Behind the Scenes: How Teaching Lab Supports Multilingual Learners

What You’ll See in This Webinar

Instead of a typical tutorial or product demo, this webinar offers something different: a behind-the-scenes look at how Teaching Lab actually works with schools to support multilingual learners.

In this conversation, Senior Director Molly Branson Thayer and Senior Program Manager Michele Morenz discuss a real case study with a dual language school in Southern California, showing:

• How Teaching Lab conducts implementation audits and learning walks
• The data collection process that helps identify where to start
• How they help schools strengthen tier one instruction with clear learning targets
• Why building cohesive assessment systems matters

The Story of Moving “With Purpose”

A key insight from the webinar comes from Michele Morenz: “You have to move with purpose and you can’t expect teachers just to get better or do more or try harder because they’re already working really hard.”

This philosophy drives how Teaching Lab approaches multilingual literacy instruction — not through random interventions, but through purposeful, data-driven steps that build on what’s already working.

How This Applies to Your School

While the webinar follows one specific school’s journey, the process and principles apply broadly:

For K-2nd Grade Teachers:

• See how to strengthen tier one instruction using data you already have
• Understand the importance of clear learning targets
• Learn how to implement curriculum with fidelity while supporting multilingual learners

For School and District Leaders:

• Discover how to use implementation audits to assess current practices
• Build cohesive assessment systems that track skills in all languages
• Create professional learning that focuses on what matters most

The Tools Behind the Work

Throughout the webinar, you’ll see how Teaching Lab uses the Multilingual Learner Action Guide for Literacy — the framework that guides their consulting work with schools.

While the guide itself is freely available, this webinar shows you how experienced practitioners apply it in real-world settings.

Watch and Learn

The webinar reveals the actual process of educational change: messy, data-driven, and deeply collaborative. By the end, you’ll understand not just Teaching Lab’s methodology, but also see practical applications of the Multilingual Learner Action Guide that can inform your own work.

Ready to see how it works in practice? Watch the webinar above, then explore the Multilingual Learner Action Guide to see how you can apply these principles in your own context. If you want to get research-based strategies and updates to support multilingual learners to your inbox, join our multilingual learning community today.