SoR Classroom Recs: Wyoming Science of Teaching and Learning Conference

SoR Classroom Recs is an occasional series where we recommend resources that you probably don’t know about (yet). Today, we want to recommend the The Wyoming Science of Teaching and Learning Conference.

TL;DR: The first ever The Wyoming Science of Teaching and Learning Collaborative (WSTLC) is a model for education conferences everywhere: teacher-led, instructionally-focused, and accessible cost. That’s how you make a real impact. If you can’t support the work by attending, consider entering this raffle for a one-year Word Mapping Project subscription license instead.

_____________________

The Wyoming Science of Teaching and Learning Collaborative (WSTLC) will take place on Saturday, October 10, 2026, in Cody, Wyoming. Each session will focus on implementing research-informed instructional practices in real classrooms.

I’m recommending this event because it is built around two big beliefs that drive all of my work (including this Substack).

1. Teachers learn best from other teachers. Teachers trust other teachers. Whenever possible, teachers should lead professional learning, especially when it’s focused on instructional practice. At this conference, all presenters are teachers (or former teachers, who are working with schools everyday).

2. Professional learning for educators should be built around instructional practice, not theory. Teachers need to walk away with a new routine, approach, or adjustment that they can take back to their classrooms the next day. If teachers don’t leave with something actionable, then the session is a failure. At this conference, every presentation will share practical, evidence-based strategies and approaches that accelerate student learning. Every participant will walk away with routines they can use.

I don’t want to spill too much ink on conference culture in the Science of Reading movement here (that is an important topic for another time), but I will say this. If the purpose of a conference is to change how teachers teach reading, then the conference should be built around teachers sharing how they’ve actually changed how they teach reading. It’s really that simple. Hearing from researchers and consultants is not going to cut it, no matter how interesting or important their research and insights might be.

The organizers of the WSTLC understand this because they are teachers and they know what has and has NOT changed their own practice. That’s another unique and remarkable thing about the WSTLC: independent teacher leadership. In addition to their regular, demanding teaching jobs, the leaders of the WSTLC are booking the venue, organizing the schedule, selecting the sessions, paying for the keynote, providing lunch for the participants, doing all of the big and little things that go into organizing an in-person conference, without any compensation or expectation of compensation at all.

These remarkable educators are currently raising money to help cover their expenses, but they’re not there yet. If you are able, I encourage you to help them out! Every dollar will help, and if you’re lucky, you’ll win one of TWO one-year Word Mapping Project subscription licenses.

I’ll end with this: teachers in every state deserve educational conferences like the WSTLC. They deserve to learn beside their colleagues AND from their colleagues. They deserve to have the opportunity to present their own work in a serious and dignified forum. They deserve useful and worthy professional learning opportunities that are grounded in real classroom experience, not a distant and controlled laboratory. I hope you’ll join me in supporting the WSTLC today.