From Pixels to Picture

This chapter addresses a framework and the associated methods by which curious teachers can grow their leadership in their classrooms, schools, and communities. In particular, attention to teachers' professional development in the following areas are examined: teacher-generated student goals, clarity of student learning, soliciting student feedback, and well-being practices for teachers. When these areas are at the center of a teacher and a school's decision-making process, students' academic achievement, personal health, and prosocial behavior have immense potential to improve.

Cultivating Teacher Leadership in Rural School Districts

This chapter addresses the uniqueness of rural schools and the importance of teacher leaders in those settings. The teacher leader model will be different in a smaller school, although this context is less studied. Because teacher leaders have experience in the community context, they can guide others. Rural schools often have more difficulty recruiting and retaining teachers; while location cannot be changed, working conditions can. Supportive mentors can help rural school districts retain new teachers; however, teacher leaders are often not formally recognized. Less than half of states have a teacher leader licensure, and even fewer have standards in this area. Although national standards exist, little research has focused on how these and other professional development strategies can be effectively implemented in the rural setting.

Unwrapping the Shrink Wrap

This chapter describes a team of teachers and university instructors' investigation of teacher-led instructional improvements in elementary classroom writing instruction through peer observation and collective dialogue examining everyday teaching practices. Established tools and processes in place such as district curriculum, the Units of Study, and tools of observation and collaboration, specifically Learning Labs (www.pebc.org) protocol and professional learning communities, supported a naturalistic inquiry of practice. Teacher leadership, like writing instruction, is a process, and these educators identified co-constructed observation as a tool for sustaining joy, an under researched element of teacher leadership and professional development. Additionally, collaborative debriefing fostered professional growth, and collective inquiry provided inroads to autonomy in curricular decision making. The team sought to lead from within to develop understanding of and improvements in writing instruction.

Teacher Leadership in Special Education

This chapter addresses the impact of the traditional hierarchical system of organizational leadership on K-12 schools, particularly in special education. This model of leadership distinguishes leaders, such as school principals, from non-leaders, such as teachers and school staff. For special education teachers, this passé model of leadership becomes a barrier for professional growth by limiting the opportunities for teacher leadership in special education. In order for special education teachers to pursue leadership positions in the K-12 education system, teachers likely have to give up their teaching identities in exchange for new roles and responsibilities. With a limitation of research in the area of teacher leadership in special education, there is a need for discussion on how special education teachers can use their expertise to influence school administrators and staff towards equitable and inclusive organizational change.

Classroom Equity and the Role of a Teacher Leader

Classrooms are filled with students from multiple backgrounds. Teachers see students of different races, genders, and socioeconomic statuses. Providing the best education for these students is a necessity to produce productive members of society. To do so, teachers must work toward classroom equity. The research collected in this chapter can help teachers move toward an equitable classroom environment. There are many factors that need to be considered in creating equity. Once these factors are contemplated, the ability to change can be easily instituted. Teacher leaders have the potential to initiate change, but there are circumstances within the school that can hinder or support this change. Once schools meet the necessary criteria to create change, the role of teacher leaders is imperative in making equitable classrooms a reality.

An Untapped Resource

This chapter showcases a teacher preparation program (TPP) targeting early career, in-service teachers who are most vulnerable to early attrition and was created to support district efforts to retain and develop an effective workforce. The chapter focuses and puts a spotlight on the role of the instructional consultant, which is the most innovative aspect of this district-based teacher preparation program. These instructional consultants are embedded in the design and delivery of program coursework. This instructional consultant role was innovated to provide a conduit for teacher leadership in this ongoing partnership. This chapter recounts how this partnership began, how instructional consultants have become a conduit for leveraging and growing teacher leadership for all stakeholders involved in this school-university partnership, and the ongoing impact of this program in terms of teacher retention and improving instructional effectiveness.

Teacher Induction That Works

For over 25 years, the CADRE Project has developed both new (or beginning) and veteran teachers. This induction program's success is linked to the collaboration between one university and multiple local school districts. Nearly 100% of CADRE participants have remained in education, and over half of them have moved into leadership roles. During summer 2018, the researchers distributed 675 online surveys to past participants. Responses yielded a 65% response rate. Analysis produced the following three themes: empowerment, retention, and leadership. The researchers propose a conceptual framework showing the interaction among the three themes and connect the themes to collective efficacy. The researchers close by outlining future directions for research and recommendations for other induction programs.

Sharing Labs

Asking teachers to lead professional development (PD) for their peers is a complex request. Leading PD requires purposeful skill development for facilitators and thoughtful approaches to adult learning. This chapter proposes four practices for implementing teacher-driven, teacher-led PD: 1) soliciting staff input and involvement, 2) dedicating time to common planning, 3) creating a teacher-leader support structure, and 4) developing a culture of co-thinking with common shared language. These practices grew out of an urban public school's experience with implementing small-group, mixed-grade, mixed-subject PD. This teacher-led PD, called the sharing lab, empowered teacher-leaders and staff to feel valued as professionals, learn from each other using structured conversations, and apply their learning to their practice. Recommendations for future sharing labs include expanding focus to community and culture dilemmas, incorporating student voice, and aligning the sharing labs to other PD so they fit within a consistent arc of learning.

Instructional Leadership

While principals are ultimately accountable for instructional leadership, they also are burdened by the increasing demands of the administrative job and, therefore, must rely on the capable teaching professionals to help carry out the instructional mission of the school. Indicators of instructional leadership for teacher leaders include coaching and mentoring, collaboration, and understanding the context of school and community. This chapter addresses the constructs of instructional leadership, including 1) understanding effective instructional practices, 2) alignment of school-wide instructional systems, 3) use of data to improve instruction, 4) the fostering of collective continuous improvement, and 5) inclusion of collaborative professional development for school personnel to build professional capacity and leadership in all. The intersection between principal and teacher leader roles, as a premise for distributive leadership, will be explored and proposed with recommendations for future research.

Special Education Teacher Leadership

The implementation of effective inclusive school practices requires strong leadership and understanding of procedures, services, and programming for students with disabilities. While school administrators often provide instructional leadership, many do not have preparation in special education, undermining their ability to enact a schoolwide vision for inclusive practices. This chapter provides an overview and summarizes the findings of four special education teacher leadership studies conducted over a three-year period to learn how school leaders can effectively support special educators in teacher leadership and promote inclusive practices that support the success of all students. The authors highlight four major themes (school culture, collaboration, process, and aspiration) that emerged from this series of studies. The chapter describes each theme and how they relate to supporting special education teacher leadership to enhance inclusionary practices in schools.