Kelly's Curriculum Corner

Context for the Research: In a recent Learning Forward article, Joellen Killion summarized some exciting new research regarding teacher leadership. This body of work extends a similar study and basically delineates what we know about teacher leadership over the last 30 plus years. Findings: Interestingly, the findings from the most recent study paralleled those from the earlier work. Most research studies fail to adequately define teacher leadership. None of the studies linked teacher leadership directly to student learning. Four themes emerged as either facilitators or inhibitors to teacher leadership: Adequate Time Quality of relationships with peers and administrators Climate and structural factors Personal characteristics Connection to Practice: Teacher Leaders need time to plan, collaborate and reflect on next steps. Without planning, little will be accomplished. Provide time for planning and collaboration. Do not assume it will happen with...

Wenner and Campbell define teacher leaders as: “teachers who maintain K-12 classroom-based teaching responsibilities, while also taking on leadership responsibilities outside of the classroom” (p. 140). We often assume teachers implicitly understand this dual role of being an effective teacher as well as a leader. They don’t. Over the past fifteen years, I have been a part of numerous projects, which sought to build capacity through teacher leaders. An unfortunate pattern emerged across projects.  The selected educators would embrace the new ideas and/or practices in their classrooms, with their students. However, when asked to take an active leadership role, most would either avoid the task, provide a litany of reasons why the task could not be accomplished or provide a half-hearted initial effort with little follow through. Now we did have success stories, but too many teacher leaders were falling through the cracks. Why? How can we improve outcomes? Three Rul...

I was catching up on some professional reading last week and was excited to come across Teacher Leader Model Standards showcased in the June 2011 issue of Journal of Staff Development. I then checked out the online resources at www.teacherleaderstandards.org .  Here are a few quotes from the Teacher Leader Standards website and full document: “Within every school there is a sleeping giant of teacher leadership” “We must seek to use the expertise that already exists in the teaching force” “The teacher leader model standards can be used to guide the preparation of experienced teachers to assume leadership roles such as resource providers, instructional specialists, curriculum specialists, classroom supporters, learning facilitators, mentors, school team leaders, and data coaches” (Harrison & Killion, 2007). Here is a sneak peek of the Teacher Leader Standards . Domain I: Fostering a collaborative culture to support educator development and student learning. Domain II: Accessi...