"Are you a teacher leader?" asks Executive Director Marietta Rives of Learning Forward - Iowa. "Are you the person they are talking about when the discussion arises about things like tiered evaluation systems, teacher leader standards, teacher leader endorsements, and differentiated salary? The phrase teacher leadership has been tossed around for decades but what I want to know is, exactly who are they talking about?"

Rives has learned in her research on this topic that each author, scholar or organization has a different twist on the definition of a teacher leader. But in recent years, the work around teacher leadership has, at the least, referenced the work of The Teacher Leadership Exploratory Consortium. This consortium, made up of educational leaders from around the nation, put their heads together to create and release a set of Teacher Leader Standards and to promote and advocate a national discussion about Teacher Leadership. The Teacher Leadership Exploratory Consortium accepted a definition of teacher leadership originated by York-Barr & Duke (2004, p. 287) as "the process by which teachers, individually or collectively, influence their colleagues, principals, and other members of the school community to improve teaching and learning practices with the aim of increased student learning and achievement." Based on this definition, Rives asks again, "Are you a teacher leader?"

You may not be able to answer her question based on this brief definition. But if we delve into those standards, the Teacher Leadership Standards, we may have a better idea of the expected practices and behaviors of a teacher leader. Then we can better identify who is and who is not a teacher leader.  

The purpose of these standards - like all model standards - is to stimulate dialogue among stakeholders of the teaching profession about what constitutes the knowledge, skills, and competencies that teachers need to assume leadership roles in their schools, districts, and the profession.  These standards were developed in a format similar to the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards: each standard represents a broad statement of behaviors or expectations, a "domain" if you will. Beneath each domain is a listing of "functions" that more specifically defines those behaviors and expectations. The standards include a variety of skills, knowledge and attributes that are commonly linked to individuals who might be considered teacher leaders:

• Domain 1: Fostering a collaborative culture to support educator development and student learning.
• Domain 2: Accessing and using research to improve practice and student achievement.
• Domain 3: Promoting professional learning for continuous improvement.
• Domain 4: Facilitating improvements in instruction and student learning.
• Domain 5: Using assessments and data for school and district improvement.
• Domain 6: Improving outreach and collaboration with families and community.
• Domain 7: Advocating for student learning and the profession.

Each Domain is further defined by descriptive text and the associated functions. Let's explore those elements linked to Domain 1:  Fostering a collaborative culture to support educator development and student learning.  

Descriptive Text: The teacher leader is well versed in adult learning theory and uses that knowledge to create a community of collective responsibility within his or her school. In promoting this collaborative culture among fellow teachers, administrators, and other school leaders, the teacher leader ensures improvement in educator instruction and, consequently, student learning.

Functions:  The teacher leader:   

• Utilizes group processes
  to help colleagues work collaboratively to solve problems, make decisions, manage conflict, and promote meaningful change;
• Models effective skills in listening, presenting ideas, leading discussions, clarifying, mediating, and identifying the needs of self and others in order to advance shared goals and professional learning;
  Employs facilitation skills to create trust among colleagues, develop collective wisdom, build ownership and action that supports student learning;  
• Strives to create an inclusive culture where diverse perspectives are welcomed in addressing challenges; and
• Uses knowledge and understanding of different backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures, and languages
  to promote effective interactions among colleagues.

If you feel that this amount of information doesn't give you the description that you need - if you don't understand what these standards would look like or feel like in practice, the Teacher Leadership Exploratory Consortium has gone even further to help educators make that determination. Their website links exemplars of practice to each of these functions. You can select a link and read the research or the theory behind any one of these functions to gain further understanding. To be aware that these standards even exist is monumental; now we have a framework of practice to strive toward, to use to analyze or assess our current state. If nothing else, we have resources to study that offer the potential to enhance our practice and to influence the world view of our profession. This website is an invaluable tool as this state, our schools and individual teachers strive to define teacher leaders.

