Feature by Sue Chapman Imagine, for a Second, a School Where Teachers
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feature Photo by GERALD CHAPMAN The 4th-grade team studies graphic organizers. Clockwise from front left, Daisy Rivas, Jennifer Ponce, Ana Baltazar, Katie Kyle, Kelly Thomas, Margo Lewallen, Lucero Munoz, Jennifer Medina, and Nuri Gonzalez. BUILDING COMMUNITY 4TH-GRADE TEAM REACHES THROUGH CLASSROOM WALLS TO COLLABORATE By Sue Chapman team from McWhirter Elementary Professional Develop- ment Laboratory School in Webster, Texas, offer an inside magine, for a second, a school where teachers see look at the self-organizing system of team-based teacher themselves as leaders and work together to ensure leadership that stands ready to help transform schools. that all children have access to engaging, high- During a team meeting, the group had sketched out its quality instruction every day. How might these professional learning plan for the next semester. Teacher teachers define teacher leadership and articulate Nuri Gonzalez voiced the question on everyone’s mind: its purpose? What suggestions would they offer “How will we measure whether our learning is making a about how teacher leadership can be grown and difference to our students?” supported? What might these teacher leaders say about Teachers across the district had just received electronic their reasons for choosing to participate in leadership work? tablets to support teaching and learning. Each student in IThe actions and reflections of the 4th-grade teacher 4th grade would be provided with a tablet within the next 54 JSD | www.learningforward.org April 2014 | Vol. 35 No. 2 feature year. Meanwhile, all teachers would attend traditional pro- fessional development to learn to use this new tool. FOR MORE INFORMATION However, the 4th-grade team knew that, unless it took Read two previously published articles about this school: ownership for this school improvement initiative, the im- “Moving in unexpected directions: Texas elementary uses exploratory pact on classroom practice and student learning would be • research to map out an evaluation plan,” JSD, October 2013. negligible. The team decided to collaborate in crafting les- sons that would incorporate the use of this new technol- • “Tight budget loosens creativity: District turns to distance learning to stretch development dollars,” JSD, February 2012. ogy and then study the effects of these lessons on student Available online at www.learningforward.org/publications/jsd. engagement and learning. Team members developed a rubric to assess engage- ment and chose to measure students’ use of targeted aca- demic vocabulary in writing samples collected before and that schools can improve every day. This model of school after the lessons. Once teachers had implemented the les- leadership maintains that schools learn as teachers work sons, the team would review the data to determine whether together to construct shared professional knowledge. When the technology-enhanced lessons had increased student en- members of a school community think, problem solve, and gagement and use of academic language. learn together, schools are transformed into learning orga- Teacher learning teams provide a structure that can fo- nizations committed to the continuous improvement of cus and accelerate school-based instructional improvement student achievement. initiatives. In high-functioning teacher teams such as this one, teacher leadership flourishes. This shared leadership DEFINING TEACHER LEADERSHIP enables teachers to reach through the isolation of their in- Teacher leaders are key players in this model of collab- dividual classroom practice and build a collaborative com- orative school leadership. Teacher leadership is a term used munity dedicated to the success of all students. to describe the developing concept of teacher involvement in school improvement. LEADERSHIP AND LEARNING According to Reeves, “Teaching and leadership are in- Instructional leadership and professional learning are separable qualities” (2008, p. 1). Teaching is the act of fa- parallel processes. In this 4th-grade team, teachers par- cilitating learning. Leadership can be understood as the act ticipate in job-embedded professional learning and in- of facilitating organizational learning (Chapman, Leonard, structional leadership as a regular part of their teaching Burciaga, & Jernigan, 2013). Harris suggests that when we responsibilities. place the word teacher in front of the word leadership, this Professional learning is considered a form of leadership combination of terms does not simply suggest that teach- because it enables teachers to find answers to problems of ers will participate in leadership activities, but advocates “a instructional practice that result in improved student learn- fundamental redistribution of power and influence within ing. Sergiovanni describes this form of shared leadership as the school as an organization” (2003, p. 322). “a community of practice within which teaching, leading, When teachers choose to extend their sphere of in- and learning are thought of as a single practice shared by fluence beyond the four walls of their classrooms, school many” (2005, p. 13). leadership evolves from a top-down process to a multidi- A leading-learning practice acknowledges that the work rectional practice performed by people across the school of teaching is both important and complex and, as a result, community. educators must learn from and with each other every day so Leadership work takes place in the interactions that April 2014 | Vol. 35 No. 2 www.learningforward.org | JSD 55 feature occur between teachers and with other members of the school classroom discussions conducted in English. An added result organization. Leadership is stretched over both teachers and was a visible improvement in student respect for diversity and administrators as they work together to improve opportunities cultural proficiency across the grade level. for student learning (Spillane, 2006). According to Ackerman and Mackenzie, “Teacher leaders This collaborative leadership practice is strengthened by the live and work with other people, and their connection with diverse perspectives and experiences of all members of a school others is where their leadership lies. Colleagueship, the role of community. Teacher leadership does not require a formal role the individual in and of the collective, concerns them most” — all teachers are invited to participate in the work of leader- (2007, p. 147). ship for school improvement. At McWhirter, teacher leadership This concept of teacher leadership is related to the idea of is an accepted feature of school culture. Informal teacher leader- holonomy, the notion of individual behavior within interde- ship is performed as teachers experiment with their instructional pendent systems (Costa & Garmston, 2002). A holonomous practice and share their learning with colleagues. Teachers are teacher leader consciously learns and accepts support from her encouraged to generate professional knowledge that improves team. She also recognizes that she can contribute to her team’s learning opportunities for students. success and influence its standards for professional behavior. As McWhirter intervention teacher Jennifer Medina says, Teacher leaders know that, by working together with col- “Teacher leadership occurs when a teacher has the desire to leagues, they can positively impact learning for students across make a difference without an expectation for recognition. This the school community. Teacher Stefanie Friedman, a member type of leadership happens on our team every day and, because of the 4th-grade team at McWhirter, agrees: “Our team rec- of its genuineness, it cannot be stopped. It is contagious, touch- ognizes that each teacher has her own style, but we are united ing the hearts of everyone and setting in motion a cycle of mo- by a desire to see our children succeed. We each have unique tivation, growth, and success.” strengths and, when we pull together, it seems that we can solve This organic form of teacher leadership is complemented by any problem. When a student is not making progress, the team the more formal teacher leadership of McWhirter’s team leaders comes together to offer suggestions and create a plan. Every and instructional coaches who provide focused and intentional child benefits from the team’s collective intelligence.” support for instructional improvement initiatives. Teacher leaders are self-directed learners. Teacher learning teams take initiative and responsibility for their own profes- LEADERSHIP WITHIN TEAMS sional learning. As teachers create and share professional ex- Teacher leadership and teacher learning teams are both es- pertise, “they are on the way to building a true profession of sential to shared school leadership. Teacher leadership is the teaching, a profession in which members take responsibility for driving force behind effective teacher learning teams. Teacher steady and lasting improvement” (Hiebert & Stigler, 2004, p. learning teams, in turn, ignite and intensify teacher leadership 14). When teachers see themselves as knowledgeable profession- as a dynamic within the school. As teacher learning teams and als capable of refining their instructional practice, they take on teacher leadership grow stronger, a school’s ability to maximize the stance and spirit of teacher leadership. student learning grows exponentially. Participation in teacher learning teams awakens teachers’ Teacher leadership is vital to high-functioning teacher leadership identity. Lambert says, “Teachers become fully alive learning