Featured educators reimagine professional development

By Hannah Haynes

At the 2025 WIDA Annual Conference, one in-person session — Learning Labs: Listening to Students to Transform Instructional Practice — is rethinking how to engage in professional development by flipping the traditional process on its head and putting students’ voices, teacher collaboration and real-time learning at the center.

Presented by a powerhouse team of experienced educators — Nicole Shimizu, Stevie Norman, Sarah Coddington and Thad Williams — this session is a deep dive into Learning Labs, a dynamic and impactful approach to teacher learning rooted in practice, student voice and participant choice.

These educators have decades of combined experience in multilingual education. They know what works — and what doesn’t — when it comes to meaningful, lasting professional development. After growing frustrated with the limitations of one-size-fits-all professional development sessions, they created Learning Labs to give teachers the chance to collaborate, take risks, get real-time feedback and, most importantly, truly listen to students.

What Is a Learning Lab?

In a Learning Lab, educators start the day with a shared instructional focus and strategy. Then, they co-plan and teach a mini lesson with that strategy. Participants observe one another, collect data through student talk and then collaboratively reflect and revise their lesson plans. It’s a full cycle of professional learning in one day!

“The approach is all about de-privatizing practice, building a culture of trust, and shifting the way educators see their students and themselves,” Thad said. “It’s such a transformative experience that the model has spread to multiple schools across districts.”

In the presenters’ experience, educators often leave professional development without ever applying what they’ve learned.  

“Learning Labs are different,” Nicole explained. “They are embedded in your job, interactive and immediately actionable.”  

Participant choice is a key part of the experience. Educators use student talk data to co-decide on scaffolds, structures and partnerships — modeling the kind of learner agency they want to see in their students.

“Sometimes educators forget the power of simply listening,” Stevie said. “In a Learning Lab, we slow down and tune in to what students are saying. That shift — hearing their thinking, not just their words — can completely change the way we teach."

What Can I Expect From the Session?

At #WIDA2025, you’ll experience a Learning Lab for yourself. You’ll practice observing and transcribing student talk, using a custom “notecatcher” tool designed to sharpen your language analysis skills. You’ll reflect with peers, dig into authentic student data and leave with strategies you can use immediately.

You’ll also see how this model ties into the WIDA ELD Standards Framework, 2020 Edition, providing a clear, structured way to plan, teach, reflect and refine instruction while staying focused on the strengths of multilingual learners (MLs).  

The Learning Lab model is especially effective when working with MLs. It’s designed to amplify student voice, increase oral language production and position MLs as leaders in their learning.

“We’re not just scaffolding content,” Sarah said. “We’re also building student confidence, independence and engagement — especially in speaking and writing.”

Why You Shouldn’t Miss This Session

This session is about transforming your teaching practices. Whether you’re an instructional coach, classroom teacher, administrator or support staff, you’ll leave with a new lens on your practice and actionable tools you can bring back to your school or district.

Plus, it’s a perfect example of what makes the WIDA Annual Conference powerful: educators sharing what works, grounded in real classrooms, with real students and real results.

Register for #WIDA2025 today, and join Nicole, Stevie, Sarah and Thad for a session that promises to challenge, inspire and connect with a teaching practice that works.

This session is just one of many teacher-led sessions designed to elevate your teaching practices. Explore the full schedule on the WIDA Annual Conference website.