In recent years much has been written on the topic of teacher leadership. Most of those efforts have been an attempt to differentiate between really good teachers and an official title of Teacher Leader. Whether the role of teacher leader is a formal title or an informal role in your particular setting, Rives believes every level of educator would agree that the function of really good teachers and that of the teacher leader is critical to the success of our schools and our students. If you are interested in moving from the status of a really good teacher to that of a teacher leader, refer to the table below. These statements can be part of your individual professional development plan, help you determine the necessary steps to enhance your career or simply help you define your current practice. As Iowa and the rest of the nation take steps to more formally recognize teacher leaders, these descriptors will become more valuable. By the mere fact that you are interested enough in this topic to be reading this article, Rives would suggest that you just might be a teacher leader! Whether you are engaged in a conversation or overhearing a conversation about teacher leadership, make sure you are up to date on the most recent reports by accessing notable resources. If your curiosity has been piqued and you want to know what is going on in Iowa, please visit the Iowa Department of Education's website to read more.  

(Frank, 2011)

 

Works cited: Frank, V. v. (2011, February ). Teacher leader standards. Teachers Teaching Teachers , pp. 1-4.

 

"One of the most unheralded and hopeful developments in public education is the emergence of school-based coaches. These highly experienced and skilled educators provide just-in-time professional learning that addresses real problems individual teachers encounter in their classrooms. When school-based coaches forge strong partnerships, those partnerships energize teachers, improve their instruction and increase student performance. Joellen Killion and Cindy Harrison are leaders in this work and have written a book that identifies the many roles that school-based coaches play in this brave new work and recommends strategies that schools and districts can employ as they look for hopeful solutions to vexing problems of instruction and learning." Hayes Mizell, Distinguished Senior Fellow of Learning Forward, formerly the National Staff Development Council. 

If you are a school administrator interested in starting a teacher leader project in your school, this book is for you. If you are a data coach, a mentor, an instructional coach or any of the other titles attached to teacher leader roles, then this book is for you, too. This unimposing book and its companion disc of resources have the potential to help schools establish a purpose, a framework, a plan for implementation and an evaluation for putting into practice a teacher leader structure for the various kinds of teacher leaders needed in our schools. Killion and Harrison have identified ten different teacher leader roles and have developed tools and resources to support their day to day work as well as their contributions to the larger system efforts.

The book is divided into multiple parts. Part I identifies and describes each of ten different coaching roles. "Regardless of the approach to coaching in schools and districts, all coaching programs share the same goals-to improve performance and results for students." Coaches need tips to get into classrooms, they need tools to use once they're in there, and they need a way to determine if their efforts are being successful. Part II describes the steps and necessary supports when developing a school-school based coaching program. The accompanying disc presents tools in a PDF format that can be utilized to document the efforts of each step that is taken to get this program up and running. Finally, innovation configuration (IC) maps are included that describe each element of a coaching program that is implemented with fidelity. As schools begin school-based coaching programs, these IC maps will help them figure out where they are in their journey and what they need to do to move forward.

The authors approach this topic in a thoughtful and practical way. They make every effort to describe the program, the potential problems and pitfalls and the potential celebrations in a way that every educator can relate to. Each chapter includes additional resources to investigate and ends with a brief summary that connects to the larger picture.

Teacher leaders assume a wide range of roles to support school and student success. Whether these roles are assigned formally or shared informally, they build the entire school's capacity to improve. Because teachers can lead in a variety of ways, many teachers can serve as leaders among their peers.

So what are some of the leadership options available to teachers? There are ten roles identified by Killion and Harrison:

• Resource Provider
• Instructional Specialist
• Curriculum Specialist
• Classroom Supporter
• Learning Facilitator
• Mentor
• School Leader
• Data Coach
• Catalyst for Change
• Learner 

You may read their article, "Ten Roles for Teacher Leaders,"  online at ASCD.