International Coalition for Multilingual Education and Equity, is helping to launch it. 

ICMEE National Learning Coalition Goals and Objectives

Overarching Goal: To expand the impact and reach of our individual work on multilingual education and equity through pooling and sharing resources and ideas, collaboratively learning and advocating, as well as developing and engaging in co-constructed national level research.

Objective #1. Share resources and ideas to support the development of strong pre- and in-service teachers of multilingual learners across institutions and states. We are doing this by:

  • Creating a resource bank for members of the learning coalition to access to support their work in developing strong pre- and in-service teachers of multilingual learners.
  • Creating policies and practices for contributing to the resource bank as well as accessing resources from it (for coalition members and others).
  • Collaborating across institutions to co-create and disseminate additional resources to support the development of strong pre- and in-service teachers of multilingual learners.
  • Launching a new open-access academic journal, Teaching Multilingual Learners, focused on disseminating research and practical tools for teaching multilingual learners well.
Objective #2. Engage in national level research regarding the development of quality pre- and in-service teachers of multilingual learners. We are doing this by:
  • Creating a national level database with collaboratively agreed upon data related to pre- and in-service teachers of multilingual learners.
  • Creating policies and practices for contributing to the database as well as accessing data from it (for coalition members and others).
  • Analyzing data and disseminate results from research conducted with data from our national databases. This work will support the launch of Teaching Multilingual Learners.
Objective #3. Improve equity for multilingual students, families, and their teachers through our collaborative learning and advocacy. We are doing this by:
  • Learning together through collaborative workshops and regular meetings to deepen our abilities and commitments to equity and advocacy both locally and nationally for multilingual students and families as well as their teachers.
  • Disseminate learning products to assist others in improving equity through important local and national advocacy for multilingual students, families and their teachers. Some of this will be accomplished through Teaching Multilingual Learners and other methods of dissemination.
National Learning Coalition Members

Kara Viesca - University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Associate Professor 

Jessica Mitchell-McCollough - University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Project Coordinator ICMEE 

Laura May - Georgia State University, Associate Professor 

Chris Chang-Bacon - University of Virginia, Assistant Professor 

Jessica Masterson - Washington State University Vancouver, Assistant Professor

Jen Stacy - California State University Dominguez Hills, Assistant Professor

Verónica E. Valdez - University of Utah, Associate Professor

Diep Nguyen - University of Madison - Wisconsin, WIDA Professional Learning Director 

Katie Brooks - Butler University, Professor

Lisa Dorner - University of Missouri - Columbia, Associate Professor

Annela Teemant - Indiana University Purdue University - Indianapolis, Professor