Detailed Outline Guide

Activity Title Teacher Leadership: Thinking and Action

Teacher Leadership: Thinking and Action

Session 1: Leadership

Characteristics of Leaders?

Characteristics of Teachers Who Demonstrate Power

 High motivation to change

 High self-esteem
 Creative problem-solving
 Assertiveness
 Deep commitment to students
 Understanding of children's needs
 High regard for professional development (Berry, 1995)

Ways Teachers Use Their Power

 To involve and support families

 To seek and engage in professional development
 To set and maintain high expectations
 To speak for the profession
 To contribute to the larger good of society and adhere to a standard of excellence in all
that they do (Couchenour & Dimino, 1999)

Thinking: Quiet Ways to Lead

 Building your knowledge

 Researching and exploring new ideas
 Reflecting
 Aligning beliefs and practices

Building Your Knowledge: Know the Issues

Could you explain the controversies surrounding these terms to a noneducator?

Tenure Professional development

NBPTS Alternative licensure

Zero tolerance TVAAS/VAM

Common Core PARCC

RTI Computer-based testing
Vouchers Race and inequality

School lunch programs Charter schools

Restorative justice School violence

Standardized testing Scripted curriculum

Privatization of education Bullying

Session 2: Researching and Exploring New Ideas

Teacher research addresses issues of power within the structures of “school.”

 “Teachers who collect their own data to use in making decisions about their schools and
classrooms” (Mills, 2003)
 Helping fight “remote controlling” of teachers (Yendol- Hoppey, 2006)

Steps in Teacher Research

 Decide what it is you want to know and write your research question(s).
 Conduct a review of the literature; see what the research says about your question.
 Make a plan! Decide who you are going to study.
o Decide what you are going to do and how often and for how long you are going
to do it.
o Decide what exactly you are going to measure and how you will measure any
changes.
 Implement your plan and collect your data.
 Analyze your data.
 Make changes in your instruction based on what you find out.

Reflection Is... Thinking that involves intentional questioning and critiquing of beliefs, practices,
or knowledge with the intent to become more mindful of and responsive to the associated
implications and assumptions

 Open-mindedness
 Responsibility
 Wholeheartedness (Dewey, 1933)

Aligning Beliefs and Practices

 Clearly articulate what you believe about

o Children
o Learning
o Teaching
  Carefully examine your practices
o Is there evidence that what you are doing matches your beliefs?
o Where are there gaps?
o What needs to change in order to be aligned: beliefs or practices?

Session 3: Action: Leadership Out Loud

 Advocating for yourself

o Find a mentor
o Join a professional organization
o Share research and practice
 Advocating for others
o Students
o Colleagues
o Public schools
o The teaching profession

Advocating for Yourself: Mentor

 Official (school-assigned) mentoring

 Unofficial (your choice) mentoring
o Should you search for a mentor at your school or outside of it?
o Is it important that you and your mentor work at the same grade level?
o Are you comfortable sharing your concerns about your teaching with the
person?
o Do your personalities mesh?

Advocating for Yourself: Professional Organizations

 Take time to figure out the right organization for you

 Invest money in a membership
 Read the publications
 Attend the annual conference
 Present within your professional organization (start local...)

Advocating for Yourself: Sharing

 Understand the context of your school

o Spend time watching your colleagues
o Run your idea/plan by a trusted mentor
o Start small Talk to your principal

Advocating for Others

What holds teachers back?

 Lack of time Belief that politics isn’t part of teaching

  Lack of confidence in public speaking (or writing, or networking, etc.) abilities
 Fear of offending administrators Fear of drawing more ire from the public
 Belief that time spent out of the classroom will harm students’ learning (Coulucci, 2013)
 Power
 Influence

Guidelines for speaking out

 Consider the risks Have a clear goal in mind

 Talk with your administrator(s)
 Get others on board
 Know your audience
 Overplan
 Stay focused (Zemelman & Ross, 2009)

Activity

Pick a “Team” of Two or Three and Explore the Issues in Your State

Look at:

 Newspaper articles
 Blogs
 Department of Education website
 Legislation

Create your own “Dear John” letter to your state

Share: What Issues Did You Find?

Through Your Thinking and Action

 What can you control?

 What can you influence?

The Bottom Line:

 What is the difference between an effective teacher and an effective teacher leader?
 What is the difference between a teacher and a teaching professional?

Session 4: Commitment in Leadership: What It Is and Why It's Important

Strong leadership practices are relevant to any workplace. Leaders who prove their
commitment to an organization and team members can positively impact those they lead.
Understanding more about what commitment in leadership means and how it can be applied
in the workplace can help grow your skills as a leader.
What is commitment in leadership?

