What do teacher leaders need?
Across the nation, school districts want and need to capitalize on teachers’ specialized knowledge to assist with developing curriculum and leading professional development, as well as improving school climate, culture, and classroom instruction. Formal leadership positions — e.g., mentors, lead teachers, coaches — have been designed to play strategic roles in district-wide school reform efforts. Portin and his colleagues at the University of Washington (Portin et al., 2009) found that teacher leaders often act as a bridge between the classroom and district or state expectations for instruction. Federal initiatives have also contributed to the proliferation of teacher leadership positions — e.g., instructional coaches for Reading First and math/science partnerships.
Despite this expansion of teacher leadership roles, the education field has not set clear guidelines for professional practice. Even when titles are identical, roles and responsibilities are rarely the same. Lack of recognition and support for teacher leaders also continues to be an issue. Although many states acknowledge the expertise and leadership of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) with either additional financial compensation or credit toward specialized endorsements, only a few states — e.g., Louisiana, Georgia, and Illinois — have instituted endorsements to reward teachers who take on leadership roles outside their classrooms (Olson, 2007).
Most often, when exceptional teachers move into leadership positions, administrators assume they have the necessary leadership skills for these roles — whether or not they have had previous training or experience relevant to the new expectations (Katzenmeyer & Moller, 2009). In a 2003 survey of teacher leaders conducted by the Center for Teacher Leadership at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education, 82 percent of respondents reported that they had not received any training (Dozier, 2007).
In 2009, the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP), an independent nonprofit that works to improve teaching and learning in Washington State’s public schools, convened a group of accomplished educators to create a framework describing what teacher leaders know and are able to do. CSTP’s Teacher Leadership Skills Framework defines teacher leadership as the “knowledge, skills and dispositions demonstrated by teachers who positively impact student learning by influencing adults, formally and informally, beyond individual classrooms.”
CSTP believes that in order for teacher leaders to flourish, certain characteristics and conditions must be present. Teacher leaders must possess the knowledge and skills needed to lead. In order to be seen as a leader, they must also have a set of positive dispositions and attitudes. Finally, there must be opportunities for leadership in the school, district or larger context.
The knowledge and skills teacher leaders need to be effective in a variety of roles include:
- Working with Adult Learners — examples: build trusting relationships, facilitate professional learning
- Communication — examples: questioning, listening, using written and electronic strategies
- Collaboration — examples: using protocols, moving a group to task completion, mediation
- Knowledge of content and pedagogy — examples: subject matter content, reflective practice, formative assessment
- Systems Thinking — examples: understand and leverage resources, craft and deliver effective messages
Opportunities and challenges
For the past eight years, CSTP has been using case discussions to help teacher leaders build their capacity to lead colleagues. CSTP also guides teacher leaders in writing case studies. Case methods support teacher leaders’ professional growth because “cases recount, as objectively and meticulously as possible, real events or problems so that the reader relives the complexities, ambiguities, and uncertainties confronted by the original participants in the case” (Golich, Boyer, Franko, & Lamy, 2000, p. 1).
Cases can help teacher leaders develop a repertoire of skills to cope with the challenges that arise when they add other roles — see sidebar — to their classroom duties. Teacher leaders who read and discuss the leadership circumstances of others can articulate concerns about their own situation, consider a range of appropriate responses, and anticipate issues that might arise in the future. Teacher leaders who write cases are more equipped to deal with similar circumstances in the future and make a significant contribution to the field by shining a light on dilemmas so that other educators may learn from their experience.
What makes a good case?
A good case study is rich, provocative and complex. It is a narrative about real experiences and reveals well-rounded characters. Cases that encourage deep learning represent the types of dilemmas that arise frequently when teachers exercise leadership. A good case provides opportunities to see multiple perspectives and generalize from the case to real life. A good case hooks the reader, lays out the dilemma with enough detail to help the reader understand the context, encourages analysis and reflection, and leaves the reader with lingering questions. There is no solution provided - no happy ending. Hence, the potential for dialogue that explores various points of view, considers situations from various perspectives and fosters reflective thinking.
Click here for a sample case study.
How does a case study work?
In order to understand their own experiences, teacher leaders read, discuss, and debate descriptions of others’ dilemmas. The rich discussions allow participants to learn from the experiences of others who have pioneered leadership roles. Cases serve as a “third point” — an incident or dilemma that is “over there” and therefore more comfortably discussed than an issue in “our building” or among “our staff.” Participants make connections to challenges that arise in their own context and have the opportunity to identify the skills teachers need to become effective leaders.
Case analysis helps teacher leaders deepen content knowledge, develop facilitation skills, gain mastery of conflict resolution techniques, build relationships, refine coaching or mentoring strategies, and understand and navigate the political forces that surround their work.
There is a specialized set of knowledge and skills teacher leaders need to be successful. School systems that ask teachers to step into leadership roles have an obligation to support the ongoing professional development of those teachers. Case analysis promotes reflection and builds resilience — critical ingredients for success.