This article addresses the need for 'coherent, holistic frameworks offering insightful understandings as well as viable, connected and synergistic solutions to schools'. We describe a model which emerged from a research study developed in the context of a professional development course attended by more than 150 teachers from primary and secondary…

This paper explores the perspectives of mathematics teacher leaders (MTLs) on teacher-led professional learning (TLPL). Shaped by notions of symbolic interactionism, the study employed a multisite case study design. Empirical data were collected through in-depth interviews. The study revealed the practice of TLPL influential in facilitating…

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of professional learning communities by comparing practices and strategies of content and grade level teams in middle schools. Utilizing data from student assessment, comparison of teams in this middle school was conducted to determine practices and conversations that have an impact on…

In this article, Thomas R. Hoerr offers some insights into safe schools that attend not only to the physical safety of students and staff, but the emotional well-being of everyone. With safety, there are no guarantees, but school leaders can work hard to ensure that every student feels safe and comfortable at school, which means embracing all…

The purpose of this study is to discover the experiences and supports that influenced the development of teaching effectiveness at different career stages of National University alumni who were identified as County Teachers of the Year in California. National University is the second largest private, nonprofit institution of higher learning in…

The authors of this paper are academic developers in an Australian university. In this paper, we discuss the outcomes of a small pilot study about value tensions; completed to inform a larger research project about the possibilities of making collaborative collegiality an explicit aim of a curriculum review. After interviewing four course leaders,…

This article describes the first implementation of the Future Educators Learning Community, and particularly, the impact of three linked courses and instructor collaboration. With supporting literature and the context and background of this learning community as the foundation, our experiences are structured into three distinct categories:…

Teachers are starting to rebel against passive, one-size-fits-all forms of professional development and form their own learning networks through online platforms, edcamps, and so on. But free-choice learning experiences don't foster a community of shared professional inquiry or learning in a school or district. Rodman describes how any school…

This report explores the premise that there's nothing more powerful than great teachers skillfully using great instructional materials to motivate and engage students in their learning. Three real-world examples illustrate how schools and school systems are working to support teachers to skillfully use high-quality, standards-aligned curricula, by…

Teachers in high-poverty schools often feel stressed and fatigued. We might expect that if we ask these teachers to take on even more work by meeting regularly in collaborative improvement teams, they will respond with skepticism, even resentment. But in a study of 83 teachers in six outstanding high-poverty schools, these researchers found the…

This introduction to the second part of our Symposium on Teachers as Leaders examines the role of collaboration and writing as part of teacher leadership. The first part of the symposium described teacher leadership as a stance that values professionalism and the intellectual, political, and collaborative work of teaching. This introduction…

In Penn State's work with aspiring teacher leaders over the last decade, two core strategies have emerged that hold significant promise for fostering teacher leadership: (1) provide teachers with the skills they need to create their own jobs; and (2) provide training and extended (e.g. post-graduate) support in developing ongoing professional…

How could far more children ages 0-5 who are in early childhood education and care settings have consistent access to excellent teaching? In these critical developmental years, young children--especially those who have fewer educational and developmental advantages outside of formal settings--need "excellent teaching every year" to…

While many researchers have studied teacher leaders, a corresponding field of research on teacher leadership has been slow to develop. This narrative account charts our strategic efforts to build a community of scholars capable of strengthening teacher leadership as a field of study. It documents the parallel development of two entities, the…

The increasing importance of educational collaborations and networks that blur organizational boundaries requires conceptual developments in leadership theory. One approach to both theorizing and promoting such phenomena is through the idea of system leadership. Three different meanings of the term are identified: interschool leadership; a…