Commitment in leadership is an approach that shows dedication to an organization and its

employees. Committed leaders devote their efforts to forwarding a company's values and goals
by investing time in pursuing the needs of the organization and other team members.
Commitment in leadership also involves a consistent attitude of achievement and a willingness
to participate in activities that strengthen an organization. Committed leaders seek to train
others with key principles and encourage leadership growth in others.

Why is commitment important in leadership?

 Commitment leadership shows that those in supervisory roles are willing to work hard
to achieve the best results for their organization and those they lead. This type of
leadership can inspire others to contribute their best efforts and uphold the key values
of the team. It can also encourage team members to remain with a company if they feel
their leaders are also committed to the organization.
 Committed leadership can strengthen an organization by creating more leaders who
further the vision and mission of a company. When team members feel they receive the
benefits of working toward a goal they believe in, their own level of commitment grows.

Leadership Philosophy: What It Is and How To Create One

5 levels of leadership

Although there are many different leadership theories, professionals often refer to John
Maxwell's "5 Levels of Leadership" to describe the steps you can take to grow in your abilities as
a committed leader. Each successive level builds on the previous so you can work toward more
advanced leadership strategies as you gain experience, while still practicing the core methods
that make you a leader at earlier levels. Here are the five levels of leadership according to
Maxwell:

1. Position
a. The first level reflects your appointment into a specific role. In this stage, you
achieve the status of a leader because you've been given a position of authority
within your company. Being appointed to a role means you exercise your
authority by enforcing rules and regulations more than gaining followers
through influence, which happens in the next leadership level. Leadership at this
stage is solely based on your rank within an organization. Learning to embody
key leadership qualities and maintaining a professional attitude is an important
way to develop within this stage.
2. Permission
a. At the permission level, leaders become more influential by creating and
maintaining positive relationships with others. Instead of their position requiring
authority, leaders at this level gain permission to lead others who willingly follow
them. Building relationships as a leader means anticipating the needs of others
and listening to their ideas and concerns. When you show team members you
 genuinely care about their success, you can build trust in your capabilities as a
leader.
3. Production
a. As leaders grow relationships within their position of authority, they move to a
new stage of leadership ability that focuses on getting results. The production
level of leadership focuses on inspiring others to do their best work. Leaders
who influence others to increase their productivity often improve their
organization by maximizing success in employee output and company
processes. These leaders learn to overcome challenges and encourage others to
solve problems to keep the team progressing toward greater success.
4. People development
a. Leaders at this level advance their abilities by raising up other leaders through
mentoring, encouragement and delegating responsibilities. Growing others into
leaders requires consistent and purposeful relationship-building. Developing
others into leaders means taking the time to guide them using instruction and
advice and assigning tasks they can master to grow their own leadership
abilities. Leaders who reach the level of people development may gain lifelong
professional connections as they help others grow and reach their potential to
carry on strong leadership traits.
5. Pinnacle
a. Pinnacle-level leaders reach this status by consistently building relationships and
training other leaders. They inspire productivity in others and improve their
organizations through a commitment to guiding others with excellence. Pinnacle
leaders embody qualities like personal integrity, determination, encouragement
and ingenuity. They grow beyond their organization and industry as thought
leaders who inspire others regardless of their role.
b. Becoming a pinnacle leader requires time and a commitment to finding the best
in others. Pinnacle leaders also help set a vision for an organization and inspire
other leaders to work toward new growth opportunities while continuing to
embody the principles of the other leadership levels.

Summary

 Teacher leaders share characteristics of all good leaders.

 Teacher leaders can lead quietly in their own classrooms through building their
knowledge, conducting research, reflecting, and aligning their practices with their
beliefs.
 Teacher leaders can lead in a more visible way by advocating for themselves and others,
both within and outside of schools.

References

Berry, B. (1995). School restructuring and teacher power: The case of Keels Elementary. In A.
Leiberman (Ed.), The work of restructuring schools: Building from the ground up (pp. 11-135).
New York: Teachers College Press.
Couchenour, D. & Dimino, B. (1999). Teacher power: Who has it, how to get it, and what to do
with it. Childhood Education, 75,194-198.

Coulucci, A. (10 September, 2013). Five beliefs that hold teachers back from leading. Education
Week Teacher. Retrieved from: http://
www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2013/09/10/ctq_colucci_leaders.html.

Dewey, J. (1933). How we think. Chicago, IL: Henry Regnery.

Mills, G. E. (2003). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher (2 nd Ed). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Merrill.

Yendol-Hoppey, D. (2006, Summer). Understanding the complexity of teacher learning.

Teaching and Teacher Education, Division K Newsletter: American Educational Research
Association, pp. 9-11.

Zemelman, S. & Ross, H. (2009). 13 steps to teacher empowerment: Taking a more active role in
your school community. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/commitment-leadership