{"id":577,"date":"2018-10-05T09:18:17","date_gmt":"2018-10-05T09:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/?page_id=577"},"modified":"2018-10-25T08:15:24","modified_gmt":"2018-10-25T08:15:24","slug":"teacher-leadership","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/teacher-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Teacher Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"twelve columns\" style=\"margin-top: 10%;\">\n<div class=\"advance\"><a class=\"button button-primary\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/professional-learning\/\">\u2b05 Previous Lesson<\/a><a class=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/professional-learning-and-leadership\/\">Workshop Index<\/a><\/div>\n<h1>Teacher Leadership<\/h1>\n<p><strong>Objectives:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this workshop you will gain an understanding of:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#1\">Building networks of support<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#2\">Advocacy<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#3\">Leading professional development<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#4\">Reflecting on practice<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#5\">Cultural competence<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#6\">Action research<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Teacher Leadership<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leadership skills are an essential part of teaching practice. Teachers must manage classrooms, develop long range plans for their curriculum and manage a budget and set of resources to accomplish that goal. Teachers can also fulfill leadership roles in their schools. Teachers who engage in leadership activities are engaging in professional development for themselves that also impacts the professional growth and experiences of others in the school community. \u00a0Teachers have opportunities to be grade level and department chairs, instructional coaches, instructional trainers, PLC leaders, participate in building leadership teams, hiring boards, serve on the school council, and lead committees.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Teachers who serve as leaders have the opportunity to discuss and address teacher concerns with other building leaders which has a big impact on the culture and climate of the school. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Teachers can be leaders in many different areas and through many different activities. They share a common purpose in that they all act to improve the school community. Even schools with excellent climate and achievement scores rely on teacher leaders to maintain high standards and find opportunities for improvement. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some core competencies for teacher leaders include:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"alignleft\" style=\"list-style: circle outside; margin-left: 3.7rem;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Engages in reflective practice<\/li>\n<li>Serves as a model for others<\/li>\n<li>Self-awareness<\/li>\n<li>Engages in the activities and issues of the school community<\/li>\n<li>Communication<\/li>\n<li>Leverages technology<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3 id=\"4\"><strong>Reflective Practice<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A well-developed teacher will have a good knowledge of several different effective strategies to use in the classroom. Having a toolbox full of strategies is great, but teachers also need to be able to select the right tool for the job. While many strategies can be effective in a situation, it is often the master teacher who is most successful in choosing the right strategy for a particular lesson for their students. Novice teachers can build skills in selecting the right tool for the job by engaging in reflective practice. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reflective practice is the process through which a teacher considers and challenges their own practices with an intent to improve. When engaging in reflection, teachers should pay particular attention to issues of equity and bias, intention and action. Intentional reflection on teaching practice adds context to a teacher\u2019s existing knowledge and helps develop a higher level of understanding.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In order to be effective in reflecting on practice, a teacher must be willing to view themselves as a professional that is willing to take risks, that is willing to be flexible, and that is willing and capable of growth. Reflective practice requires teachers to question themselves and to be willing to find room for improvement.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sample questions for reflective practice:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"alignleft\" style=\"list-style: circle outside; margin-left: 3.7rem;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Did this lesson accomplish what I intended?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why a particular student responds that way?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Was there an opportunity to make this lesson more culturally relevant?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why did I respond that way?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What assumptions did I make about my students when planning this lesson and how did these beliefs influence my instruction?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Did I make this lesson more difficult on myself than it should have been?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3 id=\"1\">BuildingNetworks<\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Connecting with the larger school community can be critical for teachers to be highly effective. In order for students to be successful they must have the support from the family and oftentimes they require support from the community as well. Engaging the community as collaborators in improving the educational outcomes of your students provides additional supports for the students and teachers and provides a real-life context for much of the classroom work. When students are able to see that they are important to the community, their success will more easily follow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building a network of support may seem overwhelming, but people in your community want to be involved and they want to help.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"alignleft\" style=\"list-style: decimal outside; margin-left: 3.7rem;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Get the word out. Public awareness can be crucial in generating support in your community. Community publications, local newspapers, and the school\u2019s social media are great ways to let the community know about the efforts in your classroom. Schools usually have several social media outlets and will be able to reach a far wider group than your classroom social media account.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identify a core group. You probably have already identified a couple of parents or colleagues who have been friendly and offered to help somehow. Identify three or four core people and engage them in conversation about the goals for your students. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Form a purpose. Be specific with your core group about their objectives. It is helpful to develop objectives together. When people have a clear understanding of their mission and vision they are more easily able to identify the things that they have to offer and can bring to the table. If they have participated in developing the mission, vision, or goals, they will have a strong investment in success. Specific goals such as \u201call the students will participate in our field trip\u201d or \u201call students will have mentors for the science fair\u201d are reasonable and challenging objectives that will motivate people to meet specific targets. If the goal of your group is too general, such as \u201ccreate a better educational experience\u201d participants won\u2019t have sufficient direction and will either do nothing or pursue things separately. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Engage the group in the continuous improvement cycle. Apply the cycle to your group\u2019s purpose and keep members involved. If your group\u2019s purpose is that all students will have mentors to the science fair, share monitoring, host sneak previews, and celebrate accomplishments along the way.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"2\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-631 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/s48ONUQbRyVjnoXgEvW-nuA.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"285\" height=\"347\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Advocacy<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Advocacy is an integral part of the teaching and learning process. Teachers must act as advocates for their students, bringing inequities to light and working to level the playing field for all students. Advocacy begins with teachers being intentional about what they say. Avoid being critical of students and families when speaking to community members, and on social media. Be intentional about communicating the inequities and the needs. Be intentional in communicating the importance of education for all students. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Besides advocating for students, teachers should advocate for teachers. Speaking intentionally about the success and impact of the teachers in classroom brings a positive light on the teaching profession. Teachers have the opportunity to communicate positive experiences with members of the community when they are at the grocery store, social engagements, and in any other casual conversations. Advocacy does not require a formal space, a blog, or a conference. Advocacy starts with sharing positive teaching experiences during everyday conversations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"teachertip\">Every post on social media adds to your \u201cbrand\u201d. Increase positive and uplifting posts about your work life and avoid negative posts. Not only are negative posts a bad reflection on the profession, but they can negatively impact your professional reputation and impact your attractiveness to potential employers.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Leading Professional Development<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Teachers are extremely busy professionals who have little time left over in their day after teaching, planning, grading, and completing paperwork. Any professional development that is required of a teacher must be engaging and worthwhile. As you begin to assume the role of a teacher leader, you are likely to be asked to provide a professional development to a group of teachers. Teaching teachers can be a great opportunity to share your expertise and help your colleagues grow, but care should be taken to design a professional development that will engage adult learners. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are some different challenges when working with adults. One challenge is that you lose the \u201cauthority figure\u201d status that you have when you teach kids. Adults are more critical and less forgiving. They are likely to challenge new information. When working with adults you are not working with a \u201cblank slate\u201d trying to impart knowledge, you are working to change the practices of people with different levels of experience. When we are engaging in professional development we are asking people to change what they are already doing, we aren\u2019t really asking them to learn something new. In order to get someone to change we have to provide good reason and incentive to do so. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adult learners need relevance. As they challenge new information, they make comparisons to the knowledge and experience they already hold. Adult learners need the opportunity to evaluate the new information if they are going to adopt it into practice. Schedule time in your professional development for your adult students to evaluate information through a writing exercise, or through conversation with a group. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some accommodations must be made when working with adult learners. Adults have rich lives and responsibilities and it is unreasonable to expect them to keep their cell phones up and ask for permission to go to the restroom. The level of independence of the adult learner requires a different type of classroom management. When you begin a professional development with adults it is important to set clear expectations. Are you planning scheduled bathroom breaks? What\u2019s the cellphone policy? Is the training long enough that it would be worth developing group norms? Adults are usually very cooperative when they know what the expectations are, and when expectations are reasonable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"5\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-635 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/s_RVm0yWly_R-HH_MWWMzTw.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"179\" height=\"251\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Cultural Competence<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While some school communities look homogeneous, they usually encompass a diverse student population. Effective teachers display cultural competence. Cultural Competence refers to the teacher\u2019s ability to understand and appropriately respond to students\u2019 and families\u2019 unique cultural variables. Cultural competence refers to factors such as race, ethnicity, gender identity, language, country of origin, religion, and disability. While this list includes a lot of indicators, it is not exhaustive. There is no one book or resource that allows a teacher to become culturally competent. Teachers develop this skill but acquiring knowledge over time, asking questions, and engaging in reflective practice. The most important thing to do to develop cultural competence is to practice intentional reflection on your practice and its implication for different cultures.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Research<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p id=\"6\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The teaching field is in a state of perpetual study. Researchers and practitioners alike are eager to collect data and share information on existing and new strategies for different populations of students. It is critical to the betterment of educational practice for teachers to engage in different types of research and communication in order to advance the field and to improve their own practice.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Action Research<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For full time teachers, the most common type of research is action research. This is research in which the person conducting the research is the one taking the action. You are taking data on your own actions. Action research can be done by an individual teacher or by a collaborating team of teachers. This intent of action research is to improve practice. <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Action research can be divided into seven different steps:<\/span>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clarifying theories<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Selecting a focus<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identifying research questions<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Collecting data<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Analyzing data<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reporting results<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Taking informed action<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You will notice that the process of action research is very similar to the continuous improvement cycle that guides the PLC and the School Improvement process. The desire for ongoing improvement in one\u2019s practice and the success of students is pervasive in education. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once teachers have engaged in research, it is helpful to share results with others. Sharing information with your PLC and school community is a great start. There are many professional conferences dedicated to teacher presentations on the data collected in their classrooms. Sharing results in these ways develop essential leadership skills and can positively impact teacher performance and evaluation ratings. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Review Questions:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do you approach teaching adults differently than young people?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How are action research and the school improvement process similar?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How can you be an everyday advocate?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do you build a network of support?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How does reflective practice develop a teacher?<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"advance\"><a class=\"button button-primary\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/professional-learning\/\">\u2b05 Previous Lesson<\/a><a class=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/professional-learning-and-leadership\/\">Workshop Index<\/a><\/div>\n<h3><b>Resources and References<\/b><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The following is a list of resources that relate to the topic of Teacher Leadership<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Barbara, B. and Schrum, L. <\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every Teacher a Leader<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Corwin Press, 2017. Available from <\/span><b>Amazon.com<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Crowther, F. <\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Developing Teacher Leaders: How Teacher Leadership Enhances Student Success<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Corwin Press, 2009. Available from <\/span><b>Amazon.com<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gabriel, J. <\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to Thrive as a Teacher Leader<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. ASCD, 2015. Available from <\/span><b>Amazon.com<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Johnson, J. and Leibowitz, S. <\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Coach Approach to School Leadership: Leading Teachers to Higher Levels of Effectiveness<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. ASCD, 2017. Available from <\/span><b>Amazon.com<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Krovetz, M. <\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Collaboratvie Teacher Leadership: How Teachers can Foster Equitable Schools<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Available from <\/span><b>Amazon.com<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lieberman, A. and Miller, L. <\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Teacher Leadership<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Jossey Bass, 2005. Available from <\/span><b>Amazon.com<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Murphy, J. <\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Connecting Teacher Leadership and School Improvement<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Corwin Press, 2005. Available from <\/span><b>Amazon.com<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reeves, D. <\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reframing Teacher Leadership<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. ASCD, 2011. \u00a0Available from <\/span><b>Amazon.com<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2b05 Previous LessonWorkshop Index Teacher Leadership Objectives: In this workshop you will gain an understanding of: Building networks of support Advocacy Leading professional development Reflecting on practice Cultural competence Action research Teacher Leadership Leadership skills are an essential part of teaching practice. Teachers must manage classrooms, develop long range plans for their curriculum and manage [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-577","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=577"}],"version-history":[{"count":111,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":910,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/577\/revisions\/910